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Live Oak, with Moss
As he was turning forty, Walt Whitman wrote twelve poems in a small handmade book he entitled “Live Oak, With Moss.” The poems were intensely private reflections on his attraction to and affection for other men. They were also Whitman’s most adventurous explorations of the theme of same-sex love, composed decades before the word “homosexual” came into use. This revolutionary, extraordinarily beautiful and passionate cluster of poems was never published by Whitman and has remained unknown to the general public—until now. New York Times bestselling and Caldecott Award–winning illustrator Brian Selznick offers a provocative visual narrative of “Live Oak, With Moss,” and Whitman scholar Karen Karbiener reconstructs the story of the poetic cluster’s creation and destruction. Walt Whitman’s reassembled, reinterpreted Live Oak, With Moss serves as a source of inspiration and a cause for celebration.
192 pages, Hardcover
Published April 9, 2019
20 people are currently reading
662 people want to read
About the author
Walt Whitman
1,842 books5,468 followersWalter Whitman Jr. was an American poet, essayist, and journalist. He is considered one of the most influential poets in American literature. Whitman incorporated both transcendentalism and realism in his writings and is often called the father of free verse. His work was controversial in his time, particularly his 1855 poetry collection Leaves of Grass, which was described by some as obscene for its overt sensuality.
Whitman was born in Huntington on Long Island, and lived in Brooklyn as a child and through much of his career. At the age of 11, he left formal schooling to go to work. He worked as a journalist, a teacher, and a government clerk. Whitman's major poetry collection, Leaves of Grass, first published in 1855, was financed with his own money and became well known. The work was an attempt to reach out to the common person with an American epic. Whitman continued expanding and revising Leaves of Grass until his death in 1892.
During the American Civil War, he went to Washington, D.C., and worked in hospitals caring for the wounded. His poetry often focused on both loss and healing. On the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, whom Whitman greatly admired, he authored two poems, "O Captain! My Captain!" and "When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom'd", and gave a series of lectures on Lincoln. After suffering a stroke towards the end of his life, Whitman moved to Camden, New Jersey, where his health further declined. When he died at the age of 72, his funeral was a public event.
Whitman's influence on poetry remains strong. Art historian Mary Berenson wrote, "You cannot really understand America without Walt Whitman, without Leaves of Grass... He has expressed that civilization, 'up to date,' as he would say, and no student of the philosophy of history can do without him." Modernist poet Ezra Pound called Whitman "America's poet... He is America."
Whitman was born in Huntington on Long Island, and lived in Brooklyn as a child and through much of his career. At the age of 11, he left formal schooling to go to work. He worked as a journalist, a teacher, and a government clerk. Whitman's major poetry collection, Leaves of Grass, first published in 1855, was financed with his own money and became well known. The work was an attempt to reach out to the common person with an American epic. Whitman continued expanding and revising Leaves of Grass until his death in 1892.
During the American Civil War, he went to Washington, D.C., and worked in hospitals caring for the wounded. His poetry often focused on both loss and healing. On the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, whom Whitman greatly admired, he authored two poems, "O Captain! My Captain!" and "When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom'd", and gave a series of lectures on Lincoln. After suffering a stroke towards the end of his life, Whitman moved to Camden, New Jersey, where his health further declined. When he died at the age of 72, his funeral was a public event.
Whitman's influence on poetry remains strong. Art historian Mary Berenson wrote, "You cannot really understand America without Walt Whitman, without Leaves of Grass... He has expressed that civilization, 'up to date,' as he would say, and no student of the philosophy of history can do without him." Modernist poet Ezra Pound called Whitman "America's poet... He is America."
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 116 reviews
March 18, 2021
“Publish my name and hang up my picture as that of the tenderest lover,
The friend, the lover’s portrait, of whom his friend, his lover, was fondest,
Who was not proud of his songs, but of the measureless ocean of love within him–and freely poured forth…” - Walt Whitman “Live Oak, With Moss” (VII)
When reading these few lines from the poem titled VII, I felt an overwhelming sense of love and friendship between me and Walt.
In April of 2019 I had the incredible honor of visiting Walt Whitman’s birthplace. After touring his childhood home, I very happily “toured” the gift shop. I ended up coming away with a stunning edition of “Leave of Grass” (the Death Bed edition), A green leather bookmark, a pin, and about 7 postcards. As you can see, I’m quite the Walt Whitman devotee. Once I got home I proceeded to frame 6 of the postcards on my gallery wall. 5 of them being different portraits of Walt at different ages, and one being a photograph of his home. Now I have a little Walt shine, and I admire it everyday!
I’m sure you can see why reading those lines from VII made my heart swell. “...hang up my picture as that of the tenderest lover…” I did exactly what Walt asked, without knowing that’s what he wished for. I hope, in some way, Walt knows the great impact he’s had on me and so many others. Look Walt, we’re publishing your name and hanging up your picture, indeed with the tenderest love!
This book is very special to me for many different reasons. Firstly, it was gifted/sent to my P. O. Box by a wonderful friend Amelia. The first item I’ve received since opening my P. O. Box! Secondly, it’s illustrated by one of my favorite illustrators Brian Selznick! Thirdly, because it’s a treasure!
As he was turning 40, Walt Whitman wrote 12 poems in a small handmade book he entitled “Live Oak, With Moss.” The poems were intensely private reflections on his attraction to and affection for other men and Whitman’s most adventurous explorations on themes of same-sex love. This revolutionary, beautiful, and passionate cluster of poems was never published by Whitman during his lifetime and has remained mostly unknown to the general public–until now!
