Artist Statement

Walt Whitman is a beloved poet, excessive in his unrestrained use of words, his profane reverence for nature, his unbridled methods of verse, his irreverence for society, his candid exploration of sexuality, and his copious growth of whiskers.  I honor Whitman with this volume of his most celebrated and free verse: “Leaves of Grass.” I summon his spirit with leaves of grass cut from his own verses.  Considered irreverent and criminal by bibliophiles, the alteration of this volume calls forth Whitman’s spirit with the utmost respect.