Walt Whitman

The Democratic Possibilities of Cruising

by Jack Parlett

As a practice, cruising exemplifies the possibilities of urban culture by bringing people into contact with strangers and enabling them to recognize common desires. The history of crusing shows it's not just about sex, but about democracy. 

We Must Fight the New Lost Cause Myth Trump has Birthed

by David Blight

"Yes, disinformation has to be fought with good information. But it must also be fought with fierce politics, with organization, and if necessary with bodies, non-violently."

Can America Recapture Its Signature Exuberance?

by Tracy Dahlby

Walt Whitman understood transcendence of national mood is an uphill climb. Periods of division and strife sort new realities into a renovated sense of purpose. Yet periods of upheaval must necessarily lead to a refitting, not obliteration, of our common story or democracy is toast.

Why We Need Walt Whitman in 2020

by Ed Simon

With our democracy in crisis, the poet and prophet of the American ideal should be our guide.

In a Walt Whitman Novel, Lost for 165 Years, Clues to ‘Leaves of Grass’

A digital sleuth has discovered an anonymously published 1852 serial novel by the poet, which survived in only a single copy of an obscure newspaper.

Rare Walt Whitman letter, written for a dying soldier, found in National Archives

The rare Whitman “soldier letter,” one of only three known to exist, was discovered last month by a National Archives volunteer who is part of a team preparing Civil War widows’ pension files to be digitized and placed online.

The echoes of Walt Whitman’s ‘Drum-Taps’

by Richard Kreitner

It’s difficult to think of a writer as antique as Whitman whose legacy is still as much up for grabs.

Nebraska professor rediscovers lost Walt Whitman poem

Combing through the Library of Congress’s collection of penny newspapers, Wendy Katz stumbled across a famous set of initials. W.W. Yes, that W.W.

Walt Whitman’s Secret History as a Barfly

by Justin Martin

Between roughly 1858 and 1862, Walt Whitman spent almost every night hanging out in a dingy Manhattan saloon.