1 00:00:40,374 --> 00:00:41,500 Excuse me. 2 00:01:37,973 --> 00:01:42,186 I enclose my name - asking you, if you please - sir. 3 00:01:42,269 --> 00:01:45,105 To tell me what is true? 4 00:02:25,729 --> 00:02:30,484 Excuse me, Colonel Higginson. I'm here for the job interview. 5 00:02:31,527 --> 00:02:32,528 Of course. 6 00:02:32,611 --> 00:02:34,029 Come in, my brother. Come in. 7 00:02:34,112 --> 00:02:36,657 Apologies for the delay. I've just returned from Hilton Head. 8 00:02:36,740 --> 00:02:39,910 I did some strategizing there with the brigadier general. 9 00:02:39,993 --> 00:02:42,913 Still find all this military stuff a bit bewildering, but… 10 00:02:44,164 --> 00:02:46,583 if it helps advance the cause of abolition, then I'm in. 11 00:02:47,751 --> 00:02:51,171 And I understand that you have also done some work for this great cause. 12 00:02:51,255 --> 00:02:54,550 I ran a small abolitionist paper out of New England. 13 00:02:54,633 --> 00:02:57,344 Of course. The Constellation. I know it well. 14 00:02:57,427 --> 00:03:00,138 -You do? -Brilliant writing in that paper. 15 00:03:00,222 --> 00:03:05,310 And you lent a substantial amount of help to our mutual friend, John Brown. 16 00:03:05,394 --> 00:03:06,895 May he rest in peace. 17 00:03:06,979 --> 00:03:08,605 May he rest in power. 18 00:03:09,231 --> 00:03:11,608 Can I get an amen, my brother? 19 00:03:13,193 --> 00:03:14,194 Amen. 20 00:03:14,278 --> 00:03:17,114 It was your connection to Mr. Brown and your work in The Constellation that 21 00:03:17,197 --> 00:03:18,615 made me want to hire you for this job. 22 00:03:19,366 --> 00:03:20,367 What-- Really? 23 00:03:20,450 --> 00:03:24,496 You see, Henry, I firmly believe 24 00:03:24,580 --> 00:03:27,499 that the first man who organizes and commands a successful Black regiment 25 00:03:27,583 --> 00:03:31,211 will perform the most important service in the history of this war. 26 00:03:31,295 --> 00:03:34,590 You know, Lincoln is not convinced yet. But I truly believe that 27 00:03:34,673 --> 00:03:36,884 these men have the capacity to fight, and we're gonna prove it. 28 00:03:36,967 --> 00:03:39,636 Eventually, Lincoln will sign the Emancipation Proclamation, 29 00:03:39,720 --> 00:03:41,597 and this is gonna become a federally authorized regiment. 30 00:03:41,680 --> 00:03:42,931 But to get there, 31 00:03:43,891 --> 00:03:45,517 I must prove to all the… 32 00:03:46,268 --> 00:03:47,644 let's call them skeptics, 33 00:03:48,187 --> 00:03:50,230 that these men are as brave, as disciplined, 34 00:03:50,314 --> 00:03:51,773 and as learned as any white soldiers. 35 00:03:51,857 --> 00:03:53,817 -I see. -Damn it. 36 00:03:54,693 --> 00:03:57,321 -There I go, centering whiteness again. -Excuse me? 37 00:03:59,781 --> 00:04:01,867 It's always a challenge, how to have this conversation, 38 00:04:01,950 --> 00:04:05,287 because, you know, the standards that are being applied, 39 00:04:05,370 --> 00:04:07,372 well, obviously those are the standards of white supremacy, 40 00:04:07,456 --> 00:04:09,082 the very system we're trying to dismantle. 41 00:04:09,166 --> 00:04:10,459 But at the same time, 42 00:04:10,542 --> 00:04:12,377 if my soldiers don't learn to read and write-- 43 00:04:13,045 --> 00:04:14,588 Shoot, there I go again. 44 00:04:14,671 --> 00:04:16,507 Not "my soldiers," that's paternalistic. 45 00:04:17,173 --> 00:04:20,469 I'm really trying to police my language. Not "police," patrol-- 46 00:04:20,552 --> 00:04:22,137 No, that's problematic as well. 47 00:04:22,221 --> 00:04:23,222 Damn! 48 00:04:24,056 --> 00:04:25,057 I'll do better. 49 00:04:26,350 --> 00:04:29,019 Sorry. What's the job? 50 00:04:30,896 --> 00:04:34,733 I want you to teach the formerly-enslaved men 51 00:04:34,816 --> 00:04:39,196 of the First South Carolina Volunteers to read and write, while at the same time 52 00:04:39,279 --> 00:04:44,076 acknowledging the painful histories and racist power dynamics 53 00:04:44,159 --> 00:04:46,203 embedded in the very language of English itself. 54 00:04:46,745 --> 00:04:48,956 What do you think? Do you have the bandwidth for that? 55 00:04:50,249 --> 00:04:52,000 I want to assure you that, 56 00:04:52,584 --> 00:04:57,172 although this was until very recently a functioning slave plantation, 57 00:04:57,256 --> 00:04:59,049 we are now operating in a safe space. 