Poetry Wednesday: James Earl Jones Reads Walt Whitman

Click here to go to Brain Pickings, where, as Maria Popova writes:

In this exquisite reading from New York’s 92Y, the great James Earl Jones brings his formidable dramatic prowess to sections 6, 7, 17, 18, and 19, breathing explosive new life into Whitman’s timeless verses.

 "Song of Myself" begins grandly, sweepingly and famously:

I celebrate myself;
And what I assume you shall assume;
For every atom belonging to me, as good belongs to you.

I loafe and invite my Soul;
I lean and loafe at my ease, observing a spear of summer grass.

Houses and rooms are full of perfumes—the shelves are crowded with perfumes;
I breathe the fragrance myself, and know it and like it;
The distillation would intoxicate me also, but I shall not let it.

The atmosphere is not a perfume—it has no taste of the distillation—it is odorless;
It is for my mouth forever—I am in love with it;
I will go to the bank by the wood, and become undisguised and naked;
I am mad for it to be in contact with me.

Read the entire poem here, courtesy of About.com.

NaNoWriMo: Lost in the Woods

Fellow adventurers, I share with you a fantastic entry on Brain Pickings that hopefully will serve as inspiration as you venture into unfamiliar lands during NaNoWriMo.

Click here to read the list kindly typed out by Maria Popova.

Once you are done here, go to the Brain Pickings website. Support that incredible effort and all it brings you. You'll be glad you did.

And find out more about NaNoWriMo — it's a fun challenge you'll be glad you did. Well, when it's over, you'll be glad. Like training for a marathon: it's often less painful in your rear-view mirror.

Book Spine Poetry

Brain Pickings' Maria Popova has published something wonderful and unexpected: book spine poetry.

I live in the future &

here is how it works

People

waste and want

everything

In Pursuit of

the Unknown

Give it a try, take a shot of your poetry and share it with me. I'll post it and give you full credit. Have fun with this!

Speaking of which, thanks to all who shared their favorite poets with me. Dede Robinson is taking home the copy of The Moon is Always Female, and all participants will receive a book of poetry. Thanks for playing, and remember: poetry is always rewarding!