when we look at langston hughes and langston definitely being inspired by walt whitman so i would would love what this work to introduce you to your book, your new book you told how whitman's reputation has waxed and waned and i was wondering whether now when we come to the black lives matter movements we come to it at january 6, should we look at hiwhitman to restore our beliefor should we look at him differently ? >> it's a fascinating question. part of the reason why is reputation waxed and waned is because he is someone who we have traditionally invested so much of our own interpretation in. so certainly his record in supporting people of color is really hardly met. yet he is an icon for lgbt q plus people. how much we read him as a whole mixed picture as opposed to picking out different parts, you know, changes depending on where we are at politically as well. so i think you have to understand about these things in terms of the context of their time. i tried where i could to give as much context as possible. and i think you also have to recognize that we are imperfect human beings

i was going i say that walt whitman in his poem, his wonderful eulogy written after the death of lincoln lilacs last in the door areas broomed, he described lincoln as the great western star, illuminating the landscape americans landscape, and in a sense that is what lincoln always was to me. this kind of beautiful, wonderful, star but also a little bit removed, and someone inaccessible. didn't see him attached to his contemporary culture and i thought but the culture, the greatest literary period in american literary history, and emmer union, thorough, melville, emily dickenson, walt whitman and then frederick douglass, harriet beecher stowe, john brown, william lloyds garrison and just so much going on, such a wonderful period, and wall -- walt whitman in 1856 fantasized but a president coming from across the alleghenies from the west, at that time illinois was considered the west. and he didn't know but lincoln at all but said some boatman or raftsman in working man, bearded, shrewd, working person, honest, would -- and whitman said i wish he would step across the allegheny and write

i was going to say walt whitman in his eulogy written after the death of lincoln he describes how lincolngreat western star of a limiting the landscape. in a sense that's what lang can always was to me, this kind of beautiful wonderful star but also a a little bit removed but somewhat inaccessible. i don't didn't see them attached toto his contemporary culture tn i spent years thinking about that culture. after all it was the greatest literary period in american literary history. emerson thoreau hawthorne poe emily dickinson or walt whitman and many wonderful figures such as frederick douglas harriett beecher stowe and john brown william lloyd harrison and just so much going on in such a wonderful period and walt whitman in 1856 fantasized about the alleghenies from the west when illinois was considered -- and he didn't know about lincoln at all but he said both are bearded shrewd honest and whitman said i wish you would step across the alleghenies and right into the - white house. this was the time of james buchanan and franklin pierce and other inferior presence and lo and behold four y

in the dream, walt whitman and the expert of 19 the new book, you told about how whitman's reputationnow, when we cover the black lives matter movement and the january 6, surely look at women to restore our belief in america or should look at him differently. >> is a fascinating question of a part ofis the reason why his reputation waned is because he is someone who we have traditionally invested so much of our own interpretation in. certainly, his record in supporting people of color is really horribly met and yet he is an icon for lgbtq people and how much we read him as the whole mixed picture, as opposed to picking up different parts of you know, changing depending on where we are at as well. i think you have to understand it in terms of context of their time. and i tried were good to give as much context as possible. and then you also have to recognize that we are imperfect human beings. and try to take what we can, learn from these poetics forbearers and set aside those things that are like not useful during that. so i think that women is a great example off that. and of course

emerson, thoreau, poe and emily dickinson, walt whitman and then you meet such wonderful individualsdouglass, harriet beecher still and of course there wasjohn brown , just so much going on and it's such a wonderful period. walt whitman in 1856 fantasized about a president coming from across the alleghenies from the west in fact, the illinois and he didn't know about lincoln at all that he said bowman and workingmen, bearded, shrewd, a working person of honest and whitman said i wish he would go across the alleghenies and ride into the white house . this was at the time of frank buchanan and pierce was the other inferior president and lo and behold, four years later here comes a. and he is sold as a illinois rail splitter and lincoln didn't like that name, nor did he like mister president or mister lincoln. he preferred lincoln but he did say i know i was not going to get elected without the image and that's what i call my book a. it's about an intersection between him and basically what got him elected. which was his knowledge of his contemporary america and emerson said about linco