He took these somewhat linear poems from “Live Oak, With Moss,” edited them, cut them up, and rearranged them into his “Calamus” poems found in many editions of Leaves of Grass. Hiding them away like diamonds in a heap of glass. They were eventually discovered, and now live in their original and true form!
*starts weeping happy tears*
The friend, the lover’s portrait, of whom his friend, his lover, was fondest,
Who was not proud of his songs, but of the measureless ocean of love within him–and freely poured forth…” - Walt Whitman “Live Oak, With Moss” (VII)
When reading these few lines from the poem titled VII, I felt an overwhelming sense of love and friendship between me and Walt.
In April of 2019 I had the incredible honor of visiting Walt Whitman’s birthplace. After touring his childhood home, I very happily “toured” the gift shop. I ended up coming away with a stunning edition of “Leave of Grass” (the Death Bed edition), A green leather bookmark, a pin, and about 7 postcards. As you can see, I’m quite the Walt Whitman devotee. Once I got home I proceeded to frame 6 of the postcards on my gallery wall. 5 of them being different portraits of Walt at different ages, and one being a photograph of his home. Now I have a little Walt shine, and I admire it everyday!
I’m sure you can see why reading those lines from VII made my heart swell. “...hang up my picture as that of the tenderest lover…” I did exactly what Walt asked, without knowing that’s what he wished for. I hope, in some way, Walt knows the great impact he’s had on me and so many others. Look Walt, we’re publishing your name and hanging up your picture, indeed with the tenderest love!
This book is very special to me for many different reasons. Firstly, it was gifted/sent to my P. O. Box by a wonderful friend Amelia. The first item I’ve received since opening my P. O. Box! Secondly, it’s illustrated by one of my favorite illustrators Brian Selznick! Thirdly, because it’s a treasure!
As he was turning 40, Walt Whitman wrote 12 poems in a small handmade book he entitled “Live Oak, With Moss.” The poems were intensely private reflections on his attraction to and affection for other men and Whitman’s most adventurous explorations on themes of same-sex love. This revolutionary, beautiful, and passionate cluster of poems was never published by Whitman during his lifetime and has remained mostly unknown to the general public–until now!
He took these somewhat linear poems from “Live Oak, With Moss,” edited them, cut them up, and rearranged them into his “Calamus” poems found in many editions of Leaves of Grass. Hiding them away like diamonds in a heap of glass. They were eventually discovered, and now live in their original and true form!
*starts weeping happy tears*
October 16, 2023
The longing that echoes from these pages is palpable - just the desire to be with the one you love. I thin that often you can learn more about an artist by paying attention to their 'lesser' works; I have found that it is here that the artist really shows you who s/he is on a much more intimate level. This is one such work that is sure to be of interest to followers of Walt Whitman.
October 30, 2019
One of the most beautiful books I have the pleasure of owning.
What strikes me most about the poems within, other than their historical importance, and other than their intense reverence for his love, is that of the comfort in the knowledge, hope and vision of a community of men (and implied; people) who love just the same as him.
What strikes me most about the poems within, other than their historical importance, and other than their intense reverence for his love, is that of the comfort in the knowledge, hope and vision of a community of men (and implied; people) who love just the same as him.
April 19, 2019
Stunning. Stunning! Whitman's poems, Brian Selznick's illustrations, Maurice Sendak's inspiration, and Karen Karbiener's analysis are like a conversation across time. To see Whitman's most personal, unpublished poetry presented in such a lush, gorgeous way really celebrates and sings him. (Yawp, for real.)
Like the cluster, Selznick's art unfolds slowly, tenderly, passionately — a visual poem. I loved the combination of his signature colored pencil drawings and collage of 19th and 20th century photography, and the progression from one to the other and back again. When Whitman's be-hatted silhouette in fiery red-orange popped up in the lower right corner, I knew I had to buckle in. And, boy, did Brian Selznick deliver. Pulling out some of the most evocative images from Whitman's text (the moon, a chest, blood, fire, and, of course, the live oak), he gives the tumultuous love story a cosmic significance. Selznick's visual motifs (snow, negative space, windows, contrasts of red-orange and blue, lungs) underscore the poems' oscillation between connection and isolation, fear and confidence. True to Whitman, the climactic images — a chest, the moon — suggest the cosmic significance of self and identity.
I have to note the formatting here, as it all contributes to making this little book an absolute wonder to take in as a piece of art. Selznick's intro sets the scene, grounding the book's existence in his connection to Maurice Sendak. There's something heavy, and touching, in the way the cluster of poems was passed from Whitman to Sendak to Selznick (from VIII: "Does he see himself reflected in me? In these hours does he see the face of his hours reflected?"), a game of telephone where "we exist" is whispered until it can be shouted, and gorgeously illustrated. The illustrations that follow slowly become more intimate until we're back to Whitman's own words, wrestling with identity ("I am ashamed — but it is useless — I am what I am") and a "measureless ocean of love." Then, a reprise of Selznick's art, circling back to the literal internal self, vibrantly cardiovascular, which expands out to the live oak again, giving you a moment to go, "Oh. Wow." And to further this feeling, an afterword by Whitman scholar Karen Karbiener that contextualizes the cluster amongst Whitman's biography and bibliography. The last piece, tying this intimate little package up in a bow, is images of each page of the Live Oak notebook, the poems written in Whitman's own hand, hidden away to be cut up and scattered through Leaves of Grass.
Absolutely beautiful. Five stars! Ten stars! Each leaf of grass no less than the journey-work of the stars!
