Difference between revisions of "Jonathan Ned Katz: "Comrades and Lovers," Act II, Part II"
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− | + | Continued from: [[Jonathan Ned Katz: "Comrades and Lovers," Act II]] | |
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | :::SCENE TITLE: 7 Horace Traubel, "Whitman asked me" | ||
+ | |||
+ | :::HORACE TRAUBEL, GAZING AT STAFFORD AND WHITMAN, HEARS WHITMAN'S LAST LINES. TRAUBEL INTRODUCES HIMSELF TO AUDIENCE | ||
+ | |||
+ | TRAUBEL: | ||
+ | :::Horace Traubel. | ||
+ | |||
+ | :::Whitman asked me | ||
+ | :::about last night's meeting, | ||
+ | :::which sat till after 12 | ||
+ | :::in Philadelphia | ||
+ | ::: about a dozen men present. | ||
+ | :::"Calamus" had been much discussed -- | ||
+ | :::Sulzberger questioning the comradeship | ||
+ | :::there announced | ||
+ | :::as verging upon | ||
+ | :::the licentiousness of the Greek. | ||
+ | :::Whitman took it very seriously: | ||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | WHITMAN: | ||
+ | :::70-YEARS-OLD | ||
+ | :::He meant the handsome Greek youth | ||
+ | :::one for the other? | ||
+ | :::I can see how | ||
+ | :::it might be opened | ||
+ | :::to such an interpretation. | ||
+ | :::But in the ten thousand | ||
+ | :::who for many years | ||
+ | :::have stood ready | ||
+ | :::to make any possible charge against me, | ||
+ | :::none has raised this objection. | ||
+ | :::"Calamus" is to me indispensable-- | ||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | :::LIGHTS UP ON JOHN ADDINGTON SYMONDS WHO, HEARING WORD "CALAMUS, STANDS UP, LOOKING AT WHITMAN WITH GREAT ANTICIPATION | ||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | :::not there alone | ||
+ | :::in that one series of poems, | ||
+ | :::but in all. | ||
+ | :::It could no more be dispensed with | ||
+ | :::than the ship entire. | ||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | :::SYMONDS MOVES FRONT. TWENTY YEARS AFTER HIS INITIAL INQUIRY ABOUT WHITMAN, HE IS STILL HOTLY PURSUING HIS QUESTIONS ABOUT WHITMAN'S CALAMUS THEME | ||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | :::SCENE TITLE: 8 John Addington Symonds, "In your conception of Comradeship" | ||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | :::SYMONDS SPEAKS DIRECTLY AND INTENSELY TO WHITMAN, READY, FINALLY, FOR A SHOWDOWN WITH WHITMAN ON THE SUBJECT OF SEX IN THE INTIMACIES OF MEN WITH MEN | ||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | SYMONDS: | ||
+ | :::In your conception of Comradeship, | ||
+ | :::do you contemplate | ||
+ | :::the possible intrusion | ||
+ | :::of those semi-sexual | ||
+ | :::emotions and actions | ||
+ | :::which do occur | ||
+ | :::between men? | ||
+ | :::I do not ask | ||
+ | :::whether you approve of them, | ||
+ | :::or regard them | ||
+ | :::as a necessary part of the relation. | ||
+ | :::But I should much like to know | ||
+ | :::whether you are prepared | ||
+ | :::to leave them | ||
+ | :::to the inclinations | ||
+ | :::and the conscience | ||
+ | :::of the individuals concerned? | ||
+ | :::For my part, | ||
+ | :::I hold that the present laws | ||
+ | :::of France and Italy | ||
+ | :::are right. | ||
+ | :::They protect minors, | ||
+ | :::punish violence, | ||
+ | :::and guard against | ||
+ | :::outrages of public decency. | ||
+ | :::They leave individuals | ||
+ | :::to do what they think fit. | ||
+ | :::These principles | ||
+ | :::are in open contradiction | ||
+ | :::with English and American legislation. | ||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | :::It has frequently occurred to me | ||
+ | :::to hear your "Calamus" poems | ||
+ | :::objected to | ||
+ | :::as praising | ||
+ | :::and propagating | ||
+ | :::a passionate affection | ||
+ | :::between men | ||
+ | :::which might "bring people into criminality." | ||
+ | :::I agree that some men, | ||
+ | :::having a strong natural bias | ||
+ | :::toward persons of their own sex, | ||
+ | :::the enthusiasm of your "Calamus" poems | ||
+ | :::is calculated to encourage | ||
+ | :::ardent and physical intimacies. | ||
+ | :::I do not agree | ||
+ | :::that such a result | ||
