Whitman in Love

Half a century following Whitman’s 1892 passing, a secret notebook was discovered containing an early 12-poem series titled “Live Oak, with Moss” which had been heavily revised and incorporated into his later opus “Leaves of Grass.” Performed by John Kevin Jones, the original series of unrevised poems reveals Whitman’s intimate emotions and his deep vulnerability as he daringly traces a searing romantic relationship with another man. This poem cycle confirms Whitman as a queer icon of his time, and Whitman in Love honors this hidden legacy of “America’s poet.”