emerson, thoreau, hawthorne, walt whitman and then a such suh wonderful figures as frederick douglassderful period. in they didn't know about lincoln at all but they said both. he said i wish you would step aside in the house and this is at the time low and behold four years later here comes abe sold as a honest abe and lincoln didn't particularly like that name or mr. president or mr. lincoln. he preferred lincoln but he did say they knew i wasn't going to get elected without the image. it's about the intersection between him and basically what got him elected which was his knowledge on contemporary america. there's all ranges of culture from the lowest to highest. lincoln could recite shakespeare by the page and many other poets. not to brag because these lines meant something to him. anded he liked humor and everything in between. sappy parlor and so forth so he strongly believed it was shaped by conditions that stated he believed in the individual's capacity to shape so my book is about that interchange between him and how that guided him into the presidency. he was compared often

walt whitman and his wonderful eulogy written out after the death of lincoln describes lincoln as thern star illuminating the landscape and in a sense, that's what lincoln always was to me, this kind of beautiful, wonderful star but also a little bit removed and someone inaccessible. it was the greatest literary period in history. emerson, thoreau and then the wonderful figures of frederick douglass, harriet beecher stowe and of course there was john brown, william lloyd garrison. walt whitman in 1856 fantasized about a president coming from across the alleghenies from the west and he didn't know about lincoln at all but he said shrewd working person, honest and i wish he had stuck across the alleghenies and went into the white - house. he is sold as honest abe and lincoln didn't particularly like that name nor did he like mr. president or mr. lincoln or anything like that. but hehe did say i know i wasn't going to get elected without the image and it's really about the intersection between him and what got w him elected, which ws his knowledge of this america.ary he said there is no

in the 18 hundreds and 1930s included our palms from celebrated writers from francis scott key walt whitman and frederick douglass as well as the work of lesser-known poets kim roberts is the author of a literary guide to washington dc walking in the footsteps of american writers from francis scott key and five books of poems most recently the scientific method. a rage collection the collection focuses on topics such as race, corruption, gun violence, police neutrality, reproductive freedom and sexual harassment and abuse of women tara campbell is and writer, teacher, fellow and fiction editor and received her msa from american university and the author of the novel have three other collections. and cabinet of wrath. moderating the discussion between the three powerful poets is an award-winning literary activist and author of two memoirs hosting the w - - morning radio show on the margin and host and produces the scholars. with the 2020 tell the award in the latest book and poetry by the black caucus. the only regret not only celebrating your work in person here in gaithersburg. >> nice to

they selected writings by walt whitman, emily dickinson, frederick douglass and others. extremely beautiful publication. indeed, it did almost shame bostonians and others into taking better care of the memorial. the memorial was conserved, and the names of the 54th were inscribed on the back of it. we've concluded our exhibition with examples by two other artists who have continued to reflect on the importance of the 54th, seeing them as a symbol of cultural and racial pride. of course, the very well-known artist carrie may weems. this is from a series of photographs she made, "from here i saw what happened and i cried." it's a number of images that look back at how african-americans have been depicted by others over time. and here, she took one of richard benson's photographs and she printed it through a blood red filter which, of course, gives this sense of all the blood that was shed. then she has placed it behind a glass on which she has etched the words, "restless after the longest winter you marched and marched and marched." suggesting the very long process of the

included our poems by celebratedit writers such as francis scott key, walt whitman and frederick douglass as well as the work of lesser-known poets. kim roberts is the author of a literary guide to washington dc walking inlk the footsteps of american writers from francis scott key and five books of poems most recently the scientific method political af the hybrid book of poetry and prose focusing on topics such as race, corruption, gun violence police brutality reproductive freedom in sexual harassment and abuse of women. campbell is a writer, teacher, fellow and fiction editor receiving her msa from american university and the author of the novel of three other collections and cabinet of wrath. moderating the discussion between these three powerful poetss is an award-winning literary activist and author of two memoirs and several poetry collections he host the morning radio show and host and produces on tv which has the 2020 award. his latest book is god invented baseball awarded the 2019 literary award for poetry by the black caucus of the american library association. as a turn it over

included are poems by celebrated writers such as francis - walt whitman and frederick douglass as well as the work of lesser-known poet. kim roberts is the author of the literary guide from washington dc. walking in the footsteps of american writers from francis to others. in five books of poems. it and most recently, the scientific method. political af, "political af" by tara campbell is a hybrid book of poetry. the collection focuses on topics such as race, corruption, gun violence, police brutality, confederate monuments, reproductive freedom and the sexual harassment and abuse of women. tara campbell is a writer, teacher, a fellow and fiction editor. she received her msa from american university. she is the author of the novel and three other collections. bicycle, midnight at the - and cabinet, and all collection. moderating the discussion between these three poetry discussions as an award-winning literary activist and author of two memoirs in several poetry collections. he hosted wp fw morning radio show on the margin with ethel miller and hosts and produces the scholars on tv whi

