For my reflection of a DH project, I stuck with the theme of Walt Whitman and did a close look at The Walt Whitman Archive.  I have always had an affinity for Whitman’s work, but also for him as a person because he made his personhood so accessible to others.  He was an engaging and friendly artist.  He was open, and this project, I believe, reflects that openness.  What I appreciate so much about this project is its comprehensiveness and its multifaceted-ness.  It embodies Whitman through the personal.  We have relics of Whitman’s personal letters, manuscripts in his own handwriting, an extensive collection of portraits (with commentary from Whitman and his friends included) which span much of his adult life.  There is even recordings of what is possibly his own voice.  In many ways, this represents Whitman’s song and the life he composed of himself

One aspect that I especially appreciated about this project ties into Cara’s notion of versioning.  Along with edited versions of Whitman’s writing, we also have access to “versions” of Whitman.  There are portraits that show the evolution of a man as he ages and moves through and into friendships.  There is even one of a series of slides of a naked man with just the “possibility” of being Whitman.  It’s included as a possibility, but a good possibility nonetheless.  Would Whitman have posed nude? Most likely, and if these aren’t the actual images, it seems to matter less that they are or they aren’t, but that they could be  (if that makes any sense).  Whitman was open to many things.  He was a bodily man writing about bodily experiences that touched on spiritual intentions.  I think this project reflects that “bigness,” the scope of his spirit.  By bringing all these varying pieces together, allowed for a more whole and comprehensive embodiment.  The digital components of this compilation are crucial to that.  It presents it as a whole piece and I don’t think a more conventional, physical presentation could have conveyed the entirety of Whitman’s “social body” in the same way.