Like the cluster, Selznick's art unfolds slowly, tenderly, passionately — a visual poem. I loved the combination of his signature colored pencil drawings and collage of 19th and 20th century photography, and the progression from one to the other and back again. When Whitman's be-hatted silhouette in fiery red-orange popped up in the lower right corner, I knew I had to buckle in. And, boy, did Brian Selznick deliver. Pulling out some of the most evocative images from Whitman's text (the moon, a chest, blood, fire, and, of course, the live oak), he gives the tumultuous love story a cosmic significance. Selznick's visual motifs (snow, negative space, windows, contrasts of red-orange and blue, lungs) underscore the poems' oscillation between connection and isolation, fear and confidence. True to Whitman, the climactic images — a chest, the moon — suggest the cosmic significance of self and identity.
I have to note the formatting here, as it all contributes to making this little book an absolute wonder to take in as a piece of art. Selznick's intro sets the scene, grounding the book's existence in his connection to Maurice Sendak. There's something heavy, and touching, in the way the cluster of poems was passed from Whitman to Sendak to Selznick (from VIII: "Does he see himself reflected in me? In these hours does he see the face of his hours reflected?"), a game of telephone where "we exist" is whispered until it can be shouted, and gorgeously illustrated. The illustrations that follow slowly become more intimate until we're back to Whitman's own words, wrestling with identity ("I am ashamed — but it is useless — I am what I am") and a "measureless ocean of love." Then, a reprise of Selznick's art, circling back to the literal internal self, vibrantly cardiovascular, which expands out to the live oak again, giving you a moment to go, "Oh. Wow." And to further this feeling, an afterword by Whitman scholar Karen Karbiener that contextualizes the cluster amongst Whitman's biography and bibliography. The last piece, tying this intimate little package up in a bow, is images of each page of the Live Oak notebook, the poems written in Whitman's own hand, hidden away to be cut up and scattered through Leaves of Grass.
Absolutely beautiful. Five stars! Ten stars! Each leaf of grass no less than the journey-work of the stars!
August 10, 2019
Book blurb: As he was turning forty, Walt Whitman wrote twelve poems in a small handmade book he entitled “Live Oak, With Moss.” The poems were intensely private reflections on his attraction to and affection for other men.
I've dabbled with Whitman's poetry, but have yet to read any of his work from start to finish. This book was highly recommended on a podcast I listen to, and it didn't occur to me that as English majors, those folks would probably have a deeper appreciation of his work than I would.
This is a physically beautiful book. It's a pleasure to simply hold it and flip it in your hands. Then you open it and Brian Selznick's art is colorful and invites you in. I liked the poems, the angst and love and desire and pain of the human condition is captured here. I don't know the man's work enough to appreciate these twelve poems better, but there were lines that moved me. The afterword by Karen Karbiener was interesting, but again I lacked the context needed to really appreciate it.
This is one I'll probably revisit after I'm better acquainted with the poet's work. If you know a Whitman fan, this would make an excellent gift.
I've dabbled with Whitman's poetry, but have yet to read any of his work from start to finish. This book was highly recommended on a podcast I listen to, and it didn't occur to me that as English majors, those folks would probably have a deeper appreciation of his work than I would.
This is a physically beautiful book. It's a pleasure to simply hold it and flip it in your hands. Then you open it and Brian Selznick's art is colorful and invites you in. I liked the poems, the angst and love and desire and pain of the human condition is captured here. I don't know the man's work enough to appreciate these twelve poems better, but there were lines that moved me. The afterword by Karen Karbiener was interesting, but again I lacked the context needed to really appreciate it.
This is one I'll probably revisit after I'm better acquainted with the poet's work. If you know a Whitman fan, this would make an excellent gift.
February 24, 2019
This is a visualization of a cluster of homoerotic Walt Whitman poems that he put together in a secret handmade book around 1850. The drawings by Brian Selznick are exceptional and the afterward by Karen Karbiener contextualizes Whitman's original work within his life and times. Good show all around.
October 17, 2019
I picked this up because I really enjoyed a discussion of it on a podcast I listen to, but clearly I wasn't listening closely enough to understand what I was actually getting in this book. Having never read Walt Whitman (outside of maybe a poem in an English class?), I didn't have enough of a connection to the person or to these poems in their later form to find their "true" form all that interesting. The illustrations were beautiful, but I didn't really feel a connection between them and the poems. I actually found the end matter - some background into Whitman and his body of work - to be the most interesting part of this collection. I think I may have to obtain Leaves of Grass, read it a few times, and then come back to this book to appreciate it better.
April 29, 2021
Superb. The first physical book I've bought in a while and worth every cent with the illustrations. I love Whitman but was surprised that I hadn't heard of these poems, and reading about them and then reading them with Selznick's art-story immediate in the mind was the best experience I've had with poetry in a long time.
November 15, 2020
gay ppl in the 1800s: they're just like us!!
October 1, 2025
A lire et relire !
Live oak, with moss est un recueil de 12 poèmes de l'immense poète américain Walt WHITMAN.
Présents dans son œuvre majeure "Leaves of grass", il s'agit ici du rassemblement de ces poèmes qui ont été écrit comme une entité autonome.
Ils témoignent de toutes les facettes que peut adopter l'amour entre deux hommes dans un monde, en 1855, où le terme "homosexuel" n'existe pas, mais l"homophobie est bien rampante. Entre rencontre, désir brûlant, amour affectueux, résilience, abandon et solitude.
Dans cette édition, une centaine de pages sont des dessins de Brian SELZNICK, qui ne sont pas des illustrations mais une forme d'introduction permettant une meilleure approche des poèmes.
Une étude de Maurice SENDAC conclue l'édition avec une large contextualisation de la vie de l'auteur et de la signification des poèmes.
