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And I have discovered them

  • Whitman Archive Title: And I have discovered them
  • Whitman Archive ID: duk.00006
  • Repository ID: MS q 1
  • Repository: Catalog of the Walt Whitman Literary Manuscripts in the Trent Collection of Whitmaniana, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina
  • Date: Between 1850 and 1855
  • Genre: poetry
  • Physical Description: 1 leaf, handwritten
  • View Images: 1 | 2
  • Content: The draft lines on one side of the manuscript leaf contributed to the opening poem of the 1855 edition of Leaves of Grass. In the poem's final version, "Song of Myself," these lines are found in section 48. The poem was first titled "Poem of Walt Whitman, an American" in the 1856 edition, and Whitman shortened the title to "Walt Whitman" in 1860–1861. The final title was not introduced until the 1881–1882 edition of Leaves . It is not known whether the prose on the leaf's reverse (see duk.00003) is related to any of Whitman's published work; however, physical and thematic similarities with "And I have discovered them by night and by," above, and "My tongue can never be content with harness," below, make a connection with the 1860 poem "Unnamed Lands" likely.
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