58 00:05:02,261 --> 00:05:05,722 I would be honored to work as a teacher with your regiment. 59 00:05:06,765 --> 00:05:09,184 Hell yes! 60 00:05:12,688 --> 00:05:14,314 Look at us! We're shaking the table. 61 00:05:14,398 --> 00:05:15,399 Indeed. 62 00:05:15,482 --> 00:05:17,943 We are movement-building. 63 00:05:18,485 --> 00:05:20,696 Solidarity is a verb, my brother. 64 00:05:24,366 --> 00:05:28,495 This right here, us, these relationships, 65 00:05:28,579 --> 00:05:29,872 these are the true front lines. 66 00:05:30,706 --> 00:05:33,542 And we are gonna win this war. 67 00:05:38,172 --> 00:05:40,632 Your new South Carolina Volunteer students await you. 68 00:05:40,716 --> 00:05:42,134 You'll know them by their red pants. 69 00:05:43,510 --> 00:05:45,554 Go. Start changing lives. 70 00:05:45,637 --> 00:05:46,638 Okay. 71 00:06:07,451 --> 00:06:08,452 Hey 72 00:06:09,453 --> 00:06:11,830 Hail O the time draws nigh 73 00:06:11,914 --> 00:06:13,457 All right, come on. Let's go. 74 00:06:13,540 --> 00:06:14,541 Hey 75 00:06:15,459 --> 00:06:16,460 Hey 76 00:06:17,544 --> 00:06:19,588 Hail O the time draws nigh 77 00:06:19,671 --> 00:06:21,298 Whoa, horse in the valley 78 00:06:21,381 --> 00:06:23,217 -Hey! -Horse in the valley 79 00:06:23,300 --> 00:06:25,135 -Hey! -Horse in the valley 80 00:06:25,219 --> 00:06:27,554 Hail O the time draws nigh 81 00:06:27,638 --> 00:06:30,224 -Who's gonna ride him? -Hey! 82 00:06:30,307 --> 00:06:32,100 -Who's gonna ride him? -Hey! 83 00:06:32,184 --> 00:06:35,479 -Who's gonna ride him? -Hail O the time draws nigh 84 00:06:35,562 --> 00:06:37,189 Whoa, look over yonder 85 00:06:37,272 --> 00:06:38,315 Hey! 86 00:06:38,398 --> 00:06:40,067 -I see the sun -Hey! 87 00:06:40,150 --> 00:06:41,401 I see the sun! 88 00:06:41,485 --> 00:06:43,737 Hail O the time draws nigh 89 00:06:43,820 --> 00:06:45,405 Hey! It refuse to shine 90 00:06:45,489 --> 00:06:47,449 -Hey! -It refuse to shine 91 00:06:47,533 --> 00:06:49,493 -Hey! -It refuse to shine 92 00:06:49,576 --> 00:06:51,912 Hail O the time draws nigh 93 00:06:51,995 --> 00:06:53,705 Oh, it's Judgment Day! 94 00:06:53,789 --> 00:06:55,499 -Hey! -It's Judgment Day 95 00:06:55,582 --> 00:06:57,459 -Hey! -It's Judgment Day 96 00:06:57,543 --> 00:06:59,670 Hail O the time draws nigh 97 00:07:00,295 --> 00:07:01,296 Hey. 98 00:07:01,880 --> 00:07:03,590 -Hey! Ha, ha, ha! -Hey! 99 00:07:03,674 --> 00:07:05,300 Ha, ha! Hey! 100 00:07:05,384 --> 00:07:08,637 Hail O the time draws nigh 101 00:07:08,720 --> 00:07:09,721 Hey! 102 00:07:12,099 --> 00:07:13,559 Hey! 103 00:07:13,642 --> 00:07:15,978 Are you guys ready to get some education? 104 00:07:16,061 --> 00:07:17,604 Who's this buckra with the chair? 105 00:07:17,688 --> 00:07:19,773 Gentlemen, my name is Henry. 106 00:07:19,857 --> 00:07:21,233 Your commander, Colonel Higginson, 107 00:07:21,316 --> 00:07:23,527 has hired me to teach you to read and write. 108 00:07:23,610 --> 00:07:25,153 What is he saying? 109 00:07:25,237 --> 00:07:26,572 Why he talk like that? 110 00:07:26,655 --> 00:07:28,365 My dude, what is that accent? 111 00:07:28,448 --> 00:07:31,076 -You think I have an accent? -Yeah. 112 00:07:31,159 --> 00:07:32,578 Interesting. 113 00:07:32,661 --> 00:07:36,081 To my ear, you all are the ones with the unusual dialect. 114 00:07:37,374 --> 00:07:41,712 You call it Gullah, if I'm not mistaken. Native of the Sea Islands. 115 00:07:41,795 --> 00:07:43,881 Quite a melodious sound, 116 00:07:43,964 --> 00:07:46,925 but a bit difficult to pick out certain words. 117 00:07:47,009 --> 00:07:49,511 He talks like a fancy cat who drank too much milk. 118 00:07:50,554 --> 00:07:51,555 Bro, stop that. 119 00:07:51,638 --> 00:07:54,016 Well, as a matter of fact, I am from Massachusetts. 120 00:07:54,099 --> 00:07:55,601 Oh, no! 121 00:07:55,684 --> 00:07:57,060 Yeah. Yep. 122 00:07:58,562 --> 00:08:00,105 That's pretty rich. 123 00:08:00,689 --> 00:08:03,400 Buckra coming around here talking about he free, 124 00:08:03,483 --> 00:08:05,485 when he live in a place with the word "massa" in it. 125 00:08:05,569 --> 00:08:08,322 But no, it's mass-achoo-shits. 