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Walt Whitman --- and His Place within the Age of Lincoln (re: Oklahoma Chautauqua 2009).

By Rich Fisher

http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/kwgs/local-kwgs-840343.mp3

Tulsa, Oklahoma – On today's edition of StudioTulsa, a preview of the Oklahoma Chautauqua 2009 festival, which will happen next week (June 2 - 6) at OSU-Tulsa. The theme of this year's festival is "Lincoln's Legacy of Equality: Voices on the Fringe" --- and our guest on the show today is Dr. Carrol Peterson, who will be portraying Walt Whitman. One question that our host has for Dr. Peterson is this: We know that Whitman greatly revered President Lincoln, but how familiar with Whitman's writing was Lincoln? (For more information on this year's Oklahoma Chautauqua, visit http://okchautauqua.org.) Dr. Peterson, now Doane College Professor Emeritus, was named a Phi Beta Kappa scholar at the University of Arkansas, where he earned his M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in English. He taught at Doane College (in Nebraska) from 1964 to 2001, and has taught and studied at several other schools as well. He's also had much experience as a Chautauqua performer, portraying (in addition to Whitman) the likes of Thomas Paine, Jack London, and James Thurber. Also on our show today: Ian Shoales has a commentary about an unsettling (yet funny) new trend, karaoke rage.