+ | :::would be absolutely prejudicial | ||
+ | :::to social interests. | ||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | SPEAKER 1: | ||
+ | :::REPEATING WHITMAN'S EARLIER WORDS | ||
+ | :::I do not press my finger across my mouth. | ||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | SPEAKER 2: | ||
+ | :::REPEATING WHITMAN'S EARLIER WORDS | ||
+ | :::I am for those who believe in loose delights | ||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | SPEAKER 3: | ||
+ | :::REPEATING WHITMAN'S EARLIER WORDS | ||
+ | :::All themes stagnate in their vitals, | ||
+ | :::if they cannot publicly accept | ||
+ | :::and publicly name, | ||
+ | :::with specific words, | ||
+ | :::those things on which | ||
+ | :::all that is worth being here for depend. | ||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | SPEAKER 4: | ||
+ | :::REPEATING WHITMAN'S EARLIER WORDS | ||
+ | :::It is to the development | ||
+ | :::of that fervid comradeship, | ||
+ | :::the adhesive love | ||
+ | :::of man and man, | ||
+ | :::that I look | ||
+ | :::for the counterbalance | ||
+ | :::of our materialistic, | ||
+ | :::vulgar | ||
+ | :::American democracy. | ||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | WHITMAN: | ||
+ | :::SPEAKING DIRECTLY TO SYMONDS | ||
+ | :::Your questions | ||
+ | :::about my Calamus pieces | ||
+ | :::quite daze me. | ||
+ | :::That the Calamus part | ||
+ | :::has opened -- | ||
+ | :::even allowed -- | ||
+ | :::the possibility | ||
+ | :::of such construction as mentioned | ||
+ | :::is terrible. | ||
+ | :::I am fain to hope | ||
+ | :::that the pages themselves | ||
+ | :::are not to be even blamed -- | ||
+ | :::mentioned -- | ||
+ | :::for such gratuitous | ||
+ | :::and quite | ||
+ | :::at the time | ||
+ | :::undreamed | ||
+ | :::and unreckoned | ||
+ | :::possibility | ||
+ | :::of morbid inferences -- | ||
+ | :::which are disavowed by me | ||
+ | :::and seem damnable. | ||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | :::My life, | ||
+ | :::young manhood, mid-age | ||
+ | :::have all been jolly | ||
+ | :::and probably open to criticism. | ||
+ | :::Though always unmarried | ||
+ | :::I have had six children. | ||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | :::IMMEDIATELY, WHITMAN'S SIX "SONS" APPEAR AROUND HIM: PETER DOYLE, THOMAS SAWYER, LEWIS BROWN, DOUGLASS FOX, HARRY STAFFORD, EDWARD CATTELL. | ||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | :::THEN SYMONDS RESPONDS TO WHITMAN, WITH A NOTE OF DISBELIEF AND IRONY | ||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | SYMONDS: | ||
+ | :::I am sincerely obliged to you | ||
+ | :::to know | ||
+ | :::so precisely | ||
+ | :::that the "adhesiveness" of comradeship has no interblending | ||
+ | :::with the "amativeness" of sexual love. | ||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | :::SYMONDS TURNS AWAY FROM WHITMAN TO SPEAK TO EDWARD CARPENTER | ||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | :::Whitman did not quite trust me perhaps. | ||
+ | ::: Afraid of being used | ||
+ | :::to lend his influence | ||
+ | :::to "Sods." | ||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | CARPENTER: | ||
+ | :::TO SYMONDS | ||
+ | :::Personally, | ||
+ | :::having known Whitman fairly intimately, | ||
+ | :::I do not lay great stress on that letter. | ||
+ | :::Whitman was | ||
+ | :::in his real disposition | ||
+ | :::the most candid, | ||
+ | :::but also | ||
+ | :::the most cautious of men. | ||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | :::TO AUDIENCE | ||
+ | :::An attempt was made | ||
+ | :::on this occasion | ||
+ | :::to drive him | ||
+ | :::into some sort of confession | ||
+ | :::of his real nature; | ||
+ | :::that very effort | ||
+ | :::aroused all his resistance | ||
+ | :::and caused him to hedge | ||
+ | :::more than ever. | ||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | :::TO SYMONDS | ||
+ | :::If Whitman took | ||
+ | :::the reasonable line | ||
+ | :::and said that, | ||
+ | :::while not advocating | ||
+ | :::abnormal relations | ||
+ | :::in any way, | ||
+ | :::he of course | ||
+ | :::made allowance | ||
