沃爾特·惠特曼/ Walter Whitman
沃爾特·惠特曼（1819—1892），美國19世紀最傑出的詩人，美國浪漫主義文學的大師。
惠特曼一生各個時期的詩作都收錄在《草葉集》中。他以豪邁、鏗鏘有力的詩句謳歌了美國自由資本主義時期蓬勃發展的社會，歌唱民主與自由，歌頌“自我”，歌頌大自然，歌頌勞動，並以火一樣的語言抨擊資本主義的罪惡與弊端，支持廢奴運動。
《草葉集》被認為是美國文學史上具有劃時代意義的詩作，這不僅在於其內容的人民性和民主與自由思想，而且也在於其形式上的革命，他開創了自由體詩歌的新時代。惠特曼是一個時代的結束，也是美國文學一個新的時代的開始。
Ace in the Hole
Understand these new words before you listen to this article.
1. picturesque [,pikt??'resk] adj. 獨特的；生動的
2. imperturbability ['imp?,t?:b?'bil?ti] n. 冷靜；沉著
3. rebuke [ri'bju:k] v. 指責；製止
4. reminiscence [,remi'nis?ns] n. 回憶；懷舊
5. pervade [p?:'veid, p?-] v. 彌漫；遍及
I should not take either the biggest or the most picturesque tree to illustrate it. Here is one of my favorites now before me, a fine yellow poplar, quite straight, perhaps 90 feet high, and four feet thick at the butt. How strong, vital enduring! How dumbly eloquent! What suggestions of imperturbability and being, as against the human trait of mere seeming. Then the qualities, almost emotional, palpably artistic, heroic, of a tree; so innocent and harmless, yet so savage. It is, yet says nothing. How it rebukes by its tough and equable serenity as weathers, this gusty-temper’s little whiffet, man that runs indoors at a mite of rain or snow. Science (or rather half-way science) scoffs at reminiscence of dryad and hamadryad, and of trees speaking. But, if they don’t, they do as well as most speaking, writing, poetry, sermons or rather they do a great deal better.I should say indeed that those old dryad—reminiscences are quit as true as any, and profounder than most reminiscences we get. (“Cut this out,”as the quack mediciners say, and keep by you.) Go and sit in a grove or woods, with one or more of those voiceless companions, and read the fore going, and think.