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Walt Whitman to William D. O'Connor, 8 April 1889

About This Item

  • Title: Walt Whitman to William D. O'Connor, 8 April 1889
  • Date: April 8, 1889
  • Creator(s): Walt Whitman
  • Whitman Archive ID: nyp.00673
  • 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 The Correspondence, ed. Edwin Haviland Miller (New York: New York University Press, 1961–1977), 319. For a description of the editorial rationale behind our treatment of the correspondence, see our statement of editorial policy.
  • Contributors to digital file: Blake Bronson-Bartlett Caterina Bernardini Alex Ashland Stephanie Blalock
  • Cite this page: Whitman, Walt. "Walt Whitman to William D. O'Connor, 8 April 1889." The Walt Whitman Archive. Gen. ed. Matt Cohen, Ed Folsom, & Kenneth M. Price. Accessed 09 May 2025. <http://www.whitmanarchive.org>.
  • Source File: nyp.00673.xml (TEI)
Camden April 8 '891

Have been trying to while the last two or three hours with the labors, good & ill fortunes &c (well told) of antiquarian Lord Elgin2 in Greece nearly 100 years ago.—Hope this idle card will find you resting & easy—nothing new with me—

Walt Whitman

Correspondent:
William Douglas O'Connor (1832–1889) was the author of the grand and grandiloquent Whitman pamphlet The Good Gray Poet: A Vindication, published in 1866. For more on Whitman's relationship with O'Connor, see Deshae E. Lott, "O'Connor, William Douglas (1832–1889)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998).

Notes

  • 1. This postal card is addressed: Wm D O'Connor | 1015 O Street N W | Washington | D C. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Apr 8 | 8 PM | 89; Washington, Rec'd. | Apr 9 | (?) AM | 89 | 7. [back]
  • 2. Whitman is referring to Thomas Bruce, Earl of Elgin (1766–1841). [back]
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