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Standish James O'Grady to Walt Whitman, 8 March 1892

 loc.03387.003_large.jpg Dear Sir.

I hear that you are sick2 & write a line to send you my love & all manner of kind wishes. I was one of the first to welcome you & your poetry on this side of the Atlantic. I wrote as Arthur Clive in the Gentleman's Magazine3 long ago & ever since have ever found  loc.03387.004_large.jpg  loc.03387.005_large.jpg your books a great comfort & delight to me & have caused many to buy them

I remain dear Sir Yours very affectionately Standish O'Grady  loc.03387.006_large.jpg  loc.03387.001_large.jpg  loc.03387.002_large.jpg

Correspondent:
Standish James O'Grady (1846–1928), a lawyer and later a celebrated Irish poet, published (under the pseudonym Arthur Clive) "Walt Whitman: the Poet of Joy," the Gentleman's Magazine, 15 (December 1875), 704–716, in which he concluded that Walt Whitman "is the noblest literary product of modern times, and his influence is invigorating and refining beyond expression." See Harold Blodgett, Walt Whitman in England (Cornell: Cornell University Press, 1934), 180–182, and Hugh Art O'Grady, Standish James O'Grady—The Man & the Writer (Dublin: Talbot Press, 1929). See also Joann P. Krieg, chapter 8, "Dublin," Walt Whitman and the Irish (Iowa City: University of Iowa Press, 2000), 190–231.


Notes

  • 1. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle Street | Camden | New Jersey | United States of America. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Mar | 4PM | 92 | Rec'd; New York | 92; Paid | J | All. [back]
  • 2. This letter arrived in Camden a couple of weeks before Whitman died. On December 17, 1891, Whitman had come down with a chill and was suffering from congestion in his right lung. Although the poet's condition did improve in January 1892, he would never recover. He was confined to his bed, and his physicians, Dr. Daniel Longaker of Philadelphia and Dr. Alexander McAlister of Camden, provided care during his final illness. Whitman died on March 26, 1892. [back]
  • 3. The Gentleman's Magazine was founded in London by the printer and editor Edward Cave (1691–1754), and the monthly periodical had an uninterrupted run of more than one hundred and ninety years from 1731 to 1922. The magazine published extracts from numerous publications as well as original works aimed at an educated readership. [back]
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