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Literary

About This Item

  • Title: Literary
  • Date: 23 September 1857
  • Creator(s): Walt Whitman
  • Whitman Archive ID: per.01198
  • Source: Brooklyn Daily Times, 23 September 1857: 2. Our transcription is based on a digital image of a microfilm scan of the original issue. Microfilm of original issue held at Pennsylvania State University Libraries. For a description of the editorial rationale behind our treatment of the journalism, see our statement of editorial policy.
  • Editorial note: This piece is unsigned, as was the case for most of Whitman's journalism. However, this editorial is part of a series of texts that deal with a coherent theme that has been identified by the Whitman Archive journalism team as likely authored by Whitman. This decision is based on a combination of historical and (auto)biographical accounts, similarity to contemporary Whitman writings, a history of scholarly attribution, extant clippings retained by Whitman, computational stylometric analysis, and, in some cases, manuscript evidence in Whitman’s hand.
  • Contributors to digital file: Thara Michaelis Francesca Boston Jason Stacy Karie Cobb Stephanie Blalock
  • Cite this page: Whitman, Walt. "Literary." The Walt Whitman Archive. Gen. ed. Matt Cohen, Ed Folsom, & Kenneth M. Price. Accessed 16 July 2024. <http://www.whitmanarchive.org>.
  • Source File: per.01198.xml (TEI)
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LITERARY.—

We see that a new book by Alexander Smith1 is soon to be issued. It is to be called “City Poems,” and is to be enriched by a portrait of the author.

Fresh works are promised from Charles Kingsley,2 Charles Reade,3 Mrs. Jameson4 and Mayne Reid.5

Redfield is about to issue a beautifully illustrated edition of Poe’s Poems. Poe6 is slowly becoming appreciated by the mass of readers. In the “inner circles” it has long been acknowledged that in original genius no American writer can be compared with him.

Notes:

1. Alexander Smith (ca. 1830–1867) was a Scottish poet and essayist who represented a group known as the "Spasmodic" School" For more information, see Stephen A. Cooper, "Smith, Alexander (ca. 1830–1867)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). Whitman also left manuscript notes on Smith.  [back]

2. Charles Kingsley (1819–1875) was an English historian, poet and novelist.  [back]

3. Charles Reade (1814–1884), a British novelist who wrote The Cloister and the Hearth . [back]

4. Anna Brownell Jameson (1794–1860), an Anglo-Irish art history who also wrote literary criticisms and feminism works. [back]

5. Mayne Reid (1818–1883) fought in the Mexican-American war, and is most well-known for his writings on slave labor and Native American, as well as his international adventure novels. [back]

6. Edgar Allen Poe (1809–1849) was a well-known American writer, critic, and poet who would occasionally be referred to as "Literary Mohawk" due to his harsh criticism. Whitman met Poe in 1845. For more information on Poe and Whitman, see Amy E. Earhart, "Poe, Edgar Allan (1809–1849)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). [back]

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