Here, by myself, away from the clank of the world,
Tallying and talked to here by tongues aromatic,
No longer abashed—for in this secluded spot I can
respond as I would not dare elsewhere,
Strong upon me the life that does not exhibit itself,
yet contains all the rest,
Resolved to sing no songs to-day but those of manly
attachment
- Walt Whitman (1819–1892). Leaves of Grass
The Calamus Edition of Walt Whitman’s Leaves of Grass caused a sensation when it appeared in 1860. To celebrate the 150th anniversary of the publication of this revolutionary work of art, AOP and the Walt Whitman Project asked a select group of composers to create new songs set to these poems.
Leaves of Grass was revolutionary in its bold use of free verse to declare openly and loudly the wonder and physical joy of the body and its sexuality. In the Calamus edition, the poems courageously celebrate homoerotic love, opening cracks in the stranglehold of Victorian mores on public expression of sensuality and acknowledging it as a basis of the happy and well-lived life. No less iconoclastic was Whitman’s call for the right of all to live life as each saw fit and to break the forced conformity of his age, leading to his passionate embrace of democracy and the freedom of the individual.
May 2, 2010
Noon - 5 p.m.
preview
Part of the 30th Fort Greene Association House Tour
181 Washington Park & South Oxford Space (138 South Oxford St.)
Fort Greene, Brooklyn, NY 11217
Performed by Adrienne Danrich, Jesse Blumberg, Grant Clarke
Karen Poleshuck & Hamilton Berry, cello
TICKETS: $20 Advance / $25 day of
Tickets and info:
http://historicfortgreene.org/house-tour-2010/
May 10, 2010
6:00 p.m.
In celebration of the exhibit "Calamus at 150"
Hudson Guild Art Gallery
441 West 26th Street (between 9th and 10th Avenues)
New York, NY 10001
DIRECTIONS
Performed by Adrienne Danrich, Jesse Blumberg, Grant Clarke
Karen Poleshuck & Hamilton Berry, cello
TICKETS: FREE
The exhibit "Calamus at 150" aims to include creative artists who continue to use the ideas which Whitman set free in all of his writings; to highlight his special courage in writing the Calamus poems; and to display works which praise, enjoy, celebrate and “sing the body electric” and its sensuality without being pornographic. It hopes to demonstrate Whitman’s courage and passion with a display of visual artworks by present-day artists which interpret or are inspired by these poems and this book. The curators of the exhibit, Jim Pavlicovic and Jim Furlong, will accept work from painters, printmakers, sculptors, and other visual artists.
June 2, 2010
Part of Make Music NY 2010
Fort Greene Park, Brooklyn, NY
Performed by Adrienne Danrich, Grant Clarke
Karen Poleshuck , cello
DIRECTIONS
July 9, 2010
Opera Grows in Brooklyn
Galapagos Art Space, Brooklyn, NY
Performed by Adrienne Danrich
Hamilton Berry, cello
