Poet Walt Whitman Sells Levis 501 Jeans in new ad campaign & Ellyn Maybe on Being an Artist
July 7, 2009
Whitman wears his Levis well to inspire a new generation, the millenials, the “Os” (for Obama) generation: http://goforth.levi.com/newdeclaration/gallery
OR hear here:
Bypass the Levis site and its accompanying ad campaign by clicking the link above to hear Walt Whitman’s original 36-second wax cylinder recording of what is thought to be Whitman’s voice reading four lines from the poem “America.” For more information on this recording, see Ed Folsom, “The Whitman Recording,” Walt Whitman Quarterly Review, 9 (Spring 1992), 214-16. More information:
It’s actually a cool campaign and worth checking out. Anything that brings poetry to the masses, especially poetry by Whitman, is good by me.
Here’s the text of the poem: America By Walt Whitman 1819-1892
Centre of equal daughters, equal sons,
All, all alike endear’d, grown, ungrown, young or old,
Strong, ample, fair, enduring, capable, rich,
Perennial with the Earth, with Freedom, Law and Love,
A grand, sane, towering, seated Mother,
Chair’d in the adamant of Time.
And here’s Ellyn Maybe, an LA poet, “On Being an Artist”:
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art predator 
I think this may be the end of America, not in that piece.
A grand, sane, towering, seated Mother,
Chair’d in the adamant of Time.
The poem used is “O Pioneers!,” is it not?
I must be watching the wrong commercial, but its not a recording of “America”
Kamyren, maybe the ad changed? I think the info was accurate when I put the post up. When I get a chance I’ll try to review and see if it’s changed or if I’m wrong. Thanks pointing out the possible discrepenacy!
Levi’s has a commercial using each of those poems.
Ellyn Maybe’s new fabulous spoken word cd was recommended for holiday gift giving on the Poetry Super Highway and just got a nice write up on Poetix.net too! you can order it by credit card on amazon, cd baby, and itunes or order directly from Ellyn by check or cash for $15 P.O. Box 10363 Marina del Rey, CA 90295-6363. I’ll be reviewing it soon on the blog.