" But come, I will inform you who i was underneath that impassive exterior - I will tell you what to say of me"
Live oak, with moss est un recueil de 12 poèmes de l'immense poète américain Walt WHITMAN.
Présents dans son œuvre majeure "Leaves of grass", il s'agit ici du rassemblement de ces poèmes qui ont été écrit comme une entité autonome.
Ils témoignent de toutes les facettes que peut adopter l'amour entre deux hommes dans un monde, en 1855, où le terme "homosexuel" n'existe pas, mais l"homophobie est bien rampante. Entre rencontre, désir brûlant, amour affectueux, résilience, abandon et solitude.
Dans cette édition, une centaine de pages sont des dessins de Brian SELZNICK, qui ne sont pas des illustrations mais une forme d'introduction permettant une meilleure approche des poèmes.
Une étude de Maurice SENDAC conclue l'édition avec une large contextualisation de la vie de l'auteur et de la signification des poèmes.
" But come, I will inform you who i was underneath that impassive exterior - I will tell you what to say of me"
January 8, 2026
I’m not exactly the target audience for this poetry in terms of being able to connect to it and, at the risk of sounding uncultured, I do not know who Walt Whitman is so I mostly skimmed the afterword (I’m sorry).
HOWEVER the longing and love that is clearly evident in these twelve poems is astounding. Whitman provides insight into the depth and struggle of being a homosexual man in the 1800s which is such a unique perspective I never thought I would get the chance of reading. Additionally, the illustration provided adds such colour (quite literally) to these poems making them come to life so much more. I have a feeling I’ll return to these poems again (especially when I know more about who Walt Whitman is because I feel like that context might’ve elevated this entire book).
HOWEVER the longing and love that is clearly evident in these twelve poems is astounding. Whitman provides insight into the depth and struggle of being a homosexual man in the 1800s which is such a unique perspective I never thought I would get the chance of reading. Additionally, the illustration provided adds such colour (quite literally) to these poems making them come to life so much more. I have a feeling I’ll return to these poems again (especially when I know more about who Walt Whitman is because I feel like that context might’ve elevated this entire book).
October 7, 2019
"'Live Oak, with Moss' doesn't *declare* manly love organic, natural, and pure; it takes as a given that it *is*... 'Live Oak, with Moss' is Whitman's first sustained attempt to address the naturalness of love beyond traditional heteronormative boundaries." - from the afterword by Karen Karbiener
The naturalness of love in these twelve short poems is in symbiosis with the geography of the natural world as well, making these poems very romantic. But they are enormously sad, save for a few moments, in that this world and his lovers also have the tendency to respond back without passion, as if everything were ambivalent except for the poet himself. There is a yearning here, acknowledging that nothing else matters (not knowledge, nor technology) until love is consummated. Whitman's verses are tender and sweet and painfully echo the drama of a man who cannot reveal his true identity.
These poems were hidden by Whitman. However, he wrote instructions that they be published after his death. In the introduction to this book written by the illustrator, Brian Selznick, we find out that Maurice Sendak was originally asked to illustrate these poems, though he wondered how - he felt that the poems did not need illustrations to go alongside them, that they should stand alone. When Brian Selznick was asked to illustrate after Sendak's death, he remembered this and so drew his work accordingly, not using them as a kind of interpretation or analysis of the work, but rather a little dedication to honor Whitman's words. In this edition of 'Live Oak, with Moss', the first half is all illustration, textures of the tree and field and male body at odd closeups, flames and city and collages of color, all exquisitely rendered as a tribute to the twelve poems that follow in succession.
The afterword is a brief biography of Walt Whitman (he came from poor beginnings) as well as a critical understanding of the importance of 'Live Oak, with Moss' by Karen Karebiener, followed by images of Whitman's actual notebooks containing these poems written in his own hand.
I cherish these poems because they tell me about a love worth living for; that these poems are about men, and their powerful friendships (in the sense of the Ancient Greeks), only heightens my appreciation for this collection as apart from the masses of other publications of poetry.
"Love is desired, is sometimes even won, can be lost; even so, love returns... much remains unknown about our guide, though this is clear: he writes poems convincing himself to stop writing, but he doesn't have to convince himself to start up again. He just does. As ready as he is to relinquish all for a passion-filled life, writing proves too irresistible, too instinctive." - K. Karebiener (158, 162)
The naturalness of love in these twelve short poems is in symbiosis with the geography of the natural world as well, making these poems very romantic. But they are enormously sad, save for a few moments, in that this world and his lovers also have the tendency to respond back without passion, as if everything were ambivalent except for the poet himself. There is a yearning here, acknowledging that nothing else matters (not knowledge, nor technology) until love is consummated. Whitman's verses are tender and sweet and painfully echo the drama of a man who cannot reveal his true identity.
These poems were hidden by Whitman. However, he wrote instructions that they be published after his death. In the introduction to this book written by the illustrator, Brian Selznick, we find out that Maurice Sendak was originally asked to illustrate these poems, though he wondered how - he felt that the poems did not need illustrations to go alongside them, that they should stand alone. When Brian Selznick was asked to illustrate after Sendak's death, he remembered this and so drew his work accordingly, not using them as a kind of interpretation or analysis of the work, but rather a little dedication to honor Whitman's words. In this edition of 'Live Oak, with Moss', the first half is all illustration, textures of the tree and field and male body at odd closeups, flames and city and collages of color, all exquisitely rendered as a tribute to the twelve poems that follow in succession.
The afterword is a brief biography of Walt Whitman (he came from poor beginnings) as well as a critical understanding of the importance of 'Live Oak, with Moss' by Karen Karebiener, followed by images of Whitman's actual notebooks containing these poems written in his own hand.
