Whitman, Alabama:
Screening and Discussion with Director Jennifer Chang Crandall

September 19, 2024 7pm
Burchfield Penney Art Center Auditorium
Free and Open to the Public

Filmmaker Jennifer Chang Crandall describes Whitman, Alabama as an experiment in using documentary and poetry to reveal the threads that tie us together – as people, as states, and as a nation. She crisscrossed the state of Alabama interviewing diverse residents and asking them to recite verses from Walt Whitman’s great poem, “Song of Myself.” The results are uniquely beautiful and moving. On September 19 she will screen eight of the short films and discuss them, joined by:

• Karen Karbiener, founder of the Walt Whitman Initiative and professor of English at New York University

• Curtis Lovell, artistic director of Ujima Company, composer of songs and director of films based on Whitman poems

• Sam Magavern, senior policy fellow, Partnership for the Public Good, and founder of the Calamus Project

Additional Events

1:00pm to 2:00pm. Walt Whitman’s Open Road. Professor Karen Karbiener will offer an interactive introduction to Whitman and his great poem, “Song of Myself.” Participation via Zoom is free and open to the public; register here.

4pm to 5pm. Embracing Earth: Burchfield & Whitman. A guided tour of this exhibit at the Burchfield Penney Art Center with co-curators Nancy Weekly and Sam Magavern. Free and open to the public; no registration required.