Poet Walt Whitman Brought To Life In Special Performance

Folks in Bemidji got to travel through time and witness the adventures of American poet Walt Whitman thanks to a special live performance.

Artist Patrick Scully was the man behind the show and was its sole and writer and performer. Scully says he feels his life parallels Whitman’s, so the performance is genuine. When asked to describe the play, Scully said the audience would be taken on a journey and would get to experience both Whitman’s triumphs and setbacks through life.

Scully says, “My hope is that what the audience gets from the performance tonight is that they get a more complete picture of who was the human being behind the great poetry that we know in ‘Leaves of Grass.’ And that they also realize that there’s a strong resonance between many of the political challenges and discussions that we face in contemporary society today in the United States with those Whitman faced 150 to 200 years ago.”

The play doubled as a fundraiser for the Beltrami County Historical Society.