I cherish these poems because they tell me about a love worth living for; that these poems are about men, and their powerful friendships (in the sense of the Ancient Greeks), only heightens my appreciation for this collection as apart from the masses of other publications of poetry.
"Love is desired, is sometimes even won, can be lost; even so, love returns... much remains unknown about our guide, though this is clear: he writes poems convincing himself to stop writing, but he doesn't have to convince himself to start up again. He just does. As ready as he is to relinquish all for a passion-filled life, writing proves too irresistible, too instinctive." - K. Karebiener (158, 162)
August 3, 2019
I have found him who loves me, as I him, in perfect love,
With the rest I dispense – I sever from all that I thought would suffice me, for it does not – it is now empty and tasteless to me
I knew two things about this book a) that it’s gay and b) that it’s aesthetically pleasing and thus literally fulfills all the criteria I have for buying books these days.
Little you know the subtle electric fire that for your sake is playing within me
I didn’t know, however, that this book is about 75% illustrations [Disclaimer: This book contained just a bit more nudity than I cared for in its illustrations and escalated quite quickly lmao], 20% Afterword and 5% actual text, as it’s really just a poem cluster (Whitman’s own term) consisting of 12 poems. I have to say though that I didn’t mind at all – not only because my Reading Challenge was delighted. The illustrations were really cool if you – literally – looked past the nudity parts and stuck your gaze to the suggestive ones and I thought the interpretation of the poems was very interesting. Also, my philological heart was very pleased by the Afterword and the additional information it gave. I always like to go in blind into reading things, then read the academic “explanations” and then look back to the text to see whether I read the same things into the text or it helps me find different, additional meanings.
Hours discouraged, distracted, – For he, the one I cannot content myself without – soon I saw him content himself without me
I’m usually more of a prose type of person and always a bit at a loss with poems that don’t have rhyme schemes, but reading them a second time round, they are just so good? The language? The feelings? The images? Basically, the proof that poetry is about so much more than just rhyming words. (Duh.)
Publish my name and hang up my picture as that of the tenderest lover,
The friend, the lover’s portrait, of whom his friend, his lover, was fondest,
Who was not proud of his songs, but of the measureless ocean of love within him – and freely poured it forth
So, all in all, this book is just utterly beautiful, on the surface and in its content alike.
To end with words of wisdom from the afterword:
Whether you know him and his work, whatever your sexual orientation and gender, you will find in these poems the timeless and courageous voice of a person attempting to be true to himself, body and soul.
With the rest I dispense – I sever from all that I thought would suffice me, for it does not – it is now empty and tasteless to me
I knew two things about this book a) that it’s gay and b) that it’s aesthetically pleasing and thus literally fulfills all the criteria I have for buying books these days.
Little you know the subtle electric fire that for your sake is playing within me
I didn’t know, however, that this book is about 75% illustrations [Disclaimer: This book contained just a bit more nudity than I cared for in its illustrations and escalated quite quickly lmao], 20% Afterword and 5% actual text, as it’s really just a poem cluster (Whitman’s own term) consisting of 12 poems. I have to say though that I didn’t mind at all – not only because my Reading Challenge was delighted. The illustrations were really cool if you – literally – looked past the nudity parts and stuck your gaze to the suggestive ones and I thought the interpretation of the poems was very interesting. Also, my philological heart was very pleased by the Afterword and the additional information it gave. I always like to go in blind into reading things, then read the academic “explanations” and then look back to the text to see whether I read the same things into the text or it helps me find different, additional meanings.
Hours discouraged, distracted, – For he, the one I cannot content myself without – soon I saw him content himself without me
I’m usually more of a prose type of person and always a bit at a loss with poems that don’t have rhyme schemes, but reading them a second time round, they are just so good? The language? The feelings? The images? Basically, the proof that poetry is about so much more than just rhyming words. (Duh.)
Publish my name and hang up my picture as that of the tenderest lover,
The friend, the lover’s portrait, of whom his friend, his lover, was fondest,
Who was not proud of his songs, but of the measureless ocean of love within him – and freely poured it forth
So, all in all, this book is just utterly beautiful, on the surface and in its content alike.
To end with words of wisdom from the afterword:
Whether you know him and his work, whatever your sexual orientation and gender, you will find in these poems the timeless and courageous voice of a person attempting to be true to himself, body and soul.
December 9, 2019
Where were these poems when I had my fiercest crushes back in high school? Whitman gets it.
These poems were previously never seen, though Whitman cut up some of them and put them in Leaves of Grass. The cluster of 12 poems explores the narrator's relationships with different (or the same?) men and the attending emotions, from giddiness, to love, to despair, to contentedness. The accompanying illustrations really fit the mood of the poem cluster, in my opinion.
These poems were previously never seen, though Whitman cut up some of them and put them in Leaves of Grass. The cluster of 12 poems explores the narrator's relationships with different (or the same?) men and the attending emotions, from giddiness, to love, to despair, to contentedness. The accompanying illustrations really fit the mood of the poem cluster, in my opinion.
January 6, 2020
Recensione completa -> https://thebooksblender.altervista.or...
April 19, 2019
This made me very emotional. The artwork complements the poems very well in my opinion and after I finished the poems, I felt very emotional. 10/10 crying in the bathroom.
September 9, 2019
A beautiful imagining of Whitman's little-known, queerest poems.
December 27, 2019
Poesie delicate, anche se non troppo incisive, inglobate in tavole grafiche forse più entusiasmanti. Interessante l’elemento centrale e LGBT dell’opera in versi.