+ | :::for possibilities in that direction | ||
+ | :::and the occasional development | ||
+ | :::of such relations, | ||
+ | :::why, he knew | ||
+ | :::that the moment he said such a thing | ||
+ | :::he would have | ||
+ | :::the whole American press at his heels, | ||
+ | :::snarling and slandering. | ||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | :::TO AUDIENCE | ||
+ | :::Things are pretty bad here in England, | ||
+ | :::but in the states | ||
+ | :::(in such matters) | ||
+ | :::they are ten times worse. | ||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | :::SCENE TITLE: 9 Gavin Arthur, "In spite of his 80 years" | ||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | ARTHUR: | ||
+ | :::ADDRESSING THE AUDIENCE AS A CLOSE FRIEND | ||
+ | :::In spite of his 80 years, | ||
+ | ::: Edward Carpenter's eyes | ||
+ | :::were a vivid sky-blue; | ||
+ | :::his face was copper, | ||
+ | :::his hair shining silver. | ||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | :::TO CARPENTER | ||
+ | :::I was twenty-two. | ||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | CARPENTER: | ||
+ | :::Welcome, my boy! | ||
+ | |||
+ | :::HE EMBRACES ARTHUR, HOLDING THE HANDSOME YOUTH ONE SECOND TOO LONG, KISSING HIM WARMLY ON BOTH CHEEKS | ||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | ARTHUR: | ||
+ | :::TO AUDIENCE | ||
+ | :::He smelled like leaves | ||
+ | :::in an autumn forrest. | ||
+ | :::A sort of seminal smell. | ||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | :::CARPENTER MIMES INTRODUCTIONS | ||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | :::He introduced me | ||
+ | :::to his comrade George | ||
+ | :::and George's comrade Ted. | ||
+ | :::We talked about Walt. | ||
+ | :::Carpenter said | ||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | CARPENTER: | ||
+ | :::Walt would have loved you | ||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | ARTHUR; | ||
+ | :::the others agreed | ||
+ | :::and my heart beat hard. | ||
+ | :::After supper Ted suggested | ||
+ | :::a walk in the moonlight. | ||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | :::ARTHUR AND TED WALK OUT TOGETHER | ||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | :::We talked about Carpenter. | ||
+ | :::Then Ted said: | ||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | TED: | ||
+ | :::Why don't you spend the night? | ||
+ | :::It would do Eddy so much good | ||
+ | :::to sleep with | ||
+ | :::a good looking young American. | ||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | ARTHUR: | ||
+ | :::I would like nothing better, | ||
+ | :::I said. | ||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | :::We approached the fire, | ||
+ | :::before which the Old Man was sitting. | ||
+ | :::Ted looked down at him lovingly: | ||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | TED: | ||
+ | :::Gavin wants to sleep with you tonight, Eddie. | ||
+ | :::Ain't you the lucky old dog? | ||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | ARTHUR: | ||
+ | :::The other two went up to bed. | ||
+ | :::The old man and I sat by the fire. | ||
+ | :::We talked again of Walt. | ||
+ | :::I blurted out, | ||
+ | :::half afraid to ask: | ||
+ | :::"I suppose you slept with him?" | ||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | CARPENTER: | ||
+ | :::Oh yes -- | ||
+ | :::he regarded it | ||
+ | :::as the best way | ||
+ | :::to get together with another man. | ||
+ | :::He thought | ||
+ | :::people should know each other | ||
+ | :::on the physical and emotional plane | ||
+ | :::as well as the mental. | ||
+ | :::The best part of comrade love | ||
+ | :::was that there was no limit | ||
+ | :::to the number of comrades one could have. | ||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | ARTHUR: | ||
+ | :::"How did he make love?" | ||
+ | :::I forced myself to ask. | ||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | CARPENTER: | ||
+ | :::I will show you. | ||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | :::ARTHUR SITS STAGE CENTER; CARPENTER IN BACK OF ARTHUR, HOLDING HIM; WHITMAN SITS IN BACK OF CARPENTER. NO SEXUAL ACTIVITY NEEDS TO BE PORTRAYED, THE WORDS ARE POWERFUL ENOUGH | ||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | ARTHUR: | ||
