More than a month back I addressed a letter to you, which misfortune of one kind or
another may have overtaken, or which you may not yet have had time or inclination to
answer.1 It was referring to the scheme of a new
edition of your Poems in England here, but I'm afraid was not clear enough as to the
rights & reasons of such an edition, or the way it would be carried out. In the
letter I explained something of loc.03311.002_large.jpg this, but not enough; and it was careless of me to do this &
then expect you to reply to an insufficient proposal, when you must have already
more to do in this way than can be easily compassed. For fear too that the letter
never reached you at all, it will be better to state the whole matter afresh.
A series of poets was last year begun by Walter Scott2 the
publisher under the occasional editorship of my friend, Joseph Skipsey, poet &
former coal-miner;3 (I have been a coal-miner—a
mining engineer that is—myself; hence the connection!) and in their list a
month or two after my arrival in London as a student of life & letters this
year, I saw rather to my astonishment your name loc.03311.003_large.jpg amid the rest, & feeling that
in some ways I had a special right & knowledge I ventured to write in, offering to
prepare the vol. Skipsey's influence did the rest.
At first it seemed rather out of place to have your work in a series of this kind
called, rather stupidly, "The Canterbury Poets," and got up in a cheap &
prettified fashion, with red lines, &c. But afterwards it struck me that there
might be gain in the end through it. Now I have succeeded in one hope: the
publishers will give up the red lines & trivial design of cover. Next will be to
have your Poems issued in a different shape—quite square I should like to have
it—so as to give your long lines full play! And the very loc.03311.004_large.jpg including of Leaves of Grass in a series like this gives them a chance of reaching people who
would otherwise never see them. What I—& many
young men like me, ardent believers in your poetic initiative—chiefly feel
about this is however, that an edition at a price which will put it in the reach of
the poorest member of the great social democracy is a thing of imperative
requirement. You know what a fervid stir & impulse forward of Humanity there is
to-day in certain quarters, and I am sure you will be tremendously glad to help us
here, in the very camp of the enemy, the stronghold of caste & aristocracy &
all selfishness between rich & poor!
Some people want to claim you as the property of a certain literary clique,—a rara avis, to be carefully kept out of sight of the uneducated mob as not able to understand & appreciate the peculiar qualities of your work. This does harm in many ways, & it would be a very good thing to make a fair trial of the despised mob. The price of Wilson & McCormick's edition4 —half-a-guinea—practically damns the popular circulation of the book, & gives colour to the notion of its being a luxury only for the rich. What we want then is an edition for the poor, & this proposed one at only a shilling would be within reach of every man willing & caring to read.
I did not know until a week or so back that Wilson & McCormick had any direct
authorisation for their Edn, or should certainly have
advised Walter Scott to communicate his intention to them. Now someone has written
on their behalf resenting—very naturally—his appearance in the field.
But this difficulty might be easily settled by Scott paying, say ten guineas outright
or a certain royalty per copy, to them on your account, if W. & McC. would not
like a new contract with you by Scott. The fact of the new proposed edn being one of smaller scope [the vol. would not hold more than ⅔rds of the
poetry;] would no doubt weigh with them too, reference being clearly made to the
complete works to which this would serve as a pilot for loc.03311.007_large.jpg the time being, & increase the
sale in the end.
As for my own share, all I really care about is to procure a serviceable popular
edition, giving all the help an earnest & enthusiastic sympathy can devise. On
mere literary grounds I have very little claim, but I have a great love & desire
to help the struggling mass of men, to be a true soldier in "The War of liberation
of Humanity." I should strive to just say what would best bring your Ideal to the
hearts of such as the coal-miners & shepherds of the North—dear friends of
mine many of them, many consciously, all unconsciously—and being a young
man myself to make Leaves of Grass potent for comradeship and chivalry &
manliness all through in the young men who are in the forefront to-day. loc.03311.008_large.jpg I feel very much
inclined to say a great deal more about my hopes and ideals, but to-night perhaps it
is better not. One thing though I must say a word about,—how much in noblest
knowledge & inspiration I have to thank you for, in life & religion &
poetry & manhood, a debt it will not suffice to pay in words at all, but which
someday you will see, I hope, may be fairly written off the score. Meanwhile,
receive the greeting of one more follower on this side the Atlantic,—
Any suggestions or directions as to the scheme & scope of the book I will thank you for most heartily, and will furnish fuller details as they are arranged.
Correspondent:
Ernest Percival Rhys
(1859–1946) was a British author and editor; he founded the Everyman's
Library series of inexpensive reprintings of popular works. He included a volume
of Whitman's poems in the Canterbury Poets series and two volumes of Whitman's
prose in the Camelot series for Walter Scott publishers. For more information
about Rhys, see Joel Myerson, "Rhys, Ernest Percival (1859–1946)," Walt
Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New
York: Garland Publishing, 1998).