In Leslie Jamison’s introduction to a new edition of Walt Whitman’s Specimen Days & Collect, excerpted over at Slate, the word “specimen” is rescued from its isolating, clinical connotations, instead becoming realigned with Whitman’s vision of abundance and celebration. Jamison recounts her own experiences reading Specimen Days, alone and with friends, returning to the work for reminders to appreciate the wonders of the natural world and her fellow humans.
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