+ | :::We were both naked. | ||
+ | :::We lay side by side | ||
+ | :::on our backs | ||
+ | :::holding hands. | ||
+ | :::Then he was holding my head | ||
+ | :::in his two hands, | ||
+ | :::making little growly noises, | ||
+ | :::staring at me in the moonlight. | ||
+ | :::"This is the laying on of hands," | ||
+ | :::I thought. | ||
+ | :::"Walt. | ||
+ | :::Then Edward. | ||
+ | :::Then Me." | ||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | :::The old man at my side | ||
+ | :::was stroking my body | ||
+ | :::with the most expert touch. | ||
+ | :::I lay there in the moonlight pouring in at the window, | ||
+ | :::giving myself up | ||
+ | :::to the loving old man's marvelous petting. | ||
+ | :::Every now and then | ||
+ | :::he would bury his face | ||
+ | :::in the hair of my chest, | ||
+ | :::agitate a nipple | ||
+ | :::with the end of his tongue, | ||
+ | :::or breathe in deeply from my armpit. | ||
+ | :::I had of course a throbbing erection | ||
+ | :::but he ignored it | ||
+ | :::for a long time. | ||
+ | :::Very gradually, however, | ||
+ | :::he got nearer and nearer, | ||
+ | :::first with his hand | ||
+ | :::and later with his tongue | ||
+ | :::which was now | ||
+ | :::flickering all over me | ||
+ | :::like summer lightning. | ||
+ | :::I stroked whatever part of him | ||
+ | :::came within reach of my hand | ||
+ | :::but felt instinctively | ||
+ | :::this was a one-sided affair, | ||
+ | ::: he being so old | ||
+ | :::and I so young, | ||
+ | :::and that he enjoyed petting me | ||
+ | :::as much as I enjoyed being petted. | ||
+ | :::At last his hand | ||
+ | :::was moving between my legs | ||
+ | :::and his tongue | ||
+ | :::was in my bellybutton. | ||
+ | :::Then he was tickling my fundament | ||
+ | :::just behind the balls | ||
+ | :::and I could not hold it any longer, | ||
+ | :::his mouth closed over the head of my penis | ||
+ | :::and I could feel my young vitality | ||
+ | :::flowing into his old age. | ||
+ | :::He did not waste that life-giving fluid. | ||
+ | :::As he said afterward: | ||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | CARPENTER: | ||
+ | :::LECTURING A BIT, EVER THE TEACHER | ||
+ | :::It isn't the chemical ingredients | ||
+ | :::which are so full of vitality | ||
+ | :::it's the electric content, | ||
+ | :::like you get in milk | ||
+ | :::if you drink it | ||
+ | :::direct from the cow -- | ||
+ | :::so different from cold milk! | ||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | ARTHUR: | ||
+ | :::I fell asleep | ||
+ | :::like a child | ||
+ | :::safe in father-mother arms, | ||
+ | :::the arms of God. | ||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | :::SPEAKING OF RELIGION; LIGHTING/MOOD CHANGE] | ||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | :::SCENE TITLE: 10 ''The New York Times'', December 17, 1955 | ||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | SPEAKER 1: | ||
+ | :::Roman Catholics of the Camden diocese | ||
+ | :::opened a campaign today | ||
+ | :::to prevent the naming | ||
+ | :::of a new Delaware River bridge | ||
+ | :::after Walt Whitman. | ||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | SPEAKER 2: | ||
+ | :::When asked | ||
+ | :::why Whitman was objectionable, | ||
+ | :::the Reverend Edward Lucitt, | ||
+ | :::director of the Holy Name Society, | ||
+ | :::cited a recent biography of Whitman | ||
+ | :::by Dr. Gay Wilson Allen | ||
+ | :::who had called the poet | ||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | ALLEN: | ||
+ | :::a "homo-erotic." | ||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | SPEAKER 3: | ||
+ | :::But Dr. Allen said last night | ||
+ | :::that he had no intention | ||
+ | :::of implying that Whitman | ||
+ | :::was a homosexual: | ||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | ALLEN: | ||
+ | :::I used the term "homo-erotic" | ||
+ | :::rather than "homosexual" | ||
+ | :::because homosexual | ||
+ | :::suggests sex perversion. | ||
