He resolves all tongues into his own, and bestows it (pt.4, The rest of the book)

In the poem, "Faces" by Walt Whitman, Whitman explores the beauty in diversity and focuses on the spectacular beauty of the face. He explores the beauty from the face "bitten by vermin and worms" to "the most smeared and slobbering idiot" even to "a lifeboat". His focus on the specific part of the body goes deeper than just him choosing any random organ or limb. He writes about the face possibly because the face is who we are; our mouths express our opinions and thoughts, our eyes and noses take the world in to form opinions, and our ears hear the world around us. The face is a representation of who we are and that is why it is the focus of Whitman's poem. In "Song of the Answerer" the topic is purpose, or more specifically Whitman's purpose as a poet. He expresses the opinion that he feels that society comes to poets as the mediators and interpreters of the world. I feel that Whitman almost voices his belief like he feels like this task is a burden, however; he voices his opinion quite clearly and never implies the burden of his job. I didn't appreciate this poem as much which is why its blurb is much shorter. Whitman adds political spice with both "A Boston Ballad" and "Europe: The 72nd and 73rd Years of These States". These poem isn't really much more than an anti-war poems and nationalist poems which frankly is all Whitman needs it to be to get his point across that war is never the answer and that America is a good country. In Whitman's, "There was a Child Went Forth" he discusses the building of character. He shows how events in a lifetime lead the man or woman to the type of life and opinions they have today. It tells the story of young children and how they take everything with him to later be the people they are at the end, taking from parents to environment to life experiences and creating a pathway for themselves because of it. I did like this poem because I agree with Whitman that the world forms the man and later on that man grows up to form the world for a younger generation. Whitman creates a connection between the reader and the writer in, "Who learns my lessons complete". He is simply putting out there that the writer is speaking to the reader and sending them a message with his or her words and it is the readers job to interpret them. I'm not really sure how I feel about this because I've read things and felt really moved by them but then again I have read loads of pieces where I've put down the book or article and just felt underly moronic. Maybe not all things are interpretation and some things are all interpretation. Hemingway wrote blatantly but underneath it all there was so much to interpret that gave the reader such literary freedom. I suppose I do agree that the writer is speaking to the reader but I don't always think they're speaking the same language. In Whitman's final poem of the book, "Great are the Myths", and he couldn't have ended the book with a more perfect poem. While the book was completely full of life lessons by Walt Whitman in the end he reminds us to celebrate everything. Though the stanzas of this poem may be obvious they are strung together in a way that can't keep you from smiling. Both life, death, and everything in between are great and we need to remember that. I agree with him because even though it is so easy to get wrapped up in the most minute things you need to celebrate everything you have. This poem kind of replaced every negative vibe I was feeling towards Whitman. I really liked this poem and generally the whole even though it is the epitome of transcendental. Whitman shares some of the same philosophies as yoga about the sacredness of things and that is what I noticed throughout the book. I enjoyed reading the book and I say it was a successful attempt at reading a book of poetry.

Animals and vegetables! if I realize you I have satisfaction (pt.3 A Song for Occupations, To Think of Time, The Sleepers, I Sing the Body Electric)

In the first poem of this entry, "A Song for Occupations", Walt Whitman writes about the simplicity of things with a patriotic undertone. In a way his patriotism almost resembles that of a car commercial, the way he name drops states and the middle class to almost appeal to nationalists. He also uses literary devices that he is very well known for such as repetition of words such as were, if, and is, and also the imagery he creates towards the end of the poem in describing jobs. This poem really stands out as the one that is specifically focused on work. I personally didn't like this poem as much as others. I sometimes get tired of Whitman's nationalism but I don't get tired of stanzas such as, "We consider the bibles and religious divine...I do not say they are not divine, I say they have all grown out of you and may grow out of you still, It is not they who give the life...it is you who give the life; Leaves are not more shed from the trees or trees from the earth that they are shed out of you" (Whitman, 169). That so much is all I have to say about the first poem in this entry. In Whitman's poem, "To Think of Time" Whitman talks about the unavoidable topics of life, death and immortality. He speaks like a poet and stays true to his nature of repetition and imagery. He tells the story of a mans death and many others in the same sense in his poem. I really just felt this poem was a typical time passing poem and it just seemed like Whitman was saying what many others have said. However, Whitman was one of the first poets of his kind and its possible that I am jaded by poets that are in fact copying Whitman. "The Sleepers" may be my favorite so far out of Whitman's poetry. In it Whitman becomes some sort of entity that moves from dream to dream, bedroom to bedroom, and shows the more personal side of dreams and souls. Whitman speaks of how our souls are connected through dreams and that when asleep, our empathy is most deep for each other. He also notes the diversity among humans with the variety of personalities he writes about. I personally feel that when Whitman is writing about the human soul he writes with the most clarity. The last poem I'm writing about is, "I Sing the Body Electric" . This poem is all about the connection of the soul and body and is considered one of Whitman's most controversial poems because of its "erotic" content. Its all about celebrating yourself and your body as a temple. Later on the a song from the movie Fame uses this title for one of the most well known songs in the movie. The song, like Whitman's poem is about celebrating yourself and in a sense just being the best you you can be.