126 00:08:08,405 --> 00:08:09,781 Master-two-shits? 127 00:08:09,865 --> 00:08:11,241 It sound like he sneezing. 128 00:08:11,325 --> 00:08:12,534 I definitely heard "massa." 129 00:08:12,618 --> 00:08:13,785 Yeah, it's offensive. 130 00:08:13,869 --> 00:08:16,413 You don't say massa round these parts, buckra. 131 00:08:16,496 --> 00:08:18,207 Ain't no massas round here. We free. 132 00:08:18,290 --> 00:08:19,499 Not free yet. 133 00:08:19,583 --> 00:08:21,001 Freedom is a state of mind. 134 00:08:21,084 --> 00:08:22,294 Yo, Erasmus, cut that shit, man. 135 00:08:22,377 --> 00:08:23,879 Well, we're more free than we were. 136 00:08:23,962 --> 00:08:25,881 We're nowhere near as free as we could be. 137 00:08:25,964 --> 00:08:27,883 -Now you spittin'. Now you spittin'. -I like him. 138 00:08:27,966 --> 00:08:32,638 Gentlemen, if I may, I am going to help you get free. 139 00:08:32,721 --> 00:08:34,097 And just how you gonna do that? 140 00:08:34,181 --> 00:08:36,892 I'm gonna teach you the crucial skills of literacy-- 141 00:08:36,975 --> 00:08:39,186 You gonna help us get some clean uniforms? 142 00:08:39,269 --> 00:08:42,063 You fixin' to get us paid to fight this war? 143 00:08:42,147 --> 00:08:43,899 You gonna get Erasmus a pair of pants? 144 00:08:43,982 --> 00:08:45,692 I'm just trying not to be a stereotype. 145 00:08:45,776 --> 00:08:48,445 More importantly, you gonna put some weapons in these hands? 146 00:08:48,529 --> 00:08:50,989 We at war, buckra. Maybe you ain't heard. 147 00:08:51,073 --> 00:08:53,158 -Guns and money. -And shoes. 148 00:08:53,242 --> 00:08:55,702 -And better food, maybe. -In that order. 149 00:08:56,495 --> 00:08:59,248 You mean, they're not paying you? 150 00:08:59,331 --> 00:09:00,707 Man, they pay us dust. 151 00:09:00,791 --> 00:09:03,877 Well, they do feed us, so dust and grits. 152 00:09:03,961 --> 00:09:06,004 They say they'll pay us ten dollars a week. 153 00:09:06,088 --> 00:09:08,757 Which is less than what the white men get paid. 154 00:09:08,841 --> 00:09:09,925 They don't even pay us that. 155 00:09:10,008 --> 00:09:13,512 Yeah. So how about you go tell Colonel Higgity-piggity 156 00:09:13,595 --> 00:09:15,097 that we ready for our paychecks. 157 00:09:15,180 --> 00:09:16,890 We want that shit in cash, man. 158 00:09:16,974 --> 00:09:18,308 -That part. -So… 159 00:09:19,184 --> 00:09:21,311 they're not paying you, 160 00:09:21,395 --> 00:09:23,355 and they haven't been giving you the right clothes, 161 00:09:23,438 --> 00:09:26,567 and you said you haven't been receiving proper training with weapons? 162 00:09:26,650 --> 00:09:29,778 Proper training? They won't even let us touch a gun. 163 00:09:29,862 --> 00:09:33,574 All we do is stupid endless drills and dig giant holes for no reason. 164 00:09:33,657 --> 00:09:35,909 The army says we can't be trusted yet with weapons. 165 00:09:35,993 --> 00:09:39,663 The army says we have to wait, that we have to prove ourselves. 166 00:09:39,746 --> 00:09:43,292 We soldiers as much as any white man, fighting on their side, 167 00:09:43,375 --> 00:09:44,418 and they afraid of us. 168 00:09:44,501 --> 00:09:46,170 We're not fighting on their side. 169 00:09:46,253 --> 00:09:47,462 You're not? 170 00:09:48,046 --> 00:09:49,047 No. 171 00:09:49,548 --> 00:09:51,008 We're fighting for ourselves. 172 00:09:51,925 --> 00:09:53,177 This is our war. 173 00:09:53,260 --> 00:09:55,262 It's not the same as theirs, and it never will be. 174 00:09:57,181 --> 00:09:58,891 Well, whatever war I'm fighting, 175 00:09:58,974 --> 00:10:01,560 I know I ain't gonna win it without a damn gun, buckra. 176 00:10:03,437 --> 00:10:04,521 What is "buckra"? 177 00:10:04,605 --> 00:10:06,148 It mean "white man." 178 00:10:07,065 --> 00:10:08,066 It's a Gullah word. 179 00:10:09,443 --> 00:10:10,861 It's a joke, man. Loosen your collar. 180 00:10:12,404 --> 00:10:16,867 So, can you get us some guns, Mr. Master-two-shits? 181 00:10:18,702 --> 00:10:23,123 I will talk with Higginson, and I'll see what I can do. 182 00:10:24,791 --> 00:10:26,668 -In the meantime-- -Yeah, what? 183 00:10:29,087 --> 00:10:30,255 In the meantime… 184 00:10:33,509 --> 00:10:35,344 maybe we can learn the alphabet. 