+ | :::There is absolutely no evidence | ||
+ | :::that Whitman engaged | ||
+ | :::in any perverted practice. | ||
+ | :::Whitman's writings show | ||
+ | :::a strong affection for men. | ||
+ | :::Many saints | ||
+ | :::show the same feeling. | ||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | SPEAKER 4: | ||
+ | :::Children of fifty-eight parochial schools | ||
+ | :::in the Camden diocese | ||
+ | :::are being asked | ||
+ | :::to submit essays | ||
+ | :::on "great men of New Jersey" | ||
+ | :::in the hope | ||
+ | :::of inspiring another name | ||
+ | :::for the bridge. | ||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | :::LIGHTING/MOOD CHANGE. PETER DOYLE TO FRONT CENTER OF STAGE | ||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | :::TITLE: 11 Peter Doyle, "I have Walt's raglan here" | ||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | :::DOYLE SPEAKS TO THE AUDIENCE AS A GOOD FRIEND. HERE, DOYLE IS ABOUT 50 | ||
+ | |||
+ | DOYLE: | ||
+ | :::I have Walt's raglan here. | ||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | :::PUTS THE OVERCOAT ON | ||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | :::I now and then put it on, | ||
+ | :::lay down, | ||
+ | :::think I am in the old times. | ||
+ | :::Then he is with me again. | ||
+ | :::It's the only thing I kept | ||
+ | :::amongst many old things. | ||
+ | :::When I get it on | ||
+ | :::and stretched out on the old sofa | ||
+ | :::I am very well contented. | ||
+ | :::It is like Aladdin's lamp. | ||
+ | :::I do not ever for a minute | ||
+ | :::lose the old man. | ||
+ | :::He is always near by. | ||
+ | :::When I am in trouble -- | ||
+ | :::in a crisis -- | ||
+ | :::I ask myself | ||
+ | :::"What would Walt have done | ||
+ | :::under these circumstances?" | ||
+ | :::and whatever I decide | ||
+ | :::Walt would have done | ||
+ | :::that I do. | ||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | :::Towards the end | ||
+ | :::he continued to write to me. | ||
+ | :::He never altered his manner toward me; | ||
+ | :::here are a few postal cards, | ||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | :::HOLD UP POSTCARDS | ||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | :::you will see | ||
+ | :::they show the same old love. | ||
+ | :::He understood me -- | ||
+ | :::I understood him. | ||
+ | :::We loved each other deeply. | ||
+ | :::Walt realized | ||
+ | :::I never swerved from him. | ||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | :::But I have talked a long while. | ||
+ | :::Let us drink this beer together. | ||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | :::HOLDS UP A BOTTLE | ||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | :::It's a fearful warm day. | ||
+ | :::You take the glasses, there; | ||
+ | :::Now, here's to the dear old man | ||
+ | :::and the dear old times -- | ||
+ | :::and the new times, too, | ||
+ | :::and everyone that's to come! | ||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | :::TITLE: 12 Walt Whitman, "No labor-saving machine" | ||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | :::WHITMAN SPEAKS TO AUDIENCE AS COMRADE AND LOVER | ||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | WHITMAN: | ||
+ | :::No labor-saving machine, Nor discovery have I made, | ||
+ | :::Nor will I be able to leave behind me any wealthy bequest to found a hospital or library, | ||
+ | :::Nor reminiscence of any deed of courage for America, | ||
+ | :::Nor literary success nor intellect, Nor book for the bookshelf, | ||
+ | :::But a few carols vibrating through the air I leave, | ||
+ | :::For comrades and lovers. | ||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | :::BLACKOUT |
Revision as of 12:44, 29 January 2010
Continued from: Jonathan Ned Katz: "Comrades and Lovers," Act II
- SCENE TITLE: 7 Horace Traubel, "Whitman asked me"
- HORACE TRAUBEL, GAZING AT STAFFORD AND WHITMAN, HEARS WHITMAN'S LAST LINES. TRAUBEL INTRODUCES HIMSELF TO AUDIENCE
TRAUBEL:
- Horace Traubel.
- Whitman asked me
- about last night's meeting,
- which sat till after 12
- in Philadelphia
- about a dozen men present.
