from SONG OF MYSELF
I and this mystery here we stand.
Clear and sweet is my soul, and clear and sweet is all that is not
my soul.
Lack one lacks both, and the unseen is proved by the seen,
Till that becomes unseen and receives proof in its turn.
Showing the best and dividing it from the worst age vexes age,
Knowing the perfect fitness and equanimity of things, while they
discuss I am silent, and go bathe and admire myself.
Welcome is every organ and attribute of me, and of any man
hearty and clean,
Not an inch nor a particle of an inch is vile, and none shall be
less familiar than the rest.
I am satisfied—I see, dance, laugh, sing.
Cheers & Happy Reading!
Flossie Benton Rogers, Conjuring the Magic in Romance
Leaves of Grass, considered a classic that established Whitman as one of the originators of a uniquely American poetic voice, was “banned in Boston” in 1882.
But why wonder if we think that even Shakespeare was banned along the time. The latest in 2011 in Arizona – The Tempest!!!!!
In my library career we celebrated Banned Books Week every September, highlighting the ridiculous attempts at censorship. The Tempest– can you imagine?
I have never thought it possible, but yes, it is. According to Arizona state law A.R.S.-15-112, The Tempest—in which a banished duke with magical servants seeks to reclaim his throne—was deemed inappropriate for schools, as the law prohibited courses that “promote the overthrow of the United States government, promote resentment toward a race or class of people, are designed primarily for pupils of a particular ethnic group or advocate ethnic solidarity instead of the treatment of pupils as individuals.”
And we live in a so-called modern age!
Craziness! Some actions are just not logical in the least.