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Poetry in America

Leaves of Grass, by Walt Whitman

Season 2 Episode 8 | 26m 46s

In 1855 Walt Whitman declared “The United States themselves are essentially the greatest poem.” Join host Elisa New as Poetry in America celebrates the 200th anniversary of Walt Whitman’s birth with Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan, playwright Tony Kushner, poets Mark Doty and Marilyn Chin, and a chorus of National Student Poets, discussing Whitman’s powerful and timeless work.

Aired: 05/22/20 | Expires: 06/27/20
Support for Poetry in America is provided by the National Endowment for the Humanities, Dalio Family Fund, the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, Deborah Hayes Stone and Max Stone, Nancy Zimmerman and Walmart. Seasons 4 & 3 are distributed to PBS stations nationwide by PBS Plus, with Seasons 1 & 2 distributed nationally by American Public Television.
Extras
Watch • 0:30
Poetry in America
Season 4 Preview
Performers, politicians, preachers and more join Elisa New to celebrate American poems.
Preview: S4 | 0:30
Watch • 25:21
Poetry in America
Phillis Wheatley: To the University
Poems by Wheatley with Amanda Gorman, Henry Louis Gates, Jr., Richard Blanco, and more.
Episode: S4 E1 | 25:21
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