185 00:10:44,478 --> 00:10:45,896 What's the matter, Edward? Bad news? 186 00:10:46,396 --> 00:10:48,273 It's always bad news, this damn war. 187 00:10:48,357 --> 00:10:50,192 It's turning the whole nation into barbarians. 188 00:10:50,275 --> 00:10:53,028 Yes, it's a real hellscape out there. What's happened now? 189 00:10:53,111 --> 00:10:56,782 My brother, Samuel, writes me that his neighbor's plantation was ransacked. 190 00:10:57,366 --> 00:11:00,577 Union army came through like Viking invaders, tore the place apart. 191 00:11:00,661 --> 00:11:03,622 Carved their names into the mantelpiece when they were finished. 192 00:11:03,705 --> 00:11:05,791 Well, I've always said he never should have moved to Georgia. 193 00:11:05,874 --> 00:11:08,126 It's a little late for that. He's lived down south for decades. 194 00:11:08,210 --> 00:11:09,586 He's raising a family down there. 195 00:11:09,670 --> 00:11:10,879 Where are you going? 196 00:11:11,672 --> 00:11:13,423 -I have a date. -With whom? 197 00:11:13,507 --> 00:11:15,717 Somebody you definitely wouldn't approve of. 198 00:11:50,294 --> 00:11:51,879 "I celebrate myself, 199 00:11:53,547 --> 00:11:54,840 I sing myself, 200 00:11:57,259 --> 00:11:59,553 And what I assume you shall assume, 201 00:12:01,096 --> 00:12:04,808 For every atom belonging to me as good belongs to you." 202 00:12:20,616 --> 00:12:22,159 Excuse me, I'm looking for-- 203 00:12:23,869 --> 00:12:25,120 Pardon me, have you-- 204 00:12:26,622 --> 00:12:29,791 Coming through. Coming through. Let's keep it moving, people. 205 00:12:29,875 --> 00:12:33,086 Gosh! Sorry! Hi, I'm looking for Walt Whitman. 206 00:12:34,546 --> 00:12:39,718 Well, then it's your lucky day because I am Walt Whitman. 207 00:12:40,427 --> 00:12:44,181 Oh, my God-- Incredible, I can't believe I found you. 208 00:12:44,264 --> 00:12:46,183 Why? It's not hard to find me. 209 00:12:46,266 --> 00:12:49,811 After all, I am everywhere. I am everything. 210 00:12:49,895 --> 00:12:52,314 I am the paving man, the canal boy, 211 00:12:52,397 --> 00:12:55,484 the deckhands, the clean-haired Yankee girl, 212 00:12:55,567 --> 00:12:57,486 the conductor, the squaw. 213 00:12:57,569 --> 00:13:02,324 I am the rattlesnake, the alligator, the panther, the black bear. 214 00:13:02,407 --> 00:13:06,161 I am Walt Whitman, cosmos, democracy, Manhattan. 215 00:13:06,245 --> 00:13:08,330 I am New York. 216 00:13:11,667 --> 00:13:15,504 Okay. I'm Emily Dickinson of Amherst. 217 00:13:16,630 --> 00:13:20,175 New England. Massachusetts. Boston town. 218 00:13:20,926 --> 00:13:22,761 Yes, well, near-- near Boston. 219 00:13:22,845 --> 00:13:25,764 O, my soldier. 220 00:13:25,848 --> 00:13:30,477 The bugles and drums give you music, and my heart-- 221 00:13:30,561 --> 00:13:35,023 O, my soldier, my heart gives you love. 222 00:13:35,107 --> 00:13:37,776 This is-- This is why I'm here. This is why I came to see you, 223 00:13:37,860 --> 00:13:39,027 Mr. Whitman, I am a poet. 224 00:13:40,070 --> 00:13:41,572 A poet. 225 00:13:41,655 --> 00:13:43,949 So then you must know the urge. 226 00:13:44,032 --> 00:13:46,743 The urge and urge and urge. 227 00:13:46,827 --> 00:13:49,413 Always the procreant urge of the world. 228 00:13:49,496 --> 00:13:53,584 To sing the song. To chant the chant. To join in the great and infinite chorus! 229 00:13:53,667 --> 00:13:54,668 I'm moving on. 230 00:13:55,502 --> 00:13:59,089 Yes! Yes. So I am a poet just like you, 231 00:13:59,173 --> 00:14:01,717 and someone told me that if I want to write great poetry-- 232 00:14:01,800 --> 00:14:04,636 -Yes? -Then I need to be like you, 233 00:14:04,720 --> 00:14:07,514 and I need to go out into the world and confront its pain. 234 00:14:08,807 --> 00:14:10,684 So you're into pain, huh? 235 00:14:12,394 --> 00:14:13,395 Yeah? 236 00:14:13,478 --> 00:14:17,733 Well, then you've come to the right place! This is New York City, baby. 237 00:14:17,816 --> 00:14:22,237 The Bronx is up, the Battery's down, and pain is everywhere. 238 00:14:22,321 --> 00:14:27,159 Follow me, Emily Dickinson. Let's go hurt ourselves. 239 00:14:29,036 --> 00:14:31,955 -Good morning! -Nice to see you. 240 00:14:45,552 --> 00:14:46,595 I'm sorry. 