I Sing the Body Electric (poem)

"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 pop 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 (I Sing the Body Electric!).
  • 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]
  • American singer Lana Del Rey references Walt Whitman and Leaves of Grass in her song "Body Electric", from her EP Paradise (2012). She also quotes some verses from the poem in her short film Tropico (2013).[3]
gollark: I don't think you can strangle yourself to death.
gollark: Riiiiight.
gollark: Good job, alt!
gollark: Besides, surely you could do something bad with my phone number, if that were possible.
gollark: You are my alt, remember?

References
  1. Loving, Jerome. Walt Whitman: The Song of Himself. University of California Press, 1999. ISBN 0-520-22687-9. p. 202
  2. Kummings, Donald D. 2009. A Companion to Walt Whitman. John Wiley & Sons. p. 349.
  3. 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.


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