from Song of Myself by Walt Whitman (read by Tom O'Bedlam)

The first two sections of Walt Whitman's seminal poem. Whitman sees himself in everything and everything in himself becoming what he observes, the "kosmos".
There's a good full reading here by various readers - I prefer James:
www.laits.utexas.edu/leavesofg...

[@christinael596]

"You shall not look through my eyes either, nor take things from me/ You shall listen to all sides, and filter them from yourself"

[@drjasonjcampbell]

PERFECT cadence and VOICE!!! FLAWLESS!!

[@SpokenVerse]

@paperbullet1945 Whitman makes many references in the poem to grass, which is a symbol of the cycle of life to him, and it seems he spent much of his life lying on grass "the beautiful uncut hair of graves" He says,"I bequeath myself to the dirt to grow from the grass I love". He did have to pay for publication because they were unwilling to print it, at first and later too. I would guess that "leaves of grass" was a publishers' joke and not his intention when choosing the title.

[@senkaya]

Thank you for posting this, although I´m from Brazil, I have Always admire Walt Whitman´s poems, I have a copy of Leaves of grass in my collection trully he was a formidable human being. He was so sensitive, so human. I think that´s a quality of the great geniuses, they are timeless. They are able to touch generation after generation with their brilliance.

[@aaron19840904]

thanks for posting.... i love walt whitman ... and your voice is great .

[@brookchang1406]

The 2nd section is my favorite part of the whole poem,really.

[@Pepe136]

Me celebro y me canto a mí mismo. Y lo que yo diga ahora de mí, lo digo de ti, ...porque lo que yo tengo lo tienes tú y cada átomo de mi cuerpo es tuyo también. Vago... e invito a vagar a mi alma. Vago y me tumbo a mi antojo sobre la tierra para ver cómo crece la hierba del estío. Mi lengua y cada molécula de mi sangre nacieron aquí, de esta tierra y de estos vientos. Me engendraron padres que nacieron aquí, de padres que engendraron otros padres que nacieron aquí,

[@TheSarge5445]

It's sad that a video like this has less than 35,000 views, yet a video of some idiot making himself look like an ass has 35,000,000. I commend you for your interpretative deliverance of this masterpiece of American Romantic poetry, sir. What a great voice you have! Whitman himself would surely be proud to hear your stirring rendition of his magnum opus. This is one of the works that everyone, at least every American, should read at some point in their lives.

[@jayelbe5068]

Ahhhh please oh please read Leaves of Grass Section 4....Thank you so much for what you've done here...this and other readings have opened me up to the world of poetry.

[@SpokenVerse]

+Jay Elbe Here's Section 4 - I think. kzbin.info/www/bejne/oGLcY2eZgMqEqZI

[@KingMinosxxvi]

this is the best reading on you tube by far

[@annacottage4536]

Beautifully read. Thank you, Anna.

[@Rosenmone13]

Thank you for thisbeautiful recitation !

[@pizazza]

Thank you for your reading, it was extraordinary.

[@caiocfp]

Thank you for uploading this and congratulations for the awesome reading.

[@danielwolzen3405]

I love you Tom! Especially when you do Omar kayyam. You are a beast my dude!

[@toriinprogress]

Top notch reading. I wish there was a reading of its entirty. Doing my poetry essay on this poem for English 122... Thanks for the upload. Best.

[@RIVERMILLO]

@SpokenVerse from argentina, very far from where you are, i found your recordings excellent, you put the magic of the book in my ears, thanks

[@johnnyrushman9619]

My favorite poet.

[@SpokenVerse]

@paperbullet1945 In the first edition, 1855, the first line is "I celebrate myself" The words "and sing myself" appear in later editions. I am not aware of any other changes to this part.

[@raphaeldantona1550]

This reading is so amazing. /2020

[@paperbullet1945]

Wikipedia has a sound recording of someone reading parts of Whitman's poem "America", thought to be the poet himself, on the "Leaves of Grass" page. He sounds like he's reading a list or something, not a poem. On another note, it also says that the title "Leaves of Grass" is a pun; "leaves" referring to leaves of paper (as in loose-leaf), and "grass" being publisher slang for a work of minor value.

[@hinkle1345]

Paper towns brought me here

[@PaulMeier32]

Greatest reading ever.

[@paperbullet1945]

Which edition is this?

[@Fosterz1020]

Whitman sounds very much like an old man in the wax recording they have of him. It makes me think of my grandfather. This is read very well.

[@donna6785]

This is a very beautiful poem.. 😘

[@vampiroast]

Me gustó tu traducción, también ando en eso :)

[@timbrady6473]

I hate poetry but this blew me away.

[@Hausofcozy108]

paper towns :)

[@DamionHamilton1277]

wow!!

[@Heisbig]

thanks didn't feel like reading this in my textbook..........you just made my homework easy.

[@RIVERMILLO]

@SpokenVerse from argentina, very far from where you are, i found your recordings excellent, you put the magic of the book in my ears, thanks