America
Centre of equal daughters, equal sons,
All, all alike endear’d, grown, ungrown, young or old,
Strong, ample, fair, enduring, capable, rich,
Perennial with the Earth, with Freedom, Law and Love,
A grand, sane, towering, seated Mother,
Chair’d in the adamant of Time.
— Walt Whitman, 1888
Not that it matters, but the photo of poet Walt Whitman at the top was taken by the famous painter Thomas Eakins in 1891 while his painting of Whitman on the right was completed in 1887. Just wanted to get that info out of the way.
Whitman and his belief in the power of democracy and equality has played a role in my life for a long time. Thought I’d share the only known recording of his voice, from a wax recording of his reading of his poem America. The recording only contains the first four lines of the short six-line poem leaving off one of my favorite of his phrases, the last line: Chair’d in the adamant of Time. He is basically declaring that so long as America remains a country of Freedom, Fairness and Justice for all, it shall remain as the grand, sane, towering, seated Mother as it has often been perceived by the rest of the world. I like that he portrays the country in the matriarchal sense.
It takes less than a minute to listen to Whitman’s reading. It’s interesting to hear his voice, especially the emphasis he places on some words, such as ample. To my ear, it reminds me of the voice of actor Lionel Barrymore, also a longtime favorite of mine.
Now, for the sake of transparency, I have to let you know that there is a lot of controversy as to whether this is indeed Whitman’s voice. I share this link to the Library of Congress Blog and an article that makes a strong case for it being a recording by an actor from a later date.
So, maybe it is Uncle Walt and maybe it isn’t. Maybe the reading itself doesn’t matter so long as we understand the message in his words, be it Whitman or an actor, especially at this point in time.
To those who pay attention, the question of whether we can remain that country of Equality, Fairness and Justice for All remains up in the air at the moment. We struggle against powerful forces that seek to define equality, freedom, and fairness in terms that they define that benefit the few, not the many. Hopefully, enough of us can recognize the motives moving these forces and take a stand to defend an America that would make Uncle Walt proud.
Redtree Times 