Ever love...ever the sobbing liquid of life (pt. 2 Song of Myself)

The first poem in Whitman's book, "Song of Myself'" (said to be the most popular of those in the book) is a poem where Whitman attempts to dissect himself as a person and also takes on the enormous task of defining the world as well. Whitman uses eloquent language and story-like depictions withing the book to further explain his understanding of the world. This poem clearly shows what kind of time period Whitman was living in; women were looked at as domesticated figures, slaves were looked at as lesser citizens, and the country was beginning to divide as the Civil War approached. The first portion of the poem is where Whitman really focuses on himself, he asks himself questions such as, "What is a man anyhow? What am I? and what are you?" (Whitman, 83). In true transcendental fashion he connects himself with nature and adds the well known Thoreau-esque opinion that one must go into nature and live amongst the wild to truly discover oneself and ones place in the world, he shows this in the quote, "I think I could turn and live awhile with the animals...they are so placid and self-contained"(Whitman, 105). This quote is ironic seeing as the general belief is that the animals are the ones that are wild, savage, and beastly. Whitman projected belief is that we humans are the ones who are the real savages. As the poem moves on Whitman circles about the difficult topic of the world. He speaks of God, humanity, and even as specific as America. This is where you begin to sense what time period Whitman is living through. Whitman, like many other writers, attempts to capture himself and his world around him in his own light with this poem. His attempt is pretty successful in my opinion and I completely understand why this poem is so popular.

All beauty comes from beautiful blood and a beautiful brain.

In the first quarter of Walt Whitman's, "Leaves of Grass" Whitman writes poetry. In this complete book filled with a total of 12 poems. For this months independent reading I bought the original 1855 version, however; over the years after the first edition was released Whitman revised the book to contain almost 400 different poems. This first blog entry includes the introduction- which in itself holds words to be thought over, and also the first portion of the first poems in the book, "Songs of Myself". Whitman was a a transcendentalist writer which means he focuses a lot of his poetry on beliefs on nature and the human race and the beauty it holds. At first his poetry and diction confused me, I was skimming over most of it and it really isn't the kind of book where it is structured to be able to be described in a blog entry. It really is more of a book with ideas and hypothesis which he formulates withing his poetry which is how i plan on writing it. After rereading the pages that in the beginning puzzled me began to make sense. In his introduction Whitman writes of what true poetry is made out of, this is where I got the quote which is the title of the blog. He believes that the poet has a strong connection to nature (which I presume he holds true for himself as well) this is shown in the quote, "...folks expect of the poet to indicate more than the beauty and dignity which always attach to dumb real objects...they expect him to indicate the path between the reality and their souls" (Whitman, 21). Whitman defines the poet as a man who holds a different connection with the world around him, in some cases he defines this connection as a better one. I realize that this first blog entry is mainly focused around the introduction to Whitman's book, however; I believe that without a strong understanding of the introduction it is harder to dissect and understand what Whitman means in his poetry in the following pages.

The End! (Chapters 6-8)

The title of chapter six is called "Local and Light" which implies exactly what it seems, it is a chapter which is focused on the importance of local-manufacturing and leaving the "lightest" eco-foot print possible with each piece of clothing. The "local" aspects of this chapter include topics such as "locally made, globally relevant", "local and connected", "local wisdom", and "local examples". My personal favorite of these was the portion, "locally made, globally relevant". This portion clarifies some common misconceptions of localism, seen in the quote, "local and small-scale is not simplistic or sentimental- in fact making things locally is frequently more complex than its one-size-fits-all alternative" (Fletcher, 141). The company Zara which is an example of a company that began as a generally local (European-specifically Spain and Portugal) based company which has successfully transformed itself into a global company, however; Zara still retrains its ability to avoid waste and save on fuel. I found this chapter, although it wasn't focused on my topic of textiles, interesting to read and very informative.