241 00:14:57,231 --> 00:14:59,900 My God, it's such terrible news from Savannah. 242 00:15:00,859 --> 00:15:03,153 I wish there was a way that I could help my brother, 243 00:15:03,237 --> 00:15:05,155 but I'm not even sure that they're delivering 244 00:15:05,239 --> 00:15:06,615 the letters that I write him anymore. 245 00:15:06,698 --> 00:15:08,075 This damn war. 246 00:15:08,158 --> 00:15:11,328 You know it's dangerous for us to be corresponding with Confederates. 247 00:15:11,411 --> 00:15:13,956 -It makes people talk. -What the hell am I supposed to do? 248 00:15:14,039 --> 00:15:16,625 Cut off my own flesh and blood because of geography? 249 00:15:17,251 --> 00:15:20,629 You know that's not the way I operate, Mrs. Dickinson. Family is what matters. 250 00:15:20,712 --> 00:15:23,131 Why on earth are you scratching yourself like that? 251 00:15:23,215 --> 00:15:25,342 Me, scratching? You're the one that's scratching. 252 00:15:25,425 --> 00:15:26,426 I am? 253 00:15:27,177 --> 00:15:28,178 Yes, I am. 254 00:15:29,471 --> 00:15:32,224 I am itching. Why does my clothing itch? 255 00:15:32,307 --> 00:15:33,308 Yes, mine do too. 256 00:15:34,059 --> 00:15:35,602 What in God's name? 257 00:15:35,686 --> 00:15:37,521 Did you forget to do the laundry this week? 258 00:15:37,604 --> 00:15:40,315 How dare you suggest that I would ever forget that, Edward? 259 00:15:40,399 --> 00:15:41,859 You know I live for laundry day. 260 00:15:41,942 --> 00:15:44,778 -Then what the hell is making me so itchy? -I have no idea. 261 00:15:44,862 --> 00:15:47,072 I can only assume this must be Maggie's fault. 262 00:15:47,948 --> 00:15:49,032 Maggie! 263 00:15:53,704 --> 00:15:56,748 Do I contradict myself? Very well then, I contradict myself. 264 00:15:56,832 --> 00:16:00,127 I sound my barbaric yawp over the roofs of the world. 265 00:16:01,587 --> 00:16:02,921 Whitman, keep it down. 266 00:16:03,672 --> 00:16:05,883 I will keep it down, and I will keep it up. 267 00:16:05,966 --> 00:16:09,052 And I will keep it going on and on until the break of dawn. 268 00:16:09,136 --> 00:16:12,681 You see, I'm a poet of the body, and a poet of the soul. 269 00:16:12,764 --> 00:16:16,185 So, what is pain to me but just another side of pleasure? 270 00:16:16,268 --> 00:16:20,689 What is a poet but just one facet of the all-powerful universe itself? 271 00:16:20,772 --> 00:16:24,943 You are not just Emily Dickinson, you are everyone. 272 00:16:25,444 --> 00:16:27,863 You are every man here. 273 00:16:27,946 --> 00:16:31,116 So you must not just ask the wounded person how he feels. 274 00:16:31,200 --> 00:16:33,702 You yourself must become the wounded person. 275 00:16:38,248 --> 00:16:40,918 My brother, when that bullet hit you, 276 00:16:41,001 --> 00:16:43,212 did you feel all that this country has been? 277 00:16:43,295 --> 00:16:46,131 And did all that it ever might be run through you? 278 00:16:46,215 --> 00:16:49,092 -Yeah. Yeah, for sure. -Are you America? 279 00:16:49,176 --> 00:16:50,344 Yeah. I think so. 280 00:16:50,427 --> 00:16:53,347 Yes! Yes, you are. And so am I. 281 00:16:53,430 --> 00:16:57,226 And so is she, and so is he, and so is every man here. 282 00:16:57,309 --> 00:17:00,062 And so America is the greatest poem. 283 00:17:01,271 --> 00:17:02,606 Let's move on. 284 00:17:02,689 --> 00:17:05,651 I'm not sure I'm catching all of this. 285 00:17:05,733 --> 00:17:08,111 What? No, don't try to catch it. 286 00:17:08,194 --> 00:17:10,906 Instead just let it go. 287 00:17:10,989 --> 00:17:15,327 Drop out of your brain down into your body and feel. 288 00:17:15,410 --> 00:17:17,913 The pleasure, the pain, the sunlight, the shade. 289 00:17:17,996 --> 00:17:21,208 Just exist as you are. That is enough. 290 00:17:21,290 --> 00:17:23,961 -I'm dying. -Yes! You are dying. 291 00:17:24,044 --> 00:17:27,422 And you are lucky. Do you think it is lucky to be born? 292 00:17:27,506 --> 00:17:30,384 Well, I hasten to inform you it is just as lucky to die. 293 00:17:30,467 --> 00:17:32,344 And every man here is dying. 294 00:17:32,427 --> 00:17:37,140 Every man here is dying of multiple causes: 295 00:17:37,224 --> 00:17:40,352 gangrene, syphilis, dysentery, gunshot, 296 00:17:40,435 --> 00:17:43,647 bayonet, dysentery, dysentery, dysentery. 