I Sing the Body Electric
"I Sing the Body Electric" is a poem by Walt Whitman from his 1855 collection Leaves of Grass. The poem is divided into nine sections, each celebrating a different aspect of human physicality.
Its original publication, like the other poems in Leaves of Grass, did not have a title. In fact, the line "I sing the body electric" was not added until the 1867 edition. At the time, electric was not yet a commonly used term.[1]
In popular culture
- "I Sing the Body Electric" was used by author Ray Bradbury as the title of both a 1969 short story and the book it appeared in.
- Prior to his book, Bradbury used the title of "I Sing the Body Electric" for a 1962 episode he wrote for The Twilight Zone.[2]
- I Sing the Body Electric was the second album released by the Jazz Fusion band Weather Report in 1972.
- In the 1980 film Fame, the students sing a song called "I Sing the Body Electric", inspired by this poem, at their graduation ceremony.
- "Body Electric" is a song by The Sisters of Mercy released in 1982 and appearing on the compilation album Some Girls Wander By Mistake.
- The song "The Body Electric" appears on the album Grace Under Pressure by the Canadian progressive rock group Rush released April 12, 1984.
- In the 1988 movie Bull Durham, Susan Sarandon's character reads the poem "I Sing the Body Electric" to Tim Robbins' character.
- In the 1988 book The Satanic Verses, the poem is alluded to on page 405 when a character (Joshi) writes a poem called "I sing the Body Eclectic".
- The 1995 book I Sing the Body Electronic, by Fred Moody, chronicles Microsoft's push into multimedia.
- American singer
- The group Miracle Musicalreleased the song “The Mind Electric” on the album Hawaii: Part II (2012).
- Icarus released the album I Tweet the Birdy Electric in 2004.
- "Sing the Body Electric", a song by Astrid Williamson from the album Here Come the Vikings
References
- ISBN 0-520-22687-9. p. 202
- ^ Kummings, Donald D. 2009. A Companion to Walt Whitman. John Wiley & Sons. p. 349.
- ^ Cooper, Duncan. 6 December 2013. "Why Did Lana Del Rey Make a 30-Minute Video About God, and What Does It Mean for Me?", The Fader.
External links
Wikisource has original text related to this article:
- Rumens, Carol (27 July 2015). "Poem of the week: from I Sing the Body Electric by Walt Whitman". The Guardian.
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