Chapters 7 and 8 titled "Speed" and "User Maker" happened to go hand-in-hand. As their title implies they are both about the factor of speed when designing and the actual process of forming the textiles. These chapters were far off from my topic of Sustainable Textiles. In the "Speed" chapter it discusses the necessity of speed and the general realities of this fast paced industry. In the Fashion Industry it is anomalistic to be able to not have to rapidly produce many designs. Trends quickly fade in and out so to keep current it is important to produce quickly and then simply move on. This chapter explains that the only real opportunity for slow-produced textiles is when designing simple basics such as a little black dress or a whit button down. "user-maker" wasn't as much a chapter suited for me. Written for designers it spoke of techniques and aesthetics. I read it however it definitely reinforced my previous belief that I am not meant to be an artist in the world of design and textiles. In the end, I really enjoyed reading this book. While at some parts the scientific aspects were tedious they were completely needed for the book to provide the basis of all knowledge required when learning about textiles. After reading this book I even gained knowledge of things I definitely didn't imagine myself learning about. I really like this book and suggest it to anyone interested in the environment, fashion, or both.

Chapter 5- Fashion, Needs and Consumption

In this chapter Fletcher dives deeply into fashion, and the fashion industry, the purpose of this chapter is because "To bring more sustainable change we have to better understand the function of clothes" (Fletcher, p.119). Fletcher changes topics for the majority of this chapter and discusses needs, ethics , and reversing the escalators of consumption. In the chapter conclusion, "Reversing the escalators of consumption" Fletcher reviews the main escalators of consumption such a, "the pressure to compare ourselves to others, the rolling replacement of things, the cultural obligation to experience everything an buy things accordingly, constant consumption as a part of a continuous process of identity formation" (p.130, Fletcher). Fletcher later discusses opportunities to reverse this mass consumption. While Fletcher's break from writing about sustainable textiles and the environment was extremely unexpected and odd at first, however; it adds another dimension to the argument for not only sustainable textiles but also to reducing our consumption as a species.

Chapters 3 & 4

"Use Matters" is the title of chapter three. This is where the book shifts from general sustainability, materials, etc. to the buyers actual usage of the clothing. The surprising topic of laundering is specifically focused on in this chapter. Fletcher reveals a different aspect of sustainability within this chapter, not only creating sustainable fabrics out of eco-friendly materials but also the very important but often overlooked task of designing garments which will remain longer. Most experts on sustainability don't include information on this aspect but it is extremely important all the same. Chapter four, titled "Reuse, Recycling, and Zero Waste" is focused on the topic in which the chapter title clearly implies. In this chapter Fletcher discusses waste management strategies, reuse of goods, and the repair and reconditioning of goods. It is almost a more general look at the contents of chapter three, not only discussing the lasting appeal but also the recycling of fabrics and reuse of fabrics. This is important so that the textile creators are not mass producing textiles which could easily be recycled.

Chapter 2 Ethically Made

Chapter 2, simply titled "Ethically Made", explores two methods of improvement in the textile industry, improving the individual production and the improvement of the industry as a whole. Fletcher explores the best practices and fiber processing in this chapter with recommendations of, "minimizing the number of processing steps, choosing 'clean' production techniques, minimizing processing consumables, choosing 'clean' processing chemicals, reducing energy and water consumption, and reducing waste production and carefully managing waste systems" (Fletcher,p.46) Fletcher provides examples of ways to become ethically made including, using sustainable fabrics, dyes, and bleaching. She also gives examples of ethically responsible clothing lines such as Marks & Spencer, ONE, and some American Apparel products (which is shown in the picture). Fletcher gives business savvy advice on both being sustainable and succesful

Chapter 1 Material Diversity

In chapter 1 Kate Fletcher writes about the basics necessity of sustainable textiles, the materials. Fletcher writes about some of the most commonly used materials (cotton, silk, linen, polyester,etc.) and their effect on the environment. Fletcher then elaborates on sustainable alternatives such as organic cotton, bamboo, hemp, and soya. The mainly focused on material is cotton. Fletcher goes into depth on low chemical cotton, low water use cotton , and fair trade cotton. Fletcher does a good job of providing information on each side of the argument and seeming fairly unbiased, an example of this is in the quote." Cultivating 1kg of cotton for example draws on as much as 8000 liters of water. In comparison producing 1kg of polyester uses little or no water. Polyester manufacture does however consume twice the energy needed to make the same amount of cotton" (Fletcher, p.7) Fletcher does a good job of providing information on each type of fiber, however; there could definitely be more information provided on silk, linen, etc. The book provides many charts based upon the information. These charts include the demand for fiber, environmental costs per each stage in the lifecycle of a cotton t-shirt, and energy and water consumption on each type of fiber. This chapter of the book aids the reader to basic information about fibers and sustainability that she implies will be elaborated upon in the later chapters.