Just as America has left an unassailable mark on Western culture, so too has Walt Whitman left an unassailable mark on America.

Writing can be a rather thankless job. Now, lest you hasten off to make any sour conclusions, allow me to elaborate.

Finding a moment to be alone at my father's funeral visitation was not impossible, but it certainly was difficult.

Life is a vapor. The days may be long, but the years are short, and becoming shorter still. There hardly seems time enough in the day to...