Song of the Open Road - Walt Whitman Info

Walt Whitman is considered by many to be the most talented American poet of the 1800's. His epic work "Leaves of Grass" was perhaps his greatest masterpiece as he translated the Spirit of his Soul into the free verse structure that was his trademark. Whitman's style broke from the rigid traditions of poetic rhyming and structural patterns to breathe life into words in a way that had not been done before. As an early American pioneer Whitman's poems include "Song of Myself", "Out of the Cradle Endlessly Rocking", "Reconciliation", "When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom'd", and as featured on this episode of Next Exit "Song of the Open Road."

"Song of the Open Road" paints a visual journey that expresses Whitman's zest for life and takes full responsibility for its own place in the world. Even amid the beggar, drunkard, and hearse, Whitman sees beyond the appearance world into the heart of the activity taking place around him. He turns the depravity of the human condition into a majestic playground of rhythm and love. Given the context of the Victorian society in which Whitman lived, his expression is all more remarkable. "Song of the Open Road" is a poem that winds through the country side like a child exploring a new world. It is a journey that comes upon events as they happen and accepts all forms as having a deeper meaning and beauty.

Whitman, who lived from 1819-1892, never spent any time in Nebraska himself. However, upon reading "Song of the Open Road" the reader will note the same Spirit of Truth that flows through Whitman's poem winding through the natural treasures of Nebraska's hidden highways.