Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Published Writings
  3. Periodicals
  4. Journalism
  5. per.01296

The Rival Monthlies—Harper’s and the Atlantic

About This Item

  • Title: The Rival Monthlies—Harper’s and the Atlantic
  • Date: 24 April 1858
  • Creator(s): Walt Whitman
  • Whitman Archive ID: per.01296
  • Source: Brooklyn Daily Times, 24 April 1858: 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: Kaylen Michaelis Jamie DeRousse Jason Stacy Stephanie Blalock Karie Cobb
  • Cite this page: Whitman, Walt. "The Rival Monthlies—Harper’s and the Atlantic." The Walt Whitman Archive. Gen. ed. Matt Cohen, Ed Folsom, & Kenneth M. Price. Accessed 16 July 2024. <http://www.whitmanarchive.org>.
  • Source File: per.01296.xml (TEI)
image 1image 2image 3image 4cropped image 1

THE RIVAL MONTHLIES—HARPER'S AND THE ATLANTIC.—

The May numbers of both these favorite and popular serials have been received. HARPER abounds in instructive and amusing reading matter, and its embellishments are as spirited in design and as profuse in number as ever. The talent and capital necessary to sustain such unvaried excellence as this magazine keeps up from month to month and from year to year cannot very well be computed by those who are not “behind the scenes.” The sketches of travel in our Southern States, in India and in the East are especially valuable. The stories in the present number are particularly good, as usual, and the Editorial Department is well attended to. HARPER is THE magazine for the million.1 Of a higher order of literary merit and consequently addressed to a smaller circle of readers, is the ATLANTIC MONTHLY.2 This new enterprise is fairly entitled to the name of the “Blackwood of America.” Indeed we doubt very much if Old Ebony itself ever issued a more brilliant specimen of literary workmanship than the present number of our “Down East” magazine furnishes. We could not begin to notice in detail its richly varied table of contents, but can only refer to the article on Henry W. Beecher,3 the continuation of the “Autocrat of the Breakfast Table,” (Holmes4 is in a serious vein, just now), and the beautiful allegory of Roger Pierce, the Man with two Shadows. The poetry is something more than verse. “Mercedes” and “Camille” are flushed and palpitating with the genuine afflatus. The ATLANTIC is a great success, and its publishers should be proud of it.

Notes:

1.  [back]

2.  [back]

3. Reverend Henry Ward Beecher (1813–1887) was a minister and social reformer who used his position in the church to advocate for anti-slavery. He is the brother of author Harriet Beecher Stowe. [back]

4. Dr. Holmes, Olive Wendell Holmes Sr. (1809-1894) was an American writer and author of the "Autocrat of the Breakfast Table" series of essays which first appeared in the Atlantic Monthly. [back]

Back to top