- "Calamus" had been much discussed --
- Sulzberger questioning the comradeship
- there announced
- as verging upon
- the licentiousness of the Greek.
- Whitman took it very seriously:
WHITMAN:
- 70-YEARS-OLD
- He meant the handsome Greek youth
- one for the other?
- I can see how
- it might be opened
- to such an interpretation.
- But in the ten thousand
- who for many years
- have stood ready
- to make any possible charge against me,
- none has raised this objection.
- "Calamus" is to me indispensable--
- LIGHTS UP ON JOHN ADDINGTON SYMONDS WHO, HEARING WORD "CALAMUS, STANDS UP, LOOKING AT WHITMAN WITH GREAT ANTICIPATION
- not there alone
- in that one series of poems,
- but in all.
- It could no more be dispensed with
- than the ship entire.
- SYMONDS MOVES FRONT. TWENTY YEARS AFTER HIS INITIAL INQUIRY ABOUT WHITMAN, HE IS STILL HOTLY PURSUING HIS QUESTIONS ABOUT WHITMAN'S CALAMUS THEME
- SCENE TITLE: 8 John Addington Symonds, "In your conception of Comradeship"
- SYMONDS SPEAKS DIRECTLY AND INTENSELY TO WHITMAN, READY, FINALLY, FOR A SHOWDOWN WITH WHITMAN ON THE SUBJECT OF SEX IN THE INTIMACIES OF MEN WITH MEN
SYMONDS:
- In your conception of Comradeship,
- do you contemplate
- the possible intrusion
- of those semi-sexual
- emotions and actions
- which do occur
- between men?
- I do not ask
- whether you approve of them,
- or regard them
- as a necessary part of the relation.
- But I should much like to know
- whether you are prepared
- to leave them
- to the inclinations
- and the conscience
- of the individuals concerned?
- For my part,
- I hold that the present laws
- of France and Italy
- are right.
- They protect minors,
- punish violence,
- and guard against
- outrages of public decency.
- They leave individuals
- to do what they think fit.
- These principles
- are in open contradiction
- with English and American legislation.
- It has frequently occurred to me
- to hear your "Calamus" poems
- objected to
- as praising
- and propagating
- a passionate affection
- between men
- which might "bring people into criminality."
- I agree that some men,
- having a strong natural bias
- toward persons of their own sex,
- the enthusiasm of your "Calamus" poems
- is calculated to encourage
- ardent and physical intimacies.
- I do not agree
- that such a result
- would be absolutely prejudicial
- to social interests.
SPEAKER 1:
- REPEATING WHITMAN'S EARLIER WORDS
- I do not press my finger across my mouth.
SPEAKER 2:
- REPEATING WHITMAN'S EARLIER WORDS
- I am for those who believe in loose delights
SPEAKER 3:
- REPEATING WHITMAN'S EARLIER WORDS
- All themes stagnate in their vitals,
- if they cannot publicly accept
- and publicly name,
- with specific words,
- those things on which
- all that is worth being here for depend.
SPEAKER 4:
- REPEATING WHITMAN'S EARLIER WORDS
- It is to the development
- of that fervid comradeship,
- the adhesive love
- of man and man,
- that I look
- for the counterbalance
- of our materialistic,
- vulgar
- American democracy.
WHITMAN:
- SPEAKING DIRECTLY TO SYMONDS
- Your questions
- about my Calamus pieces
- quite daze me.
- That the Calamus part
- has opened --
- even allowed --
- the possibility
- of such construction as mentioned
- is terrible.
- I am fain to hope
- that the pages themselves
- are not to be even blamed --
- mentioned --
- for such gratuitous
- and quite
- at the time
- undreamed
- and unreckoned
- possibility
- of morbid inferences --
- which are disavowed by me
- and seem damnable.
- My life,
- young manhood, mid-age
- have all been jolly
- and probably open to criticism.
- Though always unmarried
- I have had six children.
- IMMEDIATELY, WHITMAN'S SIX "SONS" APPEAR AROUND HIM: PETER DOYLE, THOMAS SAWYER, LEWIS BROWN, DOUGLASS FOX, HARRY STAFFORD, EDWARD CATTELL.
- THEN SYMONDS RESPONDS TO WHITMAN, WITH A NOTE OF DISBELIEF AND IRONY
SYMONDS:
- I am sincerely obliged to you
- to know
- so precisely
- that the "adhesiveness" of comradeship has no interblending
- with the "amativeness" of sexual love.
