The Walt Whitman Experience: Leaves of Grass

A one-man show by performer Sven Hansen focusing on "Young Walt" during the release of the 1855 edition of Leaves of Grass. SVEN HANSEN, POET AND TROUBADOUR, PERFORMS THE ORIGINAL 1855 EDITION OF LEAVES OF GRASS, BRINGING TO LIFE WHITMAN'S MOST REVOLUTIONARY AND INSPIRING WORK. Experience Walt, the man—hear the beauty and power of his words elevated when heard as a living voice. The spoken poem is interspersed with moments of hand drumming and the enlivening tones of sound healing. At the conclusion, Hansen places our greatest poet in the context of his contemporary Transcendentalists and traces this American influence through both European thought and world spiritual traditions. Whitman's unrivaled optimism, his spiritual depth and his surprising insight into the potential of America are perhaps more relevant today than ever. Open to all ages. Performer Sven Hansen has lived and studied in Norway and India, and is a certified yoga teacher and sound healer. He has also owned and operated a music venue and coffee house for several years. Hansen has played percussion in bands in the Chicago area and has published two books of poetry—The Apprentice Lover and Get Thee Beneath My Skin.