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Camden N J1—
Sept: 18 '91
J W W[allace]'s2 and y'r letters rec'd—thanks—full
report of Bolton mt'g Aug: 24 rec'd
f'm friends Shorrock3 and Dixon4
("hold your horses, doctor")—the report with a little pruning,
I think ought to go in the book5—am still held
here indoors—long stretch of fine sunny weather cont'd—warm
to–day, sweating me a little—good—Dr Longaker6
here yesterday—nothing specially different—had a fair night
last—bowel movement yest:—
Walt Whitman
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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: Dr
Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Sep
18 | 3 PM | 91; N.Y. | 9-18-91 | 11 PM; London | SP | [illegible] | 91 | Canada. [back]
- 2. James William Wallace
(1853–1926), of Bolton, England, was an architect and great admirer of
Whitman. Wallace, along with Dr. John Johnston (1852–1927), a physician in
Bolton, founded the "Bolton College" of English admirers of the poet. Johnston
and Wallace corresponded with Whitman and with Horace Traubel and other members
of the Whitman circle in the United States, and they separately visited the poet
and published memoirs of their trips in John Johnston and James William Wallace,
Visits to Walt Whitman in 1890–1891 by Two
Lancashire Friends (London: Allen and Unwin, 1917). For more
information on Wallace, see Larry D. Griffin, "Wallace, James William (1853–1926)," Walt
Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New
York: Garland Publishing, 1998). [back]
- 3. Thomas Shorrock was a
clerk in the Bolton police court. [back]
- 4. Wentworth Dixon
(1855–1928) was a lawyer's clerk and a member of the "Bolton College" of
Whitman admirers. He was also affiliated with the Labour Church, an organization
whose socialist politics and working-class ideals were often informed by
Whitman's work. Dixon communicated directly with Whitman only a few times, but
we can see in his letters a profound sense of care for the poet's failing
health, as well as genuine gratitude for Whitman's continued correspondence with
the "Eagle Street College." See Dixon's letters to Whitman of June 13, 1891 and February
24, 1892. For more on Dixon and Whitman's Bolton disciples, see Paul
Salveson, "Loving
Comrades: Lancashire's Links to Walt Whitman," Walt
Whitman Quarterly Review 14.2 (1996), 57–84. [back]
- 5. "The College Farewell to
Dr Bucke and J. W. Wallace" summarized the speeches made on August 24 before the
two men sailed. The main address by Bucke was a résumé of what he was
later to express in Cosmic Consciousness (1905). Bucke
sent his notes about the gathering to Horace Traubel on September 17 and asked
that he edit them for inclusion in a projected volume of essays. Bucke and
Traubel had already begun to make plans for a collected volume of writings by
and about Whitman. The book, titled In Re Walt Whitman
(Philadelphia: David McKay, 1893), was edited by Bucke, Traubel, and Thomas
Harned (Whitman's three literary executors) and would not be published until
1893. Bucke quoted Whitman's sentence of approval to Traubel on September 21,
1891 (Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman,
1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). [back]
- 6. Daniel Longaker
(1858–1949) was a Philadelphia physician who specialized in obstetrics. He
became Whitman's doctor in early 1891 and provided treatment during the poet's
final illness. For more information, see Carol J. Singley, "Longaker, Dr. Daniel [1858–1949]," Walt
Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R.LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New
York: Garland Publishing, 1998). [back]