Camden
July 3 noon '891
Easier slightly—continue to eat & sleep fairly—weather continues
rainy warm unhealthy (now 4th day)—fair bowel action every 2d or 3d
day—havn't taken any medicine in a long time—(no doctors here 3 or 4
months)—sent the big b'k2 to my late German friendly
critic, Edw'd Bertz, Potsdam3—As I conclude the sun
shines out—Wrote yesterday to Mrs. O'C[onnor]4 & sent
"Unity"5—
Walt Whitman
Correspondent:
Richard Maurice Bucke (1837–1902) was a
Canadian physician and psychiatrist who grew close to Whitman after reading Leaves of Grass in 1867 (and later memorizing it) and
meeting the poet in Camden a decade later. Even before meeting Whitman, Bucke
claimed in 1872 that a reading of Leaves of Grass led him
to experience "cosmic consciousness" and an overwhelming sense of epiphany.
Bucke became the poet's first biographer with Walt
Whitman (Philadelphia: David McKay, 1883), and he later served as one
of his medical advisors and literary executors. For more on the relationship of
Bucke and Whitman, see Howard Nelson, "Bucke, Richard Maurice," Walt Whitman: An
Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York:
Garland Publishing, 1998).
Notes
- 1. This letter is addressed:
Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. |
Jul 3 | 8 pm | 89. [back]
- 2. Whitman's Complete Poems & Prose (1888), a volume Whitman often referred to
as the "big book," was published by the poet himself—in an arrangement
with publisher David McKay, who allowed Whitman to use the plates for both Leaves of Grass and Specimen
Days—in December 1888. With the help of Horace Traubel, Whitman made
the presswork and binding decisions for the volume. Frederick Oldach bound the
book, which included a profile photo of the poet on the title page. For more
information on the book, see Ed Folsom, Whitman Making Books/Books Making Whitman: A Catalog and
Commentary (University of Iowa: Obermann Center for Advanced Studies, 2005). [back]
- 3. On June 16, 1889 Eduard
Bertz (1853–1931) sent Whitman an article he had published in the Deutsche Presse of June 2 (Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Friday, June 28, 1889). On July 2 Whitman sent Bertz Complete Poems & Prose, and on July 7 a copy of
Bucke's book (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the
Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.).
Bertz thanked the poet on July 20–22; he
stated that he preferred Freiligrath's translations to those of Rolleston and
Knortz, and called attention to his own book The French
Prisoners (1884), "the story of a friendship between a German boy and a
young French soldier," with a chapter motto from Leaves of
Grass. In 1905 Bertz published Walt Whitman; ein
Charakterbild, which candidly argued that Whitman was a (sexually
inactive) homosexual; the work generated one of the earliest public debates
about Whitman's sexuality. For more information on Bertz, see Grünzweig,
Walter, "Bertz, Eduard (1853–1931)," Walt Whitman: An
Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York:
Garland Publishing, 1998). [back]
- 4. Ellen M. "Nelly" O'Connor (1830–1913) was the
wife of William D. O'Connor (1832–1889), one of Whitman's staunchest
defenders. Before marrying William, Ellen Tarr was active in the antislavery and
women's rights movements as a contributor to the Liberator and to a women's rights newspaper Una. Whitman dined with the O'Connors frequently during his Washington
years. Though Whitman and William O'Connor would temporarily break off their
friendship in late 1872 over Reconstruction policies with regard to emancipated
African Americans, Ellen would remain friendly with Whitman. The correspondence
between Whitman and Ellen is almost as voluminous as the poet's correspondence
with William. Three years after William O'Connor's death, Ellen married the
Providence businessman Albert Calder. For more on Whitman's relationship with the O'Connors, see Dashae
E. Lott, "O'Connor, William Douglas [1832–1889]" and Lott's "O'Connor (Calder),
Ellen ('Nelly') M. Tarr (1830–1913)," Walt
Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New
York: Garland Publishing, 1998). [back]
- 5. It is unclear what issue
of Unity Whitman sent; Horace Traubel published an
account of Whitman's seventieth birthday dinner in Unity,
but it did not appear until August 1890. [back]