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431 Stevens Street
Camden New Jersey
Jan: 15 '81
My dear friend
As I have not rec'd the proof,1 I take it things are
lagging or postponed a little with the Critic (is that the
name?)—
—In the Feb: N AReview there is a piece of mine about Poetry
(a good many of my private sentiments publicly expressed)2—Of course I should like to have it exploited—& by you if
handy—Should you think proper, would it be worth while to get it in advance,
for the Herald?3 (should the Review not be out when you get this) you can send to Mr
Rice,4 the editor, or Mr Metcalf5 the business manager, & I think get the
sheets—you can use my name—
Walt Whitman
Should you notice, send to me
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In my last I addressed you at 757 Broadway—is either that, or the address to
this letter, all right?
—Send me word more definitely about the Critic & mind the proof—send it in a
letter, letter postage—& it will be returned same night—
—I am feeling real well for me this winter
WW6
Notes
- 1. Whitman returned the
proof of his article on January 20 (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E.
Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of
Congress, Washington, D.C.). [back]
- 2. "The Poetry of the
Future" (see the letter from Whitman to Harry Stafford of January 2, 1881). [back]
- 3. Jeannette Gilder had been
associated with the New York Herald (see the letter from
Whitman to John Burroughs of December 12,
1878). [back]
- 4. Charles Allen Thorndike
Rice (1851–1889) purchased The North American
Review in 1876. See also the letter from Whitman to John Burroughs of
February 1, 1881. [back]
- 5. Perhaps Lorettus S.
Metcalf, listed in the directories as a journalist. [back]
- 6. The following phrase appears
at the bottom of the letter in Whitman's hand, but has been rubbed out: "The
article in Feb Rev was." [back]