How did a carpenter’s son, grammar school dropout, and sometime hack writer become America’s greatest poet? “Poet of the Body: New York’s Walt Whitman” will commemorate Whitman’s 200th birthday on May 31, 2019 with a
landmark exhibition that showcases New York’s role in the extraordinary
transformation of Walter Whitman Jr. to “Walt Whitman, a kosmos, of Manhattan
the son.”
Whitman
is now universally acclaimed as the “Good Gray Poet” and for his Civil War
writings, though less is known of his early years as a Long Islander,
Brooklynite and self-described “Manhattanese.” This exhibition presents the
story of his coming of age as a poet through a unique assemblage of rare books,
manuscripts and artifacts, many never before seen, from the Whitman Collection
of Susan Jaffe Tane; the world’s most important archives of Whitman materials,
including the Library of Congress and the New York Public Library; private
family collections of the descendants of Whitman’s friends and associates,
including one of the original printers of the first edition of Leaves of Grass; and forgotten treasures
from such repositories as Bryn Mawr College’s Special Collections and the
Brooklyn College Library.
A celebration of Whitman’s enduring
relationship with the metropolis that sired and inspired him, the exhibition
has been co-curated by collector Susan Jaffe Tane, and Dr. Karen Karbiener, NYU
professor and internationally recognized Whitman scholar.
Among the exhibit’s highlights are:
- Every American
edition of Leaves of Grass published
during Whitman’s lifetime, including three copies of America’s “declaration of
cultural independence,” the first edition of Leaves of Grass (1855).
- Whitman’s
annotated copies of The Complete Works of
Robert Burns (1879), Shelley’s Works
(1847), Homer’s Iliad (1857), and
several other books from his personal library.
- Manuscripts
including a never-before-exhibited early iteration of the poem “So Long!”,
Whitman’s technical specifications for building a Brooklyn house, his notes
towards a self-help manual on “Manly Training,” and his 18-page fair copy of the
poem “A Carol of Harvest,” the longest Whitman manuscript remaining in private
hands.
- Correspondence to
Whitman from Fred Vaughan (probably the poet’s first serious love interest),
Whitman’s annotated photos and notes on Fred Gray (namesake of America’s first
gay men’s club), the poet’s notes towards the homoerotic poetic cluster “Live
Oak with Moss,” and one of 50 copies of John Addington Symonds’ A Problem in Modern Ethics (1891), a
landmark study of homosexuality.
- A substantial
collection of original images of Whitman, including photographs by Mathew Brady
and Thomas Eakins; a stereocard by Jeremiah Gurney; and an oil portrait of the
poet in his prime by fellow New Yorker Charles Hine.
- Whitman’s pen and
cane, a bronzed cast of his hand, and locks of his hair encased in exquisite
Victorian rings designed by eminent New York jeweler John H. Johnston.
- A collection of
work by Whitman’s most ardent supporters, including one of Horace Traubel’s
notebooks documenting the poet’s words and actions, and Henry Saunders’
handmade One Hundred Whitman Portraits.
- Examples of
Whitman’s legacy in the book arts, including books by Thomas Mosher and the
Roycroft Press, and original artwork by Brian Selznick and Allen Crawford.
- Ephemera
including a lively array of advertisements by and about Whitman, such as an
oversized broadside advertising Leaves of
Grass designed by the poet himself; and examples of Whitman’s commercial
appearance on cigar boxes, food labels, album art and clothing catalogues.
- Interactive
features allow visitors to experience Whitman and his New York in 3-D using
modern stereograph technology, to take a virtual walk with Walt down Broadway
circa 1850, and to examine a colorful, surprising range of Whitman-related
ephemera.
CATALOGUE AND COMMEMORATIVE MEDALLION: Poet of the
Body: New York’s Walt Whitman [Grolier
Club, 2019], a book based on the exhibition with text by Ms. Tane and Dr.
Karbiener, is available at the Club and from Oak Knoll Books (
[email protected]). A commemorative 3
½-inch bronze medallion honoring Whitman’s 200th birthday has been
specially commissioned from sculptor Marc Mellon as part of the exhibit and
will be available as of May 15. To order, contact Grolier administrative
assistant Maev Brennan at
[email protected].
PUBLIC PROGRAMS
EXHIBITION TOURS: Free guided tours of the exhibition, led by curators
Susan Tane and Karen Karbiener, will be held on Wednesday, May 15, from 12 to 1
p.m.; Wednesday, May 22, from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m.; and Thursday, May 30, from
6:30 to 7:30 p.m. No reservations required.
LECTURES and PRESENTATIONS:
- Wednesday, May
22, 12:00-1:00 p.m. – “Printing Walt Whitman’s Faces,” lecture by Barbara
Henry, Harsimum Press.
- Thursday, May 30,
5:30-6:30 p.m. – “ ‘This is the city, and I am one of the citizens’: Walt
Whitman, The Body, and the City,” lecture by Ed Folsom, University of Iowa.
- Tuesday, June 18,
12:00-1:00 p.m. – “I Sing the Exhibition Digital,” presentation by Jesse
Merandy and the Bard Grad Center’s Digital Media Lab.
- Thursday, June
20, 5:30-6:30 p.m. – “A Year in the Basement with Walt Whitman,” presentation
by Allen Crawford, illustrator.
- Tuesday, July 23,
5:30-6:30 p.m. – “Whitman’s Live Oak,
with Moss,” multimedia presentation by Brian Selznick and Karen Karbiener.
WHITMAN SYMPOSIUM: To be held at the Grolier Club on Saturday, June 1,
from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Twelve internationally acclaimed scholars will deliver
presentations on the theme of “Walt Whitman and New York,” including one Pecha
Kucha session; the Dessoff Choirs will perform a selection of Whitman song
settings; and Whitman scholars Betsy Erkkila and Kenneth Price will deliver
keynote lectures. Admission is free, but reservations are required by e-mailing
[email protected].
WHITMAN 2019 CONSORTIUM: Curators Susan Tane and Karen Karbiener are also
co-Directors of the Consortium, a global collective of more than 70
institutions, organizations, venues and individuals celebrating Whitman’s 200th
birthday next year. For more information on events, a print copy of the
publication and schedule is available at the Grolier Club; or visit: http://waltwhitmaninitiative.org/whitman-2019-consortium/
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT:
Susan
Flamm
Public Relations Consultant to the Grolier Club
212-289-2999 /
[email protected]
or
Jennifer
Sheehan
Exhibitions & Communications
Manager
212-838-6690, x2 /
[email protected]