Whitman Illuminated: Song of Myself

I had not knowingly read this poem in decades... but as I pored over the pages, I found many sections familiar. The work is truly iconic. I absolutely love reading / deciphering / admiring the poems as interpreted through Allen Crawford's inspired lettering and illustrations. It's the sort of book you can get lost in for an hour, or just pick up for a few minutes. I'm very happy to own this edition, and hope Mr. Crawford takes on other great works with his unique style.

I firmly believe that the publishing world must always adapt, evolve, and break new ground. This book does just that. Yes, it is Walt Whitman’s Song of Myself, unaltered and unabridged. However, Allen Crawford blended art and text to create something entirely new, all while still honoring the original poem. Each page progresses the poem and integrates it with art. At times, the text is virtually unreadable because it twists and turns, but it always serves a purpose, it always works in tandem with the illustration. This book is like a riddle in that you must reposition it in order to read every page, you must study the illustration on each page to decipher its relevance to the text; in short, you must pause and ponder. That’s not a bad thing. If you only want a copy of Song of Myself, this book probably isn’t for you. Like I said, it is at times virtually unreadable. Rest assured you can find thousands of versions of the original poem in bookstores, online, or in any English textbook beginning at the seventh grade level. But, if you appreciate Song of Myself and want to see it in a new light, this book will delight. If you desire to see something a little different from the publishing industry, this is a superb example. If you love art, text, and any combination of the two, this book is for you. Or maybe you just want to see an item that exemplifies blood, sweat, and tears, and you want to reward the creator’s hard work by saying, “You did something unique, honorable, and interesting. I want to support your efforts by purchasing the book.” Whatever the case may be, if you fall into any of the previous categories, I truly think you’ll enjoy this book.

Beautifully done. You don't even have to be familiar with the poem, or look at the drawings in order, to get what the text is about. A bit of text here and there, taken in alongside the drawings and you feel the power of what Whitman was talking about. I loved Crawford's Lord Breaulove Swells Whimsy phase, and I love this. Reading Daniel Pinkwater's Young Adult Novel (and forming a chapter of Dada Ducks in my own school) helped me get through high school. I sense the same sort of tongue in cheek "serious" fun in the things Crawford chooses to do and find myself wishing I could find the time in my "adult" life to form another salon of morons.

Very original and beautiful

America's greatest poet deserves to have his poems read straight-up. Illustrations are one thing, but this book is something else. The artist is clearly a talented designer and calligrapher, but he seems to approach Whitman's poetry primarily as a challenge to cram, bend, twist, and stuff the passages from Song of Myself onto one page. He succeeds in the cramming, The problem is it makes the poem unreadable. An artist who seeks to illustrate a great poem may be big. But he isn't bigger than the poem, and certainly not bigger that the greatest poem ever written in this country.

As a fan of the graphic novel I was immediately drawn to this project and began to follow it in its nascent stages. The author would post pictures of his large, two page illustrations and typographical efforts on social media and I was hooked. Having the book in my hands, well it's damned near erotic. In an age of the ephemeral this manuscript feels almost illicit in its bold sensuality. This is not a poetry book for the shelves - it's for slipping under the pillow or into the napsack for a hike out to the hill or the park to read choice passages aloud to friends, passed around like a good bottle of wine or a joint. If you've read Scott McCloud's work than you'll realize something special is happening here with the interplay between the illustration, typography and the text itself. The image-forming pathways of the brain must interact with the language pathways - it makes the poem shimmer and dance on the edges of a realm I've usually reserved for graphic novels (Chris Ware comes to mind). I'm grateful to the author for rekindling my love of Whitman with this work - the poem is soulful. It's like sharing a peach with a partner on a warm summer day, under the shade of an oak tree by an expansive river. This is something to be treasured - it makes the heart soar, the mind wander, the face blush... and if you're a sharp knucklehead like me, it'll sneak you a few finely-tuned LOLs.

This is an amazingly gorgeous book. The illustrations are absolutely lovely. The text is formatted around and with the illuminations, so this is not necessarily a good copy to use if you just want to read the poem straight through. I will be reading it with another copy of "Song of Myself" so that I can make sure not to mix up the lines.

Truly immerse yourself in the words of Whitman. Some things are not meant to be rushed.