As in living, so in dying. No one has lived more fully than Walt Whitman
and in
speaking of death he leads us with his openness, freedom, and sincerity. His
verses
inspire us to be poets, allow us to sit and feel the joy of life, the imagination
overflowing.
Come to this book for spiritual refreshment or share it as a gift. Share
Whitman’s
songs, his wisdom.
The poems are illustrated by twenty duotone photographs that reflect the
movement
and mystery of life. Some of the century's most brilliant photographers are
represented here, including W. Eugene Smith, Ernst Haas, Linda Conner, Henri
Cartier-Bresson, William Garnett and Wynn Bullock. Their black and white
imagery
captures the stark contrasts, the gentle graying, and the paradox that is
our life and
death, (from liner notes).
The Open Road is set in a meditative format, without page numbers or a
table of
contents. One can open it anywhere. It is timeless, allowing deep reflection.
If we
could ever recommend a book for giving this would be it, and as it is most
likely a
limited edition we would not hesitate to purchase it. We close with a short
verse
from the book:
O Living Always, Always Dying
O living always, always dying!
O the burials of me past and present,
O me while I stride ahead, material, visible, imperious
as ever;
O me, what I was for years, now dead, (I lament not,
I am content:)
O to disengage myself from those corpses of me,
which I turn and look at
where I cast them,
To pass on, (O living! always living!) and leave
the corpses behind. - Abrams
