Whitman published the largest number of his periodical poems—34 of them—in the New York Herald, founded by James Gordon Bennett as a "penny paper" in 1835. The Herald, one of the longest-running newspapers begun in the nineteenth century, was published daily, despite a few breaks in print, until it went out of print in 1924. The newspaper covered news, finance, amusements, sports, and provided editorials and extensive advertisements. With a circulation that ranged from around 30,000 in 1850 to its peak of 190,500 in 1885, the Herald was the most popular and well-read paper in the United States, known for printing a variety of domestic and international news, as well as for its sensational reporting style. Whitman's earliest appearance in the Herald was on November 9, 1842, when a "Wm. Whitman" was listed among the 52 leading newspaper writers of New York. On June 26, 1872, Whitman's first poem published in the paper, "As a Strong Bird on Pinions Free," was printed along with an article about the Dartmouth College graduation ceremonies, held on June 27. Several years later, in late 1887, James Gordon Bennett, Jr., now the editor of the Herald, invited Whitman to contribute a series of poems and prose pieces for the paper. From December 1887 through August 1888, 33 of Whitman's poems appeared, usually in the pages devoted to notices of amusements and performances.
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Nevins, Allan. "James Gordon Bennett." In Dictionary of American Biography, edited by Allen Johnson. New York: American Council of Learned Societies, 1929.
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Whitman, Walt. Leaves of Grass: Comprehensive Reader's Edition. Edited by Harold W. Blodgett and Sculley Bradley. New York: New York University Press, 1965.
"As a Strong Bird on Pinions Free." New York Herald, 26 June 1872, 3
"As the Greeks Signal Flame." New York Herald, 15 December 1887, 3
"To Those Who've Fail'd." New York Herald, 27 January 1888, 6
"Halcyon Days." New York Herald, 29 January 1888, 12
"After the Dazzle of Day." New York Herald, 3 February 1888, 4
"America." New York Herald, 11 February 1888, 4
"Abraham Lincoln (Born Feb. 12, 1809)." New York Herald, 12 February 1888, 12
"True Conquerors." New York Herald, 15 February 1888, 6
"Soon Shall the Winter's Foil Be Here." New York Herald, 21 February 1888, 6
"The Dismantled Ship." New York Herald, 23 February 1888, 4
"Old Salt Kossabone." New York Herald, 25 February 1888, 6
"Mannahatta." New York Herald, 27 February 1888, 4
"Paumanok." New York Herald, 29 February 1888, 6
"From Montauk Point." New York Herald, 1 March 1888, 6
"My Canary Bird." New York Herald, 2 March 1888, 6
"A Prairie Sunset." New York Herald, 9 March 1888, 6
"The Dead Emperor." New York Herald, 10 March 1888, 6
"The First Dandelion." New York Herald, 12 March 1888, 4
"The Wallabout Martyrs." New York Herald, 16 March 1888, 4
"The Bravest Soldiers." New York Herald, 18 March 1888, 14
"Orange Buds by Mail from Florida." New York Herald, 19 March 1888, 4
"Continuities." New York Herald, 20 March 1888, 6
"Broadway." New York Herald, 10 April 1888, 6
"Life." New York Herald, 15 April 1888, 16
"The Final Lilt of Songs." New York Herald, 16 April 1888, 4
"To-day and Thee." New York Herald, 23 April 1888, 6
"Queries to My Seventieth Year." New York Herald, 2 May 1888, 6
"The United States to Old World Critics." New York Herald, 8 May 1888, 6
"Out of May's Shows Selected." New York Herald, 10 May 1888, 6
"As I Sit Writing Here." New York Herald, 14 May 1888, 4
"A Carol Closing Sixty-Nine." New York Herald, 21 May 1888, 4
"Life and Death." New York Herald, 23 May 1888, 6
"The Calming Thought of All." New York Herald, 27 May 1888, 12
"[Over and through the burial chant]." New York Herald, 12 August 1888, 7