walt whitman and frederick douglass as well as the work of lesser known poets. kim roberts is the author of eight literary guide to washington d.c., walking in the footsteps of american writers from francis scott key and five books of poems. most recently the scientific method, political af arrays collection by campbell is the hybrid chapbook of poetry and prose. the collection focuses on topics such as race, corruption, son violence, police brutality, confederate monuments, reproductive freedom and the sexual harassment of abusive women. he is a writer, teacher, fellow in fiction editor at barrel house. she received her msa from american university and has been moved to the author of the novel and three other collection, derksen bicycle, midnight and cabinet of wrath a collection moderate the discussion between three powerful poets is e ethel berg miller award-winning literary activist and author of two memoirs and several poetry collections. he house the morning radio show, with e ethelbert miller which received 82020 kelly award. his latest book is god invent

he loved baseball, was a hotspot and he played the bridge and was a fan of walt whitman and cited the poems from several american poets and was by several accounts quite the ladies man. all the while he was helping speed up the creation of their own atomic bomb the most obvious and fascinating is what is in the subtitle and the fact that he was never caught. it gives readers the expected intrigue of espionage details there are many codenames. the various cover shots in manhattan. and in his suspicious routines had quite an adventure finding the addresses and then visiting the premises and measuring the distance as for example from the main cover shop in manhattan to the flatiron building where meetings had taken place it took seven minutes by the way. but the book goes beyond that. showing the hopes, fears and beliefs of the decisions and accomplishments. everyone's life must have meaning and i wanted to unveil the people and events that shaped the meeting to immerse the reader into the historical context in which the five functioned to basically deepen the themes and significance of

included are poems by celebrated writers such as francis scott key, wallet whitman and fred -- walt whitman frederick douglass as well as the work of lesser known poets. tim roberts is the author of a literary guide to washington, d.c.: walking in the footsteps of american writers from francis scott key to zora neale hurston, most p recently the scientific method, political ap, a rage collection by tara campbell is a hybrid book of poetry and prose. the collection focuses on topics such as race, corruption, gun violence, police brutality, confederate monuments, reproductive freedom and the sexual harassment and abuse of women. tara campbell is a writer, teacher and fiction editor at farrell house. she received her msa from american university. she's thero author of the novel treevolution and three other collections, bicycle, midnight at the -- and cabinet of wrath. moderating the discussion between these three powerful points is e. ethel burt miller, an award winning literary activist and author of two memoirs and several poetry collections. he hosts the radio show on the margin and hosts a

walt whitman who was prosecuted, whose writing was prosecuted under the comstock law wrote to a common prostitute. one thing that's shocking to people is prostitution existed in many different forms from brothel houses to these waiter girls who would so you drinks but really they were trying to sell you sex, to streetwalkers. so the idea, meaning it was not behind the scenes. it was open and you can imagine how shocking this would be to write congregationalist from rural connecticut. >> can you give sort of concise form what the law was he got past? because this is key to how we fight all of these women that crop up. >> yes, there was already an obscenity law before he went to washington, but what made the comstock law unique was it criminalize the mailing of both obscenity and contraception, contraception information and abortion information, with much steeper sentences, with steep sentences and fines. so what it did for the first time was it included in existing obscenity law information about an actual contraception. >> so that's where he first get into these fights with the women.

and yasmeen, walt whitman congratulations and you have family and with that. what it was like to write about the book something you yourself were reporting on, but also living? >> that's a great question. >> it took an emotional toll, a big part of our day. we couldn't work together, brain storm and we had to do interviews on the phone or on zoom and you know, you can only build that relationship a little bit easier if you're meeting in person and build trust that way. we were cold calling a lot of people and not really able to meet them, a lot of times not able to see their faces and of course, we're all stuck at home and scared. for so much of last year we were really really scared for our families, our friends, living in parts of the country that were getting hit really hard. so we were covering this and we were hearing stories how-- and i wrote a bunch with you, how no one knows who is in charge and the number of task forces and just how off the rails things are so much of the time and it's stressful. i think it's much more stressful than maybe we were cov