March 25, 2025
I haven’t read Leaves of Grass, so I don’t know if it would influence how I perceive this work, but I thought these poems were deeply tender and quietly revolutionary. IV, V, and X were my favorites. It’s hard to pick just one quote, but I’ll go with, “Who was not proud of his songs, but of the measureless ocean of love within him- and freely poured it forth.”
June 21, 2019
Its a beautiful embossed and gilt-paged book and thicker than you would assume for twelve short poems. Brian Selznick, a childrens’ book illustrator, fills over half of it with illustrations alluding to the poems, arranged like key frames of an animated sequence. Then you can read the typed poems in their original sequence and finalized forms within what Whitman named “Live Oak, With Moss.” After that comes an in-depth and loving analysis of Whitman’s life around the making of these poems, his choice of words, his known or suspected companionships with other men, etc., written by Karen Karbiener, a scholar on Walt Whitman. After that, photos of the actual pages taken out of their hiding places in his later-published “Leaves of Grass” and arranged in order, whose inclusion I found to be especially moving so that I imagined Whitman physically writing these from his notes, these his most personal sonnets.
I wonder how he felt as he bound the pages with thread—a piece of which is still present in one photo—and looked on his little book full of the depths of his loving soul that many would find revolting and condemning, being obviously arranged together upon one subject that back then had no definitive name.
The poems are beautiful, sweet, heartbreaking, lusty, and bold, and it’s all I really was there for, but the illustrations were entertaining and the explanations were helpful. I suppose I should read more of Walt Whitman’s poetry, but I’m not sure they will make me feel as if I know him more than these. After all, as he says himself in one poem, he would rather be remembered not for his poems so much, but for the love within him...which he “freely poured it forth”...damn it, Walt, I don’t know if I want to use this example anymore...
I wonder how he felt as he bound the pages with thread—a piece of which is still present in one photo—and looked on his little book full of the depths of his loving soul that many would find revolting and condemning, being obviously arranged together upon one subject that back then had no definitive name.
The poems are beautiful, sweet, heartbreaking, lusty, and bold, and it’s all I really was there for, but the illustrations were entertaining and the explanations were helpful. I suppose I should read more of Walt Whitman’s poetry, but I’m not sure they will make me feel as if I know him more than these. After all, as he says himself in one poem, he would rather be remembered not for his poems so much, but for the love within him...which he “freely poured it forth”...damn it, Walt, I don’t know if I want to use this example anymore...
November 21, 2020
This is an absolutely gorgeous book, brilliant with colorful illustrations and shiny gold page edges. The content is first a hundred pages or so of Brian Selznik's expressive artwork to companion the cluster of twelve Whitman poems "Live Oak, with Moss" which are nestled in between the illustrations. There is a wonderfully-written, lengthy afterword by Whitman scholar Karen Karbiener at the end, as well as scans of Whitman's original notepages on which he wrote "Live Oak, with Moss."
As someone discovering this set of poems for the first time-- and indeed this is the first time I've read Whitman in any formal sense, though I know of him of course-- Live Oak, with Moss is a beautiful and moving experience that I highly recommend! "Live Oak, with Moss" is a reminder that queer communities existed long before we had the terminology to call them such.
⭐ 2020 POPSUGAR Reading Challenge ⭐
18. Read a book on a subject you know nothing about
In these dozen poems, Whitman attempts to establish a definition of same-sex love decades before the word "homosexual" was in common parlance, and he dreams of a supportive community of lovers more than one hundred years before today's LGBTQ rights movement. Whether or not you know him and his work, whatever your sexual orientation and gender, you will find in these poems the timeless and courageous voice of a person attempting to be true to himself, body and soul.
As someone discovering this set of poems for the first time-- and indeed this is the first time I've read Whitman in any formal sense, though I know of him of course-- Live Oak, with Moss is a beautiful and moving experience that I highly recommend! "Live Oak, with Moss" is a reminder that queer communities existed long before we had the terminology to call them such.
⭐ 2020 POPSUGAR Reading Challenge ⭐
18. Read a book on a subject you know nothing about
May 6, 2019
Amazing illustrations by Brian Selznick who never fails to be amazing (see The Invention of Hugo Cabret, Wonderstruck, and The Marvels). I wish I actually enjoyed the Walt Whitman poems they were illustrating. And the academic afterward seemed very good but was a bit too detailed on Whitman for my taste. In some dimension this book is superlative, just not completely to my taste--and that may be my own failing.
The book is a set of homoerotic poems that Whitman wrote but never published and were unearthed in recent years. They are in the style of Leaves of Grass and (showing my ignorance) have a high ratio of exuberance to rhyme/wordcraft. Selznick illustrated the poems not in parallel to the text but as an extended wordless graphical preface followed by the poems themselves and a detailed, more academic afterward by Karen Karbiener. All together in a beautifully published volume.
The book is a set of homoerotic poems that Whitman wrote but never published and were unearthed in recent years. They are in the style of Leaves of Grass and (showing my ignorance) have a high ratio of exuberance to rhyme/wordcraft. Selznick illustrated the poems not in parallel to the text but as an extended wordless graphical preface followed by the poems themselves and a detailed, more academic afterward by Karen Karbiener. All together in a beautifully published volume.
December 1, 2019
La Quercia (titolo originale Live Oak, with Moss) ci porta a conoscere le riflessioni intime e profonde di Walt Whitman; si tratta di dodici componimenti inediti che parlano dell’amore tra uomini, delle passioni travolgenti vissute dall’autore stesso, ma anche dal vuoto provocato dall’assenza di questo amore.
