title: Whitman Illuminated: Song of Myself
author:  Walt Whitman 
description: <div>Praise for <I>Whitman Illuminated: Song of Myself</I><BR><BR>"<B>Zestful</B>. . .exudes the essence of Whitman's 1855 edition."<BR>&#151;<I>New York Times</I><BR><BR>"Whitman's famous <I>Leaves of Grass</I> poem gets a gorgeous visual treatment that <B>will wow poetry fans</B>."<BR>&#151;<I>Good Housekeeping</I><BR><BR>"A lovely and inspired visual interpretation of Whitman&#8217;s classic 60-page poem."<br>&#151;<I>San Francisco Chronicle</I><BR><BR>"Allen Crawford brings you the words of Walt Whitman <B>beautifully arranged and illustrated</B> in <I>Whitman Illuminated: Song Of Myself</I>."<BR>&#151;Buzzfeed<BR><BR>"Crawford&#8217;s tribute is <B>a beautiful piece of art</B> that every Whitman lover will want on their bookshelf."<BR>&#151;Flavorwire<BR><BR>"[Crawford's] elegant, lyrical play of text size and orientation layers over Whitman&#8217;s poem a kind of visual rhythm that not only harmonizes with the original verses but enriches them and gives them <B>uncommon dimension</B>."<BR>&#151;Brainpickings<BR><BR>"Crawford's work is almost something else entirely, a pictorial guidebook to Whitman's catalog of Americana. The poem is so vivid it's almost surprising no one has thought of this before. The few samples of the work available online thus far are <B>stunning</B>."<BR>&#151;Philly.com<BR><BR><BR>Praise for Allen Crawford's (aka Lord Whimsy) <I>The Affected Provincial&#8217;s Companion, Volume One</I><BR><BR>&#147;&#133;<B>one of the more charming treatises to come along in years</B>&#133;In short, [Crawford] glorifies almost every aspect of Homo Affectus&#133;as [his] book points out, being a dandy is&#133;about imagination, about dreaming up and acquiring and embodying a mixture of traits and clothes and habits peculiar to you. And if they seem peculiar to everyone else, well then, they had better catch up, hadn&#8217;t they?&#8221;<br>&#151;The <I>New York Times</I><BR><BR>"Ask Whimsy, and he may call himself a &#147;crack-pot&#8221; or a &#147;shut-in.&#8221; But if you want the full answer, hightail it to a bookstore and secure a copy of one of the most entertaining&#151;and certainly weirdest&#151;non-fiction titles of the summer&#133;The Companion is a lifestyle battlecry, <B>both quaint and radical, lighthearted and dead serious</B>&#133;<I>The Affected Provincial&#8217;s Companion</I> may never dislodge The South Beach Diet as a guide to post-modern American living, but it is a lot more fun than any rivals in the field. After reading this eccentric&#8217;s creed, it feels good to know that a book this quirky can still get published. And good, too, to know that Whimsy is out there, tending his bug-eating plants and dreaming up his next shot at boring mainstream life."<BR>&#151;The Associated Press<BR><BR>"We humbly endeavor to showcase the talents, both literary and graphical, of the aforementioned Lord Whimsy. While he has been widely denounced as a cad, rake, and sipper of porridges, we humbly submit that he is also a splendid raconteur and a canny quillsman. Granted, he is also something of a bounder. But, gentle reader, let the work speak for itself. Witness his rousing jeremiad against Sporting Wear. Admire his scientific chart detailing the improbable physics of Self Congress. Behold the impeccably turned out man-about-town. <B>We are confident you will find this dandy&#8217;s manicured musings a bracing tonic against the enervating drudgery of the modern world</B>. Was it not the great Gallic thespian Gerard Depardieu who once exclaimed, &#147;Ah, Whimsy&#151;un homme d&#8217;esprit!&#8221; Yes, it was not."<BR>&#151;Yahoo<BR></div>
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  ![image](../images/title.jpg)
  
  
  ## [DEDICATION](Contents.html#rdedication)
  
  
  _For the girls with messy hair and thirsty hearts_
  
  
  ## [EPIGRAPH](Contents.html#repigraph)
  
  
  _I am not to speak to you, I am to think of you when I sit alone or wake at
  night alone_ ,
  
  
  _I am to wait, I do not doubt I am to meet you again_ ,
  
  
  _I am to see to it that I do not lose you_.
  
  
  —Walt Whitman, “To a Stranger”
  
  
  ## CONTENTS
  
  
  [Cover](Cover.html)
  
  
  [Title Page](Title.html)
  
  
  [Dedication](Dedication.html#dedication)
  
  
  [Epigraph](Epigraph.html#epigraph)
  
  
  [Prologue](Prologue.html#prologue)
  
  
  [One](Chapter01.html#chapter01)
  
  
  [Two](Chapter02.html#chapter02)
  
  
  [Three](Chapter03.html#chapter03)
  
  
  [Four](Chapter04.html#chapter04)
  
  
  [Five](Chapter05.html#chapter05)
  
  
  [Six](Chapter06.html#chapter06)
  
  
  [Seven](Chapter07.html#chapter07)
  
  
  [Eight](Chapter08.html#chapter08)
  
  
  [Nine](Chapter09.html#chapter09)
  
  
  [Ten](Chapter10.html#chapter10)
  
  
  [Eleven](Chapter11.html#chapter11)
  
  
  [Twelve](Chapte