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Whitman Illuminated
Whitman Illuminated
Apr 20, 2025 12:29 AM

Author:Walt Whitman,Allen Crawford

Whitman Illuminated

Walt Whitman's iconic collection of poems, Leaves of Grass, has earned a reputation as a sacred American text. Whitman himself made such comparisons, going so far as to use biblical verse as a model for his own. So it's only appropriate that artist and illustrator Allen Crawford has chosen to illuminate - like medieval monks with their own holy scriptures - Whitman's masterpiece and the core of his poetic vision, 'Song of Myself'. Crawford has turned the original sixy-page poem from Whitman's 1855 edition into a sprawling 234-page work of art. The handwritten text and illustrations intermingle in a way that's both surprising and wholly in tune with the spirit of the poem - they're exuberant, rough and wild.

Whitman Illuminated: Song of Myself is a sensational reading experience, an artefact in its own right and a masterful tribute to one of America's greatest poets.

Reviews

This is a 21st-century version of an illuminated manuscript: portable as a Kindle, but a thousand times more lovely.

—— Rachel Cooke , Observer

Perfect single page distillations of 21st-century life. And they are hilarious... There truly is something for everyone

—— Creative Review

Ridiculously funny, damn clever... really well crafted.

—— Forbidden Planet Blog

The reigning king of the graphic travel memoir... Delisle's curiosity and amusement at the country's bizarre relationship with foreign visitors is equally funny and fascinating

—— Guardian, *Top 10 Funny Comic Books*

Fleming has taken historic theories about women’s limited abilities and created a wry look at how sexism has affected what history has recorded.

—— Stylist

Jacky Fleming is at her funniest yet… Beautiful, funny and important piece of feminist art.

—— Jane Czyzselska , Diva

Crackling with her sparky humour and wry sense of the ridiculous.

—— The Pool

I laughed so hard, I sank to the floor

—— Emma Thompson , The Week

There’s plenty more to pique your interest here, such as Jacky Fleming’s ferociously funny The Trouble With Women.

—— Paul Gravett

The genius is in how it takes its world for granted, which is normalizing and unsettling at once… Runs with zany, deadpan exuberance through the story of women in history.

—— Tessa Hadley , Guardian

Fleming lays out the unwritten rules that have dominated the stories we tell ourselves… Fleming’s anger is wielded with a wit sharp enough to draw blood… With pocket sized print and wicked satire, Fleming avoids becoming too angry in her manifesto – heaven forbid! – by focusing on humour while planting the seeds of broader issues behind the jokes.

—— Laura Sneddon , Independent

Feminist satirical cartoonist, Jacky Fleming, perfectly encapsulates this sexism in her hilarious book, The Trouble with Women.

—— Harriet Hall , Stylist

A brilliantly witty book of cartoons, it reveals some of our greatest thinkers’ baffling theories about women… Get ready to laugh, wince and rescue forgotten women from the ‘dustbin of history’, whilst keeping a close eye out for tell-tale ‘genius hair’. You will never look at history in the same way again.

—— Blacknet

The Trouble With Women is a wonderful, wonderful book. Jacky Fleming’s biting wit leaps off the… I can’t recall the last time I literally laughed out loud so many times whilst reading.

—— Quietus

This is a thoroughly recommended collection and a diverting gift for a friend.

—— A Little Bird

Mixing brilliant images with witty captions… Clever, funny and shocking work.

—— FlyBe Uncovered

Fleming is a gifted illustrator with a sharp sense of humour... I read it any time I have a bad day

—— Mariella Frostrup , Sunday Times

Characteristically witty and well-observed

—— Yorkshire Post

Jacky Fleming…is brilliantly, mordantly funny and extremely clever, and these are her finest drawings yet… The book is savagely funny and wonderfully constructed, so that you start off giggling uncontrollably but then grow quieter at each successive misogynistic shocker… There isn’t a man, woman or child who wouldn’t benefit from spending time with this.

—— India Knight , Sunday Times

Jacky Fleming nails it with her razor-sharp observational writing and drawing in this very funny and fresh take on women in history. Fleming is a genius but with normal hair

—— Simone Lia , author of FLUFFY

Highly original and very funny. Takes history and turns it upside down, adding generous dollops of wit and charm

—— Isy Suttie

Ferociously funny

—— Paul Gravett
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