Reply to comment

Whitman and I are from the same part of this country and some of the scenes which he describes I can relate to. That island stretching east of manhattan is certainly an influence in his writing. "In vessels that sail my words must sail... I go with fishermen and sea-men and love them..." "where the neck of the longlived swan is curving and winding; where the laughing-gull scoots by the slappy shore and aughs her near-human laugh... where the splash of swimmers and divers cools the warm noon..." " where the half-burned brig is riding on unknown currents, where shells grow to her slimy deck, and the dead are corrupting below..." These things he describes are those which I have experienced my entire life. Although so beautiful and meaningful to me, they are images which I would not be able to put to words with such elegance so as to get others to see the beauty in that which I see. I suddenly appreciate Whitman's ability to do this. I believe he describes so many things that almost anyone could connect with this piece on a personal level. This is what I found most effective about the book. Even those things he describes which I have never seen or experienced are particularly striking to me.