Walt Whitman to Erastus Brainerd, [1 August 1887]

About This Item

Title: Walt Whitman to Erastus Brainerd, [1 August 1887]
Date: August 1, 1887
Creator(s): Walt Whitman
Whitman Archive ID: nyp.00589
Source: The Henry W. and Albert A. Berg Collection of English and American Literature, New York Public Library. The transcription presented here is derived from Walt Whitman, The Correspondence, ed. Edwin Haviland Miller (New York: New York University Press, 1961–1977), 113. For a description of the editorial rationale behind our treatment of the correspondence, see our statement of editorial policy.
Contributors to digital file: Alex Ashland Stefan Schöberlein Caterina Bernardini Stephanie Blalock
Cite this page: Whitman, Walt. "Walt Whitman to Erastus Brainerd, [1 August 1887]." The Walt Whitman Archive. Gen. ed. Matt Cohen, Ed Folsom, & Kenneth M. Price. Accessed 09 May 2025. <http://www.whitmanarchive.org>.
Source File: nyp.00589.xml (TEI)

Erastus Brainerd News office Dear B—

I think the enclosed or something like it might give the point of how the "Society" matter strikes me1—

Walt Whitman

Correspondent:
Erastus Brainerd (1855–1922) was an American journalist who wrote for and edited the New York World, the Atlanta Constitution, the Philadelphia Press, and the Seattle Press. Born in Connecticut, he moved to New York after some success as a lecture organizer abroad. He was involved with a number of professional organizations in the city before moving to Atlanta in 1882.

Notes

1. This note apparently was sent about August 1 to Brainerd, and the item appeared in the Saturday edition of the Daily News, as indicated in Whitman's letter to Brainerd on August 8, 1887. The Whitman Society was widely discussed at this time by Whitman's friends and critics. There is no extant file of the Daily News for this period. [back]