Content:
A draft of "Walt Whitman's Poem Today at Dartmouth College," an essay announcing the commencement poem Whitman delivered at Dartmouth June 26, 1872. This piece was published in the 26 June 1872 issue of the
Washington Evening Star
and includes excerpts from Whitman's poem, "Thou Mother with Thy Equal Brood," originally published in the
New York Herald
26 June 1872 under the title "As a Strong Bird on Pinions Free." This poem was later published with seven other poems in a pamphlet,
As a Strong Bird on Pinions Free
(1872). It was also included in a supplement bound with
Two Rivulets
(1876). Whitman eventually changed the title to "Thou Mother with Thy Equal Brood," added a new opening stanza, made additional revisions, and incorporated the poem into
Leaves of Grass
(1881–82).