- SYMONDS TURNS AWAY FROM WHITMAN TO SPEAK TO EDWARD CARPENTER
- Whitman did not quite trust me perhaps.
- Afraid of being used
- to lend his influence
- to "Sods."
CARPENTER:
- TO SYMONDS
- Personally,
- having known Whitman fairly intimately,
- I do not lay great stress on that letter.
- Whitman was
- in his real disposition
- the most candid,
- but also
- the most cautious of men.
- TO AUDIENCE
- An attempt was made
- on this occasion
- to drive him
- into some sort of confession
- of his real nature;
- that very effort
- aroused all his resistance
- and caused him to hedge
- more than ever.
- TO SYMONDS
- If Whitman took
- the reasonable line
- and said that,
- while not advocating
- abnormal relations
- in any way,
- he of course
- made allowance
- for possibilities in that direction
- and the occasional development
- of such relations,
- why, he knew
- that the moment he said such a thing
- he would have
- the whole American press at his heels,
- snarling and slandering.
- TO AUDIENCE
- Things are pretty bad here in England,
- but in the states
- (in such matters)
- they are ten times worse.
- SCENE TITLE: 9 Gavin Arthur, "In spite of his 80 years"
ARTHUR:
- ADDRESSING THE AUDIENCE AS A CLOSE FRIEND
- In spite of his 80 years,
- Edward Carpenter's eyes
- were a vivid sky-blue;
- his face was copper,
- his hair shining silver.
- TO CARPENTER
- I was twenty-two.
CARPENTER:
- Welcome, my boy!
- HE EMBRACES ARTHUR, HOLDING THE HANDSOME YOUTH ONE SECOND TOO LONG, KISSING HIM WARMLY ON BOTH CHEEKS
ARTHUR:
- TO AUDIENCE
- He smelled like leaves
- in an autumn forrest.
- A sort of seminal smell.
- CARPENTER MIMES INTRODUCTIONS
- He introduced me
- to his comrade George
- and George's comrade Ted.
- We talked about Walt.
- Carpenter said
CARPENTER:
- Walt would have loved you
ARTHUR;
- the others agreed
- and my heart beat hard.
- After supper Ted suggested
- a walk in the moonlight.
- ARTHUR AND TED WALK OUT TOGETHER
- We talked about Carpenter.
- Then Ted said:
TED:
- Why don't you spend the night?
- It would do Eddy so much good
- to sleep with
- a good looking young American.
ARTHUR:
- I would like nothing better,
- I said.
- We approached the fire,
- before which the Old Man was sitting.
- Ted looked down at him lovingly:
TED:
- Gavin wants to sleep with you tonight, Eddie.
- Ain't you the lucky old dog?
ARTHUR:
- The other two went up to bed.
- The old man and I sat by the fire.
- We talked again of Walt.
- I blurted out,
- half afraid to ask:
- "I suppose you slept with him?"
CARPENTER:
- Oh yes --
- he regarded it
- as the best way
- to get together with another man.
- He thought
- people should know each other
- on the physical and emotional plane
- as well as the mental.
- The best part of comrade love
- was that there was no limit
- to the number of comrades one could have.
ARTHUR:
- "How did he make love?"
- I forced myself to ask.
CARPENTER:
- I will show you.
- ARTHUR SITS STAGE CENTER; CARPENTER IN BACK OF ARTHUR, HOLDING HIM; WHITMAN SITS IN BACK OF CARPENTER. NO SEXUAL ACTIVITY NEEDS TO BE PORTRAYED, THE WORDS ARE POWERFUL ENOUGH
ARTHUR:
- We were both naked.
- We lay side by side
- on our backs
- holding hands.
- Then he was holding my head
- in his two hands,
- making little growly noises,
- staring at me in the moonlight.
- "This is the laying on of hands,"
- I thought.
- "Walt.
- Then Edward.
- Then Me."
- The old man at my side
- was stroking my body
- with the most expert touch.
- I lay there in the moonlight pouring in at the window,
- giving myself up
- to the loving old man's marvelous petting.
- Every now and then
- he would bury his face
- in the hair of my chest,
- agitate a nipple
- with the end of his tongue,
- or breathe in deeply from my armpit.
