So I have this Idea for a series of short films based off of the poetry and prose of Walt Whitman and have no Idea how to go about it really. I was considering some sort of just artsy nration piece, but I need something more exciting. If anyone has any imput on how to adapt poetry and/or prose to the screen I would greatly appreciate it.
Also I was wondering if the public domain laws apply to literature like music (i.e. if it was written before 1923 it is public domain) because otherwise copyright laws would apply.
Again any imput would be graciously accepted, thanks for your time. A Bientot!

If it is copyrighted, then you need to contact the publisher with a letter of inquiry informing them of what you want to do. If it is in public domain, you can adapt it for free, no contracts necessary. I'm not sure if the pd laws for music apply to literature or not.