Commovente, delicata e straziante, La quercia è un’opera breve quanto intensa, come intensi sono i disegni di Brian Selznick (illustratore anche de “La straordinaria invenzione di Hugo Cabret”) che, dall’immagine di un albero in lontananza, ci porta, con un effetto zoom azzeccatissimo, nelle viscere di quello che, realmente, questa quercia imponente significa per Whitman.
E se già così si può intuire tutta la sua bellezza, aggiungo che questo libro d’arte (perché sì, non è solo un mero insieme di poesie) è composto anche da una postfazione della studiosa Karen Karbiener, la quale commenta in modo approfondito l’opera di Whitman fornendo gli elementi per comprendere a pieno le sue poesie e la loro importanza nel panorama letterario contemporaneo.
Se pensiamo che queste dodici poesie siano state smembrate, rimaneggiate, scorporate per essere inserite, in modo da occultarle, in Calamus, sezione della enorme opera che è Foglie d’Erba (edizione del 1860), si comprende ancora di più il valore e la preziosità di questo libro.
Commovente, delicata e straziante, La quercia è un’opera breve quanto intensa, come intensi sono i disegni di Brian Selznick (illustratore anche de “La straordinaria invenzione di Hugo Cabret”) che, dall’immagine di un albero in lontananza, ci porta, con un effetto zoom azzeccatissimo, nelle viscere di quello che, realmente, questa quercia imponente significa per Whitman.
E se già così si può intuire tutta la sua bellezza, aggiungo che questo libro d’arte (perché sì, non è solo un mero insieme di poesie) è composto anche da una postfazione della studiosa Karen Karbiener, la quale commenta in modo approfondito l’opera di Whitman fornendo gli elementi per comprendere a pieno le sue poesie e la loro importanza nel panorama letterario contemporaneo.
Se pensiamo che queste dodici poesie siano state smembrate, rimaneggiate, scorporate per essere inserite, in modo da occultarle, in Calamus, sezione della enorme opera che è Foglie d’Erba (edizione del 1860), si comprende ancora di più il valore e la preziosità di questo libro.
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September 18, 2019An interesting combination of children's literature greats and iconic American poetry swimming in the fiery passion of male love.
As is typical with Brian Selznick's artwork, I struggle with the incredibly inconveniently placed gutter. In one of the sequences, the gutter becomes part of the action, but in the rest it's just a disruption. I've not come across his style in a grownup context, but he always creates gorgeously immersive art, and it complements the poems well.
The organization of the elements leaves the book somewhat disjointed: first an introduction, then the art, then the poetry, then the context of Whitman's life, then copies of the original book. I think I was expecting the illustrations to combine and blend with the poems, but Selznick tends to art first and text later, so my expectations may have been unreasonable.
I'm not always at ease with poems, but in the end, I found beauty in both the art and the poetry, as well as in Walt Whitman's threads of same-sex attraction.
As is typical with Brian Selznick's artwork, I struggle with the incredibly inconveniently placed gutter. In one of the sequences, the gutter becomes part of the action, but in the rest it's just a disruption. I've not come across his style in a grownup context, but he always creates gorgeously immersive art, and it complements the poems well.
The organization of the elements leaves the book somewhat disjointed: first an introduction, then the art, then the poetry, then the context of Whitman's life, then copies of the original book. I think I was expecting the illustrations to combine and blend with the poems, but Selznick tends to art first and text later, so my expectations may have been unreasonable.
I'm not always at ease with poems, but in the end, I found beauty in both the art and the poetry, as well as in Walt Whitman's threads of same-sex attraction.
September 26, 2019
I enjoy Brian Selznick's work and have read several of his books and shared them with my class (4th-6th graders) when I was teaching. This is a very different book, illustrated, in part, using color. Some of the drawings are representational and many more, especially the color ones, are abstract, definitely a departure from Selznick's style.
The twelve Whitman poems, which come after the drawings and comprise the eponymous title, are deep and rich. I know I would have missed much of the meaning, symbolism and tone had I not read Karbiener's analysis, which follows, and returned to the poem to see the lines anew. It is a critical addition to the volume, yet I'm still not sure I understand the poems precisely, as I read scant poetry and have never read poetic analysis before.
Closing the volume are the poems as Whitman wrote them, called "The Notebook," and it is affecting to see the paper, his handwriting, the notations, the cut and paste attempts, and his editing. In sum an interesting read, which took time, effort and grappling.
The twelve Whitman poems, which come after the drawings and comprise the eponymous title, are deep and rich. I know I would have missed much of the meaning, symbolism and tone had I not read Karbiener's analysis, which follows, and returned to the poem to see the lines anew. It is a critical addition to the volume, yet I'm still not sure I understand the poems precisely, as I read scant poetry and have never read poetic analysis before.
Closing the volume are the poems as Whitman wrote them, called "The Notebook," and it is affecting to see the paper, his handwriting, the notations, the cut and paste attempts, and his editing. In sum an interesting read, which took time, effort and grappling.
July 1, 2019
Sometimes I trust the history of an author/illustrator’s work and buy a book without looking into what it’s about. And sometimes you’re standing in line at ALAAC because you see the author is signing books.
No matter what the scenario was, I hold in my hands, a beautiful hard bound gold edged copy signed by Brian Selznick, happy with my blind faith purchase.
It is beautiful.
The poems of Walt Whitman and the explanations behind his hidden work... the pages of art illustrating it... the conversation with Maurice Sendak.
All of it creates a very special work that shares a very intimate picture of Walt Whitman.
Besides reading some of Whitman’s work for high school English... I admit I haven’t given his work any thought (or any poetry covered in that class). But it does make me want to revisit poetry and see if time has changed how it may speak to me now, more than a decade later.
