Review of "Walt Whitman’s I Hear America Singing," pictures by Fernando Krahn

Review of

Walt Whitman’s I Hear America Singing, pictures by Fernando Krahn

Five out of five stars

 Walt Whitman was an American poet that was a trailblazer in developing new or modified forms of poetry. He traveled the country and saw the consequences of the American Civil War firsthand, serving as a volunteer nurse for wounded Union soldiers. His epic “Leaves of Grass” was derided by many as obscene, for he openly wrote about human sexuality.

 One of his shortest and simplest poems is “I Hear American Singing,” which is only eleven lines long. This book is a visual representation of the poem, where each line appears on the left page, embedded in an image that takes up both facing pages. The poem is a tribute to many occupations, from the shoemaker, the mason, boatman and the woodcutter. A point of interest appears on the pages featuring the mason, where two of the workers are clearly African-American.

 The poem is a simple one, even students in the middle of elementary school will understand it. It is a celebration of the American working people, singing as they go about their jobs.