297 00:17:45,858 --> 00:17:48,318 -Louisa? -Emily. 298 00:17:48,402 --> 00:17:50,946 -You know her? -This is Louisa May Alcott. 299 00:17:51,029 --> 00:17:53,365 It's so good to see you here on the front lines. 300 00:17:53,448 --> 00:17:56,243 -What are you doing here? -I'm also a Civil War nurse. 301 00:17:56,326 --> 00:17:59,037 Yet another surprising, but legitimate actual fact about me. 302 00:17:59,121 --> 00:18:01,790 You know, I get so much great material from doing this. 303 00:18:01,874 --> 00:18:04,543 I'm learning a lot, but great fiction is always based in fact, 304 00:18:04,626 --> 00:18:06,879 and this place is chock-full of specificity and detail, 305 00:18:06,962 --> 00:18:08,380 you know what I mean? 306 00:18:08,463 --> 00:18:10,090 Right, you mean, like, 307 00:18:10,174 --> 00:18:15,179 the inextricable nature of death and life, of pain and ecstasy? 308 00:18:17,097 --> 00:18:19,808 Yeah. No, like how wounds actually smell bad. 309 00:18:19,892 --> 00:18:22,019 Honestly, when some of these guys show up here, 310 00:18:22,102 --> 00:18:24,813 it is the vilest odor that has ever assaulted the human nose. 311 00:18:24,897 --> 00:18:27,024 It's kinda gross, but, you know, facts are facts. 312 00:18:30,152 --> 00:18:31,153 He's gone! 313 00:18:31,236 --> 00:18:34,907 He died in your arms! Oh, life! Identity! 314 00:18:34,990 --> 00:18:37,242 -This is really, really great material. -The powerful play… 315 00:18:37,326 --> 00:18:39,369 I'm gonna take some notes. Death sells. 316 00:18:40,579 --> 00:18:41,955 Poor boy. 317 00:18:42,039 --> 00:18:44,541 Daddy. Daddy, is that you? 318 00:18:44,625 --> 00:18:47,920 Yes. I am your daddy. 319 00:18:48,003 --> 00:18:49,755 Sometimes we pretend to be their family, 320 00:18:49,838 --> 00:18:51,882 so they feel they get the chance to say goodbye. 321 00:18:51,965 --> 00:18:53,467 I am your father. 322 00:18:53,550 --> 00:18:55,219 And I am your son, 323 00:18:55,302 --> 00:18:57,346 and your mother, and your neighbor. 324 00:18:57,429 --> 00:18:59,389 Yeah, he just takes it a little bit too far. 325 00:18:59,473 --> 00:19:03,268 -Sure. -My son, how is your bloody stump today? 326 00:19:03,894 --> 00:19:05,395 Daddy, 'tis fearsome indeed. 327 00:19:05,479 --> 00:19:08,148 Well, it ought to raise your spirits to know 328 00:19:08,232 --> 00:19:11,235 I've brought your dear sister here to see you. 329 00:19:11,902 --> 00:19:15,364 Sister? My sister Annabelle, is that you? 330 00:19:16,365 --> 00:19:20,285 Yes. Yes, I am your sister. 331 00:19:20,369 --> 00:19:24,206 Sister! I cannot enter into the kingdom of heaven 332 00:19:24,289 --> 00:19:26,375 until you wish me farewell. 333 00:19:26,458 --> 00:19:28,418 Won't you grant your poor brother one last kiss? 334 00:19:28,502 --> 00:19:30,838 Come on. He gave his life for the Union. 335 00:19:30,921 --> 00:19:32,756 Give him a smooch. 336 00:19:34,675 --> 00:19:35,843 For Christ's sake. 337 00:19:36,426 --> 00:19:37,427 Come here, boy. 338 00:19:38,387 --> 00:19:40,389 Walt, come on, too far. 339 00:19:41,515 --> 00:19:44,434 Like you never saw two men embrace on your dad's commune. 340 00:19:45,269 --> 00:19:46,395 Who needs a drink? 341 00:19:47,312 --> 00:19:51,859 'Twas a Friday morn when we set sail 342 00:19:51,942 --> 00:19:55,571 And we were not far from the land 343 00:19:56,154 --> 00:20:00,158 Our captain, he spied a lovely mermaid 344 00:20:00,242 --> 00:20:04,204 With a comb and a glass in her hand 345 00:20:04,288 --> 00:20:07,958 Oh, the ocean waves will roll… 346 00:20:08,041 --> 00:20:09,710 What is this place? 347 00:20:09,793 --> 00:20:13,088 Pfaff's Beer Cellar, the greatest bar in New York City. 348 00:20:13,172 --> 00:20:15,632 It's amazing. You can smoke inside. 349 00:20:16,633 --> 00:20:17,634 Shall we? 350 00:20:17,718 --> 00:20:21,680 And the landlubbers lie Down below, below, below 351 00:20:21,763 --> 00:20:25,475 The landlubbers lie down below 352 00:20:34,526 --> 00:20:36,445 -Austin, keep it down, please. -Okay. 353 00:20:36,528 --> 00:20:37,696 You'll wake him up. 354 00:20:37,779 --> 00:20:38,780 Okay. 355 00:20:44,119 --> 00:20:45,871 He is pretty cute, isn't he? 356 00:20:47,331 --> 00:20:50,167 Can tell just by looking at him he's a Dickinson. 