No matter what the scenario was, I hold in my hands, a beautiful hard bound gold edged copy signed by Brian Selznick, happy with my blind faith purchase.
It is beautiful.
The poems of Walt Whitman and the explanations behind his hidden work... the pages of art illustrating it... the conversation with Maurice Sendak.
All of it creates a very special work that shares a very intimate picture of Walt Whitman.
Besides reading some of Whitman’s work for high school English... I admit I haven’t given his work any thought (or any poetry covered in that class). But it does make me want to revisit poetry and see if time has changed how it may speak to me now, more than a decade later.
July 1, 2019
"Whether or not you know [Whitman] or his work, whatever your sexual orientation and gender, you will find in these poems the timeless and courageous voice of a person attempting to be true to himself, body and soul" (137).
Brian Selznick's illustrations to accompany these poems, Walt Whitman's most personal, are simply gorgeous. "Live Oak, With Moss" was written, at age 40, post-break-up with a younger man, and were later revised into the "Calamus" series of Leaves of Grass. In this elegantly packaged book, readers get to see the original series, and they are startling personal reflections. It will have a treasured spot on my shelf forever and ever. I love Whitman, and I feel like I know him a little better now. I dare to be as courageous as you, WW.
The afterword by Karen Karbiener is an enlightening and generous half-analysis/half-biography. This is a must for any Whitmanian—and would make a beautiful gift to someone you love
Brian Selznick's illustrations to accompany these poems, Walt Whitman's most personal, are simply gorgeous. "Live Oak, With Moss" was written, at age 40, post-break-up with a younger man, and were later revised into the "Calamus" series of Leaves of Grass. In this elegantly packaged book, readers get to see the original series, and they are startling personal reflections. It will have a treasured spot on my shelf forever and ever. I love Whitman, and I feel like I know him a little better now. I dare to be as courageous as you, WW.
The afterword by Karen Karbiener is an enlightening and generous half-analysis/half-biography. This is a must for any Whitmanian—and would make a beautiful gift to someone you love
August 22, 2019
Live Oak, with Moss is a pretentious book.
I mean this in the best and worst ways.
You've got Whitman, who is deified in American literature. He's pastoral; he's quintessentially American. He's transcendental. Whitman as a writer is always very aware of what he's doing, he knows what strings he's plucking.
Live Oak, with Moss is Whitman's diary. It's still Whitman, but it's raw and aching--the love that dare not speak its name, if you will.
Now, Selznick's art in some ways is grafted onto Whitman. There is an idea of dialog there, but Selznick only really illustrates an intro and outro. He lets Whitman speak. Selznick is trees, and men in alleyways--bodies indistinguishable from others. Selznick is blood and warmth.
And I will say, I felt a bit turned off by Selznick's approach in his intro. It felt contrived...
...but wow did I want to cry on the way out.
I mean this in the best and worst ways.
You've got Whitman, who is deified in American literature. He's pastoral; he's quintessentially American. He's transcendental. Whitman as a writer is always very aware of what he's doing, he knows what strings he's plucking.
Live Oak, with Moss is Whitman's diary. It's still Whitman, but it's raw and aching--the love that dare not speak its name, if you will.
Now, Selznick's art in some ways is grafted onto Whitman. There is an idea of dialog there, but Selznick only really illustrates an intro and outro. He lets Whitman speak. Selznick is trees, and men in alleyways--bodies indistinguishable from others. Selznick is blood and warmth.
And I will say, I felt a bit turned off by Selznick's approach in his intro. It felt contrived...
...but wow did I want to cry on the way out.
August 27, 2022
RECENSIONE A CURA DI SLANIF
Ho scoperto l’esistenza di questo libro su Instagram, seguendo un altro blogger, e mi sono innamorata subito della cover. Un’illustrazione semplice, eppure evocativa per il titolo.
Solo successivamente ho letto il nome dell’autore: Walt Whitman. Il mio poeta preferito! Come potevo essermi fatta sfuggire un suo libro? Così, sono andata a cercare informazioni a riguardo e ho scoperto che non solo “La Quercia” è una raccolta di dodici poesie del tutto inedite, ma anche che queste poesie sono a testimoniare l’amore che Whitman aveva per gli altri uomini. Il tutto, arricchito dalle meravigliose ed estremamente evocative illustrazioni di Brian Selznick.
Continua sul nostro blog!
Ho scoperto l’esistenza di questo libro su Instagram, seguendo un altro blogger, e mi sono innamorata subito della cover. Un’illustrazione semplice, eppure evocativa per il titolo.
Solo successivamente ho letto il nome dell’autore: Walt Whitman. Il mio poeta preferito! Come potevo essermi fatta sfuggire un suo libro? Così, sono andata a cercare informazioni a riguardo e ho scoperto che non solo “La Quercia” è una raccolta di dodici poesie del tutto inedite, ma anche che queste poesie sono a testimoniare l’amore che Whitman aveva per gli altri uomini. Il tutto, arricchito dalle meravigliose ed estremamente evocative illustrazioni di Brian Selznick.
Continua sul nostro blog!
June 21, 2019
I'm not a huge fan of poetry, so perhaps it isn't a surprise that I somehow made it to 40 without having read any of Whitman's work. But this small collection of 12 poems was lovely. I found the illustrations interesting but not compelling, as was the in-depth discussion at the end (which honestly I skimmed the last half of).
Get this book from your library for the poetry. Just 12 lovely little poems, finally recombined into their original, never-published, set. 12 delightful poems of affection between men.
Get this book from your library for the poetry. Just 12 lovely little poems, finally recombined into their original, never-published, set. 12 delightful poems of affection between men.
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