Richard Maurice Bucke to Walt Whitman, 3 September 1888
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Superintendent's Office.1 ASYLUM FOR THE INSANE
LONDON.
ONTARIO
London, Ont.,3 Sept 1888
I have your note of 31st written on "November Boughs"2 paper—it is first class and will make a handsome book—I hope you will not trim the margins but leave the paper its full size—of course you will not trim the margins in vol. of C.W.s3? The weather here is wonderful—so cool, bright and cheery—the place looks well—autumn flowers at their best—I fear, dear Walt, you are feeling pretty miserable but you must not give up—there is a glorious future ahead of you yet.
RM Bucke
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See notes Sept 5, '88
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Correspondent:
Richard Maurice Bucke (1837–1902) was a
Canadian physician and psychiatrist who grew close to Whitman after reading Leaves of Grass in 1867 (and later memorizing it) and
meeting the poet in Camden a decade later. Even before meeting Whitman, Bucke
claimed in 1872 that a reading of Leaves of Grass led him
to experience "cosmic consciousness" and an overwhelming sense of epiphany.
Bucke became the poet's first biographer with Walt
Whitman (Philadelphia: David McKay, 1883), and he later served as one
of his medical advisors and literary executors. For more on the relationship of
Bucke and Whitman, see Howard Nelson, "Bucke, Richard Maurice," Walt Whitman: An
Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York:
Garland Publishing, 1998).
Notes
- 1. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle Street | Camden | New Jersey | U.S.A. It is postmarked: LONDON | PM | SP 3 | 88 | CANADA; CAMDEN, N.J. | SEP | 5 | 6AM | [illegible] | [illegible]. [back]
- 2. Whitman's November Boughs was published in October 1888 by Philadelphia publisher David McKay. For more information on the book, see James E. Barcus Jr., "November Boughs [1888]," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). [back]
- 3. Whitman wanted to publish a "big book" that included all of his writings, and, with the help of Horace Traubel, Whitman made the presswork and binding decisions for the volume. Frederick Oldach bound Whitman's Complete Poems & Prose (1888), which included a profile photo of the poet on the title page. The book was published in December 1888. For more information on the book, see Ed Folsom, Whitman Making Books/Books Making Whitman: A Catalog and Commentary (University of Iowa: Obermann Center for Advanced Studies, 2005). [back]