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Library Programs on Walt Whitman
| Walt Whitman Biography |
Books from our Collection | Recommended Websites |
Use a Library Database
 The Camden home of renowned poet Walt Whitman will be
dedicated as a Literary Landmark by the
New Jersey Center for the Book
at a ceremony on Friday, November 6, 11 a.m., at the Rutgers Camden
Campus Center. (directions)
The public is invited to join in the commemoration of the Mickle Avenue
site.
Library Programs on Walt Whitman
As part of the county-wide celebration coordinated by
Freeholder Riletta Cream, a member of the board of the NJ Center for the
Book, the Library will present two programs for adults and teens.
An Evening with Walt Whitman
Monday, November 9, 7 p.m., Haddon Township (directions)
Performer Rocky Wilson, acting in character, will recollect Whitman’s
works, including his famous Leaves of Grass poetry collection, and
discuss their significance. Revisit this extraordinary poet’s works with
this local reenactor.
Register for this program.
Mr. Malcolm Presents Walt Whitman
Friday, November 13, 7 p.m., Vogelson (directions)
Popular children’s entertainer Mr. Malcolm shows his dramatic side in
a presentation for adults on the life, times and works of Walt Whitman.
Register for this program.
About Walt
Whitman
 Considered
by many
to be
the
greatest
of all
American
poets,
Walt
Whitman
celebrated
the
freedom
and
dignity
of the
individual
and sang
the
praises
of
democracy
and the
brotherhood
of man.
His
Leaves
of
Grass,
unconventional
in both
content
and
technique,
is
probably
the most
influential
volume
of poems
in the
history
of
American
literature.
The second of
nine children,
Whitman
was born in 1819 on
Long Island, New
York, to Quaker
parents. In 1823 the
Whitmans moved to
Brooklyn, where Whitman
attended public
school. At age
eleven he left
school to work as an
office boy in a law
office and then as a
typesetter's
apprentice at a
number of print
shops. Although his
family moved back to
Long Island in 1834,
Whitman
stayed in Brooklyn
and then New York
City to become a
compositor. Unable
to find work, he
rejoined his family
on Long Island in
1836 and taught at
several schools. In
addition to
teaching,
Whitman
started his own
newspaper, the
Long Islander.
He subsequently
edited numerous
papers for short
periods over the
next fourteen years,
including the New
York Aurora
and the Brooklyn
Eagle, and
published poems and
short stories in
various periodicals.
Whitman
did little in terms
of employment from
the 1850 to 1855.
Instead, he focused
on his own work,
writing and printing
the first edition of
his collection of
poems Leaves of
Grass. Over the
next few years,
Whitman
continued to write
and briefly returned
to journalism.
During the American
Civil War he tended
wounded soldiers in
army hospitals in
Washington, D.C.,
while working as a
copyist in the army
paymaster's office.
Following the war
Whitman
worked for the
Department of the
Interior and then as
a clerk at the
Justice Department.
He remained in this
position until he
suffered a paralytic
stroke in 1873.
Although he lived
nearly twenty more
years and published
four more editions
of Leaves of
Grass,
Whitman
produced little
significant new work
following his
stroke. He died in
Camden, New Jersey,
at age 72.
“It has a singular attraction. Its manly vigor, its brawny health, seems to
incite and satisfy. We look forward to with curious anticipation to Mr. Walt
Whitman’s future works. We are much mistaken if, after all, he does not yet
contribute something to American literature which shall awaken wonder. “
-- New York Times review of “Leaves of Grass”, November 13, 1856.
Check Out a Book From our
Comprehensive Collection
Books containing Whitman’s writings as well as information about his life and
literary criticism can be found in the library under the call number 811.3 Whi.
Search the catalog for individual titles:
Books by Walt Whitman,
Books about Walt Whitman:
for Adults,
For Kids and Teens
Websites about Walt Whitman
His Life | His Work |
Civil War and Abraham Lincoln
His Work:
The Walt Whitman Archive
http://www.whitmanarchive.org/
A major online resource for all things Walt Whitman. Drawing on the
resources of libraries and collections from around the United States and the
world, the Archive houses facsimile collections of Whitman’s works as well as
collections of criticisms, essays and images.
Walt Whitman: Online Resources at the Library of Congress
http://www.loc.gov/rr/program/bib/whitman/
The Library of Congress houses the largest archival collection of Walt Whitman
materials in the world. This guide features digital copies of his notebooks,
letters, and photos, as well as teacher resources.
Walt Whitman Collection at Bartleby.com
http://www.bartleby.com/people/WhitmnW.html
The full text of his pivotal work, Leaves of Grass. Also includes his war
diaries and Whitman quotations from Bartlett’s.
American Experience: Walt Whitman
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/whitman/
Watch the PBS program online, see a map of Whitman’s New York and explore a
timeline of his life.
Selections from Walt Whitman's
Leaves of Grass
http://wiredforbooks.org/waltwhitman/
Read by Richard Sater.
Civil War and Abraham Lincoln:
Lincoln and Whitman: A Historian’s Perspective
http://www.historynow.org/12_2005/historian5.html
Two of Whitman’s best know poems relate to Lincoln, “O Captain, My Captain” and
“When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloomed.”
American Civil War Collections
http://etext.virginia.edu/civilwar/
From the University of Virginia Library, this site is home to primary source
material on the American Civil War, including letters, diaries and newspapers.
Poetry and Music of the American Civil War
http://www.civilwarpoetry.org/
Artists' perspectives on the war, including many from
Whitman, who served as a nurse in Union field hospitals.
The Assassination of Abraham Lincoln
http://www.loc.gov/rr/print/list/599_linc.html
Selected images from the collections of the Library of Congress.
Library Databases:
For literary criticism of Whitman’s works and information about his life,
have your library card handy.
You’ll find a number of great resources for complete, authoritative
information in our
Literature
databases.
Use the Daily Life
Online database
for information on life during the American Civil War.
Search the entire archive of the New York Times back to 1851 for articles on
Whitman from a timely perspective using the New York Times Digital Archive (available at the Vogelson branch in Voorhees).
This project is a joint collaboration coordinated by Freeholder
Riletta Cream involving several state and local agencies.
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