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Edward Dowden to Walt Whitman, 15 October 1871

About This Item

  • Title: Edward Dowden to Walt Whitman, 15 October 1871
  • Date: October 15, 1871
  • Creator(s): Edward Dowden
  • Whitman Archive ID: loc.01490
  • Source: The Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839-1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. Transcribed from digital images or a microfilm reproduction of the original item. For a description of the editorial rationale behind our treatment of the correspondence, see our statement of editorial policy.
  • Cite this page: Dowden, Edward. "Edward Dowden to Walt Whitman, 15 October 1871." The Walt Whitman Archive. Gen. ed. Matt Cohen, Ed Folsom, & Kenneth M. Price. Accessed 24 April 2024. <http://www.whitmanarchive.org>.
  • Source File: loc.01490.xml (TEI)
 loc.01490.003.jpg 50 Wellington Road Dublin, Oct 15, 1871 My dear Sir,

I ought before now to have thanked you for the poem "After all, not to create only", which I read with very great interest & pleasure. The evening I came to Dublin a friend—Todhunter—offered to lend me a copy cut out of a New York newspaper, not knowing I had seen it. Much work lying before me on my return here prevented me from thanking you sooner.

Probably the Hon. Roden Noel, almost certainly Mr Rossetti has sent you a copy of this month's "Dark Blue"—nevertheless on the chance of your not having seen it I post a copy. I think you can hardly fail to be pleased with the article upon your poems. The essay in the same number  loc.01490.004.jpg upon Robert Browning is by Miss West, whom I named to you as one who knew & loved what you have written.

I also send you the first morsel of O'Grady's writing (I named him to you also), which has got into print—"Apollo". You will see, I think, that he springs from Carlyle on one side, & from you on the other, & is an aristocratic-democrat or democratic aristocrat. I do not wholly like "Apollo". I think he has made Apollo (& his English fellow) too idle, a god of glorious play merely, whereas he really does each day a good day's joyous work, illuminating the world, & slaying Python, & doctoring sick folk in a magnificent  loc.01490.005.jpg manner.

We have heard here that Mr. Tennyson has asked you to come to him. I hope you will come. And if to England—to Ireland too. And if to Ireland, would you not come to this house if you had not pleasanter quarters? Your welcome, at least, would be very sincere.

Yours very truly Edward Dowden.  loc.01490.006.jpg
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