- I had of course a throbbing erection
- but he ignored it
- for a long time.
- Very gradually, however,
- he got nearer and nearer,
- first with his hand
- and later with his tongue
- which was now
- flickering all over me
- like summer lightning.
- I stroked whatever part of him
- came within reach of my hand
- but felt instinctively
- this was a one-sided affair,
- he being so old
- and I so young,
- and that he enjoyed petting me
- as much as I enjoyed being petted.
- At last his hand
- was moving between my legs
- and his tongue
- was in my bellybutton.
- Then he was tickling my fundament
- just behind the balls
- and I could not hold it any longer,
- his mouth closed over the head of my penis
- and I could feel my young vitality
- flowing into his old age.
- He did not waste that life-giving fluid.
- As he said afterward:
CARPENTER:
- LECTURING A BIT, EVER THE TEACHER
- It isn't the chemical ingredients
- which are so full of vitality
- it's the electric content,
- like you get in milk
- if you drink it
- direct from the cow --
- so different from cold milk!
ARTHUR:
- I fell asleep
- like a child
- safe in father-mother arms,
- the arms of God.
- SPEAKING OF RELIGION; LIGHTING/MOOD CHANGE]
- SCENE TITLE: 10 The New York Times, December 17, 1955
SPEAKER 1:
- Roman Catholics of the Camden diocese
- opened a campaign today
- to prevent the naming
- of a new Delaware River bridge
- after Walt Whitman.
SPEAKER 2:
- When asked
- why Whitman was objectionable,
- the Reverend Edward Lucitt,
- director of the Holy Name Society,
- cited a recent biography of Whitman
- by Dr. Gay Wilson Allen
- who had called the poet
ALLEN:
- a "homo-erotic."
SPEAKER 3:
- But Dr. Allen said last night
- that he had no intention
- of implying that Whitman
- was a homosexual:
ALLEN:
- I used the term "homo-erotic"
- rather than "homosexual"
- because homosexual
- suggests sex perversion.
- There is absolutely no evidence
- that Whitman engaged
- in any perverted practice.
- Whitman's writings show
- a strong affection for men.
- Many saints
- show the same feeling.
SPEAKER 4:
- Children of fifty-eight parochial schools
- in the Camden diocese
- are being asked
- to submit essays
- on "great men of New Jersey"
- in the hope
- of inspiring another name
- for the bridge.
- LIGHTING/MOOD CHANGE. PETER DOYLE TO FRONT CENTER OF STAGE
- TITLE: 11 Peter Doyle, "I have Walt's raglan here"
- DOYLE SPEAKS TO THE AUDIENCE AS A GOOD FRIEND. HERE, DOYLE IS ABOUT 50
DOYLE:
- I have Walt's raglan here.
- PUTS THE OVERCOAT ON
- I now and then put it on,
- lay down,
- think I am in the old times.
- Then he is with me again.
- It's the only thing I kept
- amongst many old things.
- When I get it on
- and stretched out on the old sofa
- I am very well contented.
- It is like Aladdin's lamp.
- I do not ever for a minute
- lose the old man.
- He is always near by.
- When I am in trouble --
- in a crisis --
- I ask myself
- "What would Walt have done
- under these circumstances?"
- and whatever I decide
- Walt would have done
- that I do.
- Towards the end
- he continued to write to me.
- He never altered his manner toward me;
- here are a few postal cards,
- HOLD UP POSTCARDS
- you will see
- they show the same old love.
- He understood me --
- I understood him.
- We loved each other deeply.
- Walt realized
- I never swerved from him.
- But I have talked a long while.
- Let us drink this beer together.
- HOLDS UP A BOTTLE
- It's a fearful warm day.
- You take the glasses, there;
- Now, here's to the dear old man
- and the dear old times --
- and the new times, too,
- and everyone that's to come!
- TITLE: 12 Walt Whitman, "No labor-saving machine"
- WHITMAN SPEAKS TO AUDIENCE AS COMRADE AND LOVER
WHITMAN:
- No labor-saving machine, Nor discovery have I made,
- Nor will I be able to leave behind me any wealthy bequest to found a hospital or library,
- Nor reminiscence of any deed of courage for America,
- Nor literary success nor intellect, Nor book for the bookshelf,
- But a few carols vibrating through the air I leave,
- For comrades and lovers.
- BLACKOUT