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Whitman Sampler - A Walking Tour of Whitman's Washington

This year marks the 150th anniversary of Walt Whitman's collection of poetry "Leaves of Grass." Communities around the country are marking the anniversary with poetry readings and special events. Whitman enthusiasts in Washington are using the anniversary to spotlight the ten years that Whitman spent here in the nation's capitol, from 1863 to 1873. They were turbulent days. Whitman saw the carnage of the Civil War up close and mourned the death of a president - events that he later memorialized in poetry and prose. But in the years following the war, Whitman also saw D.C. start to come into its own as a capitol city. Grand monuments were going up, and the city was abuzz with politics and commerce.

Today, we offer a glimpse of Whitman's Washington, tagging along with a group of local Whitman scholars as they visit three stops in town that played an important part in Whitman's life.

Commentary by Fred Fiske

Fred Fiske considers the role of language in the melting pot of American society.

World Music in D.C.

It's well known that the D.C. region has one of the most diverse populations in the country. And the city is packed with embassies eager to use the nation's capitol as a platform to showcase their countries' cultures. So it's no surprise that D.C. has become a mecca for what has come to be known as world music. International musicians who are little-known in most of the United States, draw huge crowds in this region. WAMU's Lisa Nurnberger dove headfirst into the area's international music scene this week, and has this report.

The Attack of the Hammered Dulcimers

If you're in the business of concert promoting you're always coming up with catchy names for festivals and package tours. There were those Lollapalooza tours, there was the "Monsters of Rock" tour when a group of heavy metal bands hit the road...and we have three musicians in the studio with us gearing up for what we'll call the "Monsters of Hammered Dulcimer" show. Maggie's Music, the locally-based label specializing in Celtic and traditional acoustic music, is hosting a concert at the Birchmere on Sunday called "Journey to the Heartland." And the show will feature what threatens to be a stage FULL of hammered dulcimers.

The Birchmere show will celebrate the release of two new CDs - "Journey To The Heartland" by Ken Kolodner and "Cottage in the Glen" by Jody Marshall. Ken and Jody both join us, along with the head of Maggie's Music, Maggie Sansone.

Crummy but Good - A Grueling Assignment

Time now for another one of our visits with Crummy but Good food critic, Donovan Kelly. "Crummy but Good" restaurants are places that might look a little sketchy from the outside, but offer great food on the inside. Today we have our work cut out for us. When most of us hear the word "gruel" we immediately imagine a grim scene from Oliver Twist. But a new French restaurant in Great Falls seeks to rescue gruel from centuries of bad press. Here, there is only one item on the menu. You can get it served multiple ways, but you better be in the mood for gruel. David Furst met Donovan in Great Falls just before the lunch crowd started filtering in.

Music Review by Mark Jenkins - Doom Capitol

Washington was once touted as the country's bluegrass capital, and no one can deny that it's the capital of the home-grown dance music known as "go-go." It can even be claimed as the capital of "emo," a subset of punk. But is it really the capital of the darkest style of heavy metal? That's what the organizers suggest by titling their new CD compilation "Doom Capital." Critic Mark Jenkins has this review.

Mark Jenkins also reviews music for Blender and The Washington Post.