SEE THIS SHOW IN NORTHFIELD BEFORE IT PLAYS AT THE GUTHRIE (next summer).
The capstone event for Northfield Poetry Festival.
Admission is free for this first-come-first-serve non-ticketed event.
A free will offering will be accepted.
Leaves of Grass – Illuminated has received rave reviews in Minneapolis and New York City:
“Both Whitman and Scully are major figures; they contain multitudes.” (Village Voice)
“Scully is the perfect caretaker for Whitman’s legacy.” (StarTribune)
“Patrick Scully was born to play Walt Whitman.” (Lavender Magazine)
“Leaves of Grass – Illuminated is about history, art, and literature – presenting aspects of Walt Whitman’s life and work that are fascinating for our time, in which discussions of male/male relations have moved out of the shadows into the light of day. The show reveals relationships between men in Whitman’s era, from Whitman’s utopian vision for male/male relations to the forces that sought to deny them.
Leaves of Grass – Illuminated reveals how we got here. I believe there would be no marriage equality in the US today if Whitman hadn’t first written Leaves of Grass in 1855. This show celebrates that, making historical connections from the past to our present, and provides sustenance for battles that still remain.
There is a focus in this show on Whitman’s sexuality. It presents him as a complete human being, as opposed to traditional approaches which erase his sexuality, denying its importance to his life and to his poetry. Whitman made clear the pressures he faced writing about taboo topics (including, but not only, men loving men), and the consequences he faced for doing this. This show reflects that. There is nothing in the show that is sexually explicit. This show is appropriate for high school age and above.
Whitman was a subversive artist, a radical.”
-Patrick Scully
Whitman wrote:
Doubtless I could not have perceived the universe, or written one of my poems,
If I had not freely given myself to comrades, to love.
– Excerpt from Leaves of Grass
This activity is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a Minnesota State Arts Board Operating Support grant, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund.
