Content:
A manuscript of the poem "Penitenzia," unpublished in Whitman's
lifetime. The poem is apparently based on a photograph of Whitman possibly
taken by the photographer, William Kurtz, in the 1860s.
A note at the top of the manuscript, in Whitman's hand, reads, "p. 10
Passage to India," indicating that the poem might have been intended for
inclusion in the volume of that name (
Passage to India
) published in 1870. An earlier draft of this poem appears in a notebook now in the Feinberg Collection at the Library of Congress and was the basis for a version titled "Mask with Their Lids," published in Clifton J. Furness's
Walt Whitman's Workshop
and Harold W. Blodgett and Scully Bradley's
Leaves of Grass: Comprehensive Reader's Edition
.
The lines seem to anticipate the poem, "Out from Behind This Mask," first published in
the
New York Tribune
on
February 19,
1876.
Whitman Archive Title: [Mask with their lids thine eyes]
Content:
A draft of a poem never published in Whitman's lifetime, but published
posthumously as "[Mask with
Their Lids]." The draft was evidently part of a larger
notebook titled "Penitenzia," but no other pages from such a notebook are
present in this folder. The folder also contains two pages from Clifton
Joseph Furness's book
Walt
Whitman's Workshop
concerning the draft.
Whitman Archive Title: Veil with their lids thine eyes, O Soul
Content:
One of the notebooks commonly known as the "Penitenzia" notebooks
because that word is written in red ink on the covers. It includes
drafts and trial lines of the poem "Penitenzia," (published
posthumously as "Mask with Their Lids"). loc.02901 is another "Penitenzia" notebook that also has drafts and trial lines for the poem.
Content:
One of the notebooks commonly known as the "Penitenzia" notebooks because that word is
written in red ink on the cover. It includes drafts and trial lines
of the poem "[Mask with
Their Lids]" (published posthumously.) loc.00312 is another "Penitenzia" notebook that also has drafts and trial lines for the poem "[Mask with Their Lids]." There are also notes about other poems and the
arrangement of
Leaves of
Grass
.