357 00:20:52,169 --> 00:20:53,587 You doubted that? 358 00:20:57,299 --> 00:20:59,426 Don't rock the bassinet. You'll wake him up. 359 00:20:59,510 --> 00:21:01,303 I'm not rocking it, okay? 360 00:21:05,849 --> 00:21:07,976 You need to trust my instincts more. 361 00:21:09,061 --> 00:21:10,812 I can be a good father, you know. 362 00:21:11,980 --> 00:21:16,401 In my experience, good fathers just stay out of the way. 363 00:21:23,367 --> 00:21:25,702 Austin, you'll wake him up. Please. 364 00:21:35,212 --> 00:21:38,799 I had a little nut tree 365 00:21:40,884 --> 00:21:42,928 Nothing would it bear 366 00:21:45,347 --> 00:21:47,099 But a silver nutmeg 367 00:21:47,182 --> 00:21:49,726 Austin, please stop singing. You will wake him up. 368 00:21:49,810 --> 00:21:50,853 Please, he's sleeping. 369 00:21:50,936 --> 00:21:53,272 -King of Spain's daughter -Austin, he is sleeping. 370 00:21:53,355 --> 00:21:54,565 Came to visit-- 371 00:21:54,648 --> 00:21:57,234 -Austin. -I know how to take care of him, Sue. 372 00:22:00,612 --> 00:22:01,738 He's my son. 373 00:22:02,239 --> 00:22:05,534 Have you been drinking again? You always sing when you're drunk. 374 00:22:07,452 --> 00:22:09,997 I hope our child doesn't inherit all your traits. 375 00:22:40,611 --> 00:22:42,321 You're far too cerebral. 376 00:22:42,404 --> 00:22:44,865 You need to get out of your mind and into your body. 377 00:22:44,948 --> 00:22:47,409 To be a great poet, you have to feel everything. 378 00:22:47,492 --> 00:22:52,497 All this I swallow, it tastes good, I like it well, it becomes mine. 379 00:22:52,581 --> 00:22:56,251 I am the man. I suffered. I was there! 380 00:23:04,635 --> 00:23:06,136 Yes! 381 00:23:06,970 --> 00:23:08,263 Bartender, another round! 382 00:23:09,640 --> 00:23:11,433 -The agony. -It burns. 383 00:23:11,517 --> 00:23:12,851 Scratch me harder, Maggie. 384 00:23:12,935 --> 00:23:15,187 What the hell is causing this infernal itching? 385 00:23:15,270 --> 00:23:18,565 -Is it poisonous ants? -That don't seem likely, sir. 386 00:23:18,649 --> 00:23:20,901 I'm thinking there's a much more reasonable explanation. 387 00:23:20,984 --> 00:23:21,985 Yes? Like what? 388 00:23:22,069 --> 00:23:24,613 My common sense tells me that it's probably elves. 389 00:23:25,197 --> 00:23:28,617 -I'm sorry, did you say-- -Elves. Tiny men. 390 00:23:28,700 --> 00:23:32,204 Always full of mischief, they are. Spreading their powders around. 391 00:23:32,287 --> 00:23:33,288 Their powders? 392 00:23:33,372 --> 00:23:35,874 Normally, it's a good sign to have elves in the house. 393 00:23:35,958 --> 00:23:38,001 Somebody must have done something to upset them. 394 00:23:38,085 --> 00:23:39,503 The elves are upset. 395 00:23:39,586 --> 00:23:40,671 Looks that way. 396 00:23:40,754 --> 00:23:43,674 -And now they've become disruptive. -Edward, what are we gonna do? 397 00:23:43,757 --> 00:23:46,760 We do not have magical creatures living in this house, Mrs. Dickinson. 398 00:23:48,220 --> 00:23:49,221 Monster! 399 00:23:49,304 --> 00:23:51,849 Lavinia, what the hell happened to you? 400 00:23:51,932 --> 00:23:53,725 Why are you covered in dirt? 401 00:23:53,809 --> 00:23:55,143 I buried myself alive. 402 00:23:55,227 --> 00:23:56,520 May I ask why? 403 00:23:56,603 --> 00:23:58,856 To honor the fallen soldiers. 404 00:23:58,939 --> 00:24:01,275 I wanna experience everything they experienced. 405 00:24:01,358 --> 00:24:04,736 I wanna feel all their pain. Brings me closer to them. 406 00:24:05,362 --> 00:24:08,198 That's why I dismantled my canopy bed and started sleeping in the barn. 407 00:24:08,282 --> 00:24:10,617 You've been sleeping in the barn with the horses? 408 00:24:10,701 --> 00:24:12,119 That would explain the smell. 409 00:24:12,202 --> 00:24:14,496 Yeah, I slept in the barn last night. 410 00:24:14,580 --> 00:24:17,708 But, unfortunately, the cot was infested with fleas. 411 00:24:18,709 --> 00:24:19,751 -Fleas? -Fleas? 412 00:24:19,835 --> 00:24:23,422 Aye, fleas. Not elves, fleas. 'Twas my next guess. 413 00:24:23,505 --> 00:24:26,758 -You brought fleas into this house. -And that's why we're itching so badly! 414 00:24:26,842 --> 00:24:28,218 Yeah. Absolutely. 