Content:
A fair copy of a poem titled, "Thou vast Rondure, swimming in space," that Whitman attempted to publish in several venues, to no avail. In December 1868 Whitman sent a copy of this poem to John Morley, then editor of the
Fortnightly Review
. Morley replied that he could not print the poem until April. For the solicitation to the
Fortnightly Review
, see Whitman's
December 17, 1868
letter to Morley. On
20 January 1869
, Whitman sent the poem to James T. Fields at the
Atlantic Monthly
. Unaccountably, the poem did not appear in print. Parts of the poem were reworked and first published as section five of "Passage to India" (1871). A facsimile of this manuscript appeared in the
Brooklyn Daily Eagle,
26 October 1911. For more on the publication history of "Thou vast Rondure, swimming in space," see Joann P. Krieg, "Holograph Manuscript of 'Thou Vast Rondure' Comes to Light On Long Island,"
Walt Whitman Quarterly Review
5 (Summer 1987), 32-36.
Content:
On two leaves of pink paper, both 21 x 13 cm, in black ink, with minor revisions
in the same ink. Pinholes mostly in center and at top of both pages. This poem
became section 21 of "Calamus"
in 1860; the lines on the first manuscript page became verses 1-6, and those on
the second ("I hear not the volumes of/ sound merely—...") became 7-9. Retitled
"That Music Always Round
Me" in 1867, it was transferred in 1871 to the "Whispers of Heavenly Death"
cluster in
Passage to India.
In
1881 Whitman incorporated it, with the rest of the cluster, in the main body of
Leaves
.
Content:
On one light blue Williamsburgh tax blank (21.5 x 12 cm), in dark brown ink, with
revisions in fine pen and pencil. Whitman penciled in a question mark, in
parentheses, next to the title. With the addition of