Verse 15
Verse 15
Let's do this together
Dear friends, trusty Whitman, Alabama followers, newbies and fellow human beings, These days we’re all trying to be safe, to navigate the new Covid-19 reality, and to find intimacy from a distance. Whitman, Alabama is about connection and finding ways to bring many voices together. In this project, you’ll find a kaleidoscope of southern voices joined with Walt Whitman’s -- a Yankee and one of our greatest poets. In search of new ways to bring Americans together during these fractured times, we invite you to join us. Would you like to be a part of this Emmy®-nominated project? Grab your camera and show us a bit of your lives while reciting a few lines from Verse 15 of Whitman’s Song of Myself. The poem is beautiful. It urges Americans to discover one another. Once we receive your videos, we'll weave them together, make the verse complete, and it will forever become part of Whitman, Alabama. Check out the verse and some filming tips and tricks below. And please share this invitation far and wide. We are not bound by any borders. We’ll be collecting contributions until May 31, 2020, Walt Whitman’s birthday! We’ll let you know of any changes to that date, and share updates on our progress, via Instagram and Twitter. Thanks everyone. We can’t wait to see what you send us! ~ The Whitman, Alabama Team
What we want
- Recite lines while doing whatever you want.
- Be serious. Be funny. Be creative. Be you.
- Show us your world.
- Don’t worry about perfection. Leave the messy bits.
- Feel free to recite the lines in a language other than English. You can find some translations here. Or, translate the lines yourself. Sign language would also work well.
Advice on picking and reciting the lines
- You can upload 1-3 files. Only one needs to be of you reciting.
- Choose a section or two of lines. You’ll see how we’ve created sections using bold in the verse text down below.
- Choose just a single line, any line. Here are some suggestions: 11, 18, 37, 39, 44, and 52.
- Or, read the whole thing!
- Extra credit goes to anyone who ALSO recites the last few lines of the poem, 61-66.
- No need to sound like a poet. Just recite in the way that makes you feel you.
- No need to memorize anything. If you can, cool.
- Feel free to read from a page.
- If you decide to read up close to a computer camera, position a browser window with the verse text right under the lens. You can read and look towards the camera at the same time!
Looking for ideas?
- Invite your kids, parents, grandparents, friends, co-workers or strangers to recite with you. (Please maintain any appropriate physical/social distancing.)
- Record lines during a Zoom conference, FaceTime or Skype call.
- Show us what you’re up to: recite while cooking dinner, doing yoga on your roof, changing a diaper, hang gliding, working.
- Are you still going to a work site? Show us that.
- Or, just put your face up close to a camera and keep it as simple as that.
Tech specs
- Use the device you’re comfortable with:
- cell phone camera
- iPad camera
- laptop camera
- the fancy camera you got for your birthday but never use. Now’s the time!
- Make sure we can hear you.
- If you know how, change camera settings to record the highest quality possible (HD, 4K, we’ll take it all!)
Want to know more?
- Visit Whitman, Alabama. This is where the final video will live.
- For more on Song of Myself by Walt Whitman, click here.
- For more on Verse 15 specifically, click here.
Above all else, remember...
Just have fun.
There is no right way to recite.
Anything you send us will be so appreciated.
We’ll do everything we can to make you feel proud of being a part of this.
**If you run into any issues, you should feel free to contact us at: [email protected].**