415 00:24:28,302 --> 00:24:30,220 Damn it! They're everywhere! 416 00:24:30,304 --> 00:24:32,181 Edward, how do we get rid of them? 417 00:24:32,264 --> 00:24:35,684 We need to fumigate. Fill the house with sulfur. Everybody out. 418 00:24:36,226 --> 00:24:37,769 Has anyone seen Emily? 419 00:24:43,817 --> 00:24:47,029 Wow. I feel crazy. 420 00:24:47,112 --> 00:24:49,698 Yes. Good. Poets should feel crazy. 421 00:24:49,781 --> 00:24:52,826 Crazy and wild and free. 422 00:24:52,910 --> 00:24:55,621 But I can't stop thinking about the dying soldiers. 423 00:24:55,704 --> 00:24:58,498 -They were all in so much pain. I-- -Pain is good for a poet. 424 00:24:58,582 --> 00:25:01,585 All feelings are. Yeah, the more intense, the better. 425 00:25:01,668 --> 00:25:06,298 We must feel maximum pain and maximum pleasure. 426 00:25:06,381 --> 00:25:09,343 So, tell me, Emily Dickinson, 427 00:25:09,927 --> 00:25:11,553 what turns you on? 428 00:25:12,930 --> 00:25:14,431 I don't know. 429 00:25:14,515 --> 00:25:15,807 Of course you know. 430 00:25:15,891 --> 00:25:19,478 Come on! What turns you on? What riles you up? What gets you hot? 431 00:25:20,979 --> 00:25:23,857 -I'm thinking-- -No! Stop thinking. Stop thinking. 432 00:25:23,941 --> 00:25:27,444 -Just say it. Say it right now! -Okay! It's Sue. 433 00:25:30,572 --> 00:25:32,491 Now we're talking. 434 00:25:32,574 --> 00:25:36,870 Okay. So, who's Sue? 435 00:25:38,038 --> 00:25:40,290 Right. Well, Sue is my-- 436 00:25:41,416 --> 00:25:44,002 -She's my-- -Your? 437 00:25:44,086 --> 00:25:46,046 Okay, she's sort of my friend. 438 00:25:46,129 --> 00:25:49,341 Right, she's sort of my sister. 439 00:25:50,467 --> 00:25:52,553 And she's also my sort of my… 440 00:25:53,220 --> 00:25:54,638 -Lover? -Yeah. 441 00:25:56,098 --> 00:25:58,517 Fabulous! Yes. 442 00:25:58,600 --> 00:26:02,646 And is it with Sue that you drain all the pent-up rivers of yourself? 443 00:26:03,272 --> 00:26:04,398 Excuse me? 444 00:26:04,481 --> 00:26:08,151 Is it with Sue that you wrap a thousand onward years? 445 00:26:08,235 --> 00:26:11,446 Is it with Sue that you envelop? Sue that you draw close? 446 00:26:11,530 --> 00:26:13,365 Sue that you cannot let go? 447 00:26:13,448 --> 00:26:16,451 Is it with Sue that you interpenetrate? 448 00:26:16,535 --> 00:26:17,661 What? 449 00:26:19,663 --> 00:26:22,124 Well, yeah. 450 00:26:22,207 --> 00:26:25,961 Say it then! Shout it out loud! Free love! Free expression! 451 00:26:26,044 --> 00:26:27,254 Sex, sex, sex. 452 00:26:27,921 --> 00:26:32,009 Let me tell you, whether you sing a song, or make a machine, 453 00:26:32,092 --> 00:26:34,595 or go to the North Pole, or love your mother, 454 00:26:34,678 --> 00:26:37,097 or build a house, or black shoes, 455 00:26:37,181 --> 00:26:41,226 anything, anything at all, is sex, sex, sex. 456 00:26:42,603 --> 00:26:44,813 -I love Sue. -I can't hear you. I can't hear you. 457 00:26:44,897 --> 00:26:47,274 -Scream it. -I love Sue! 458 00:26:48,066 --> 00:26:49,067 Okay? 459 00:26:49,735 --> 00:26:53,363 I love Sue! And I want her! And I can't get enough of her! 460 00:26:53,447 --> 00:26:57,201 And if I was on my deathbed right now, all I would want is Sue! 461 00:26:58,035 --> 00:26:59,119 Hell yes! 462 00:27:00,579 --> 00:27:02,122 Now that's a poem. 463 00:27:03,040 --> 00:27:04,041 Wanna dance? 464 00:27:04,124 --> 00:27:07,503 Hang on. Hang on, I'm still trying to understand if my poetry-- 465 00:27:07,586 --> 00:27:12,758 No, my dear, stop trying to understand and just feel. 466 00:27:13,509 --> 00:27:15,761 When you give, give yourself. 467 00:27:15,844 --> 00:27:18,972 Drink with the drinkers. Dance with the dancers. 468 00:27:19,056 --> 00:27:20,265 Come on! 469 00:27:25,729 --> 00:27:28,232 New York is back! 470 00:27:35,197 --> 00:27:36,865 This is my letter to the World 471 00:27:43,664 --> 00:27:45,165 That never wrote to Me - 472 00:27:50,838 --> 00:27:53,298 The simple news that nature told - 473 00:27:57,886 --> 00:27:59,555 With tender majesty 474 00:28:05,269 --> 00:28:06,937 Her message is committed 475 00:28:09,147 --> 00:28:10,983 To Hands I cannot see - 476 00:28:14,152 --> 00:28:16,780 For love of Her - sweet - countrymen - 477 00:28:20,033 --> 00:28:22,035 Judge tenderly - of me