If you feel inclined to lounge on the lawn today, we encourage you to crack open a copy of ‘Leaves of Grass,’ the life’s work of American poet Walt Whitman, whose birthday is May 31. When ‘Leaves of Grass’ was first released in 1855 it was considered controversial for its imagery of sexuality among other wide-ranging topics. Expressed as a form of free verse without rhyme and with ever-changing meter and rhythm, Whitman’s style was highly personal, but also expansive, meant to reflect the limitless possibilities of Americans and the United States itself. He spent years revising and adding to the compilation of poems and today is regarded as one of the most important of American poets. He once said, "Keep your face always toward the sunshine—and shadows will fall behind you."
Leaves of Grass
Today in History
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Cheese! We ll go somewhere where there s cheese!
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Spring comes to the Palouse
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Roques de Benet, Els Ports Natural Park, Catalonia, Spain
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‘Fringe’ takes center stage as Edinburgh celebrates the arts
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Humpbacks return to the Inside Passage
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Dancing in The Nutcracker
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Next stop, Tofino
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A long path to freedom
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A day to take a moment
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Happy Mothers Day!
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Cool water in the Quinault
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Water colors
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Riding the bore tide at Turnagain Arm, Cook Inlet, Alaska
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Weaverbird nests at Kenya’s Samburu National Reserve
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A new tradition in London
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Pegadung Rock, Lampung, Sumatra, Indonesia
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It’s Siblings Day!
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Did it see its shadow?
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A cutting-edge art gallery opens in Paris
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Take this for a spin...
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Ponta da Piedade rock formations in Portugal
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Of moose and Maine
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Celebrating World Art Day
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The first ascent
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Moody skies over Valletta
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Gateway to America
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Fallow deer, Bradgate Park, Leicestershire, England
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There was gold in them there hills…
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Happy World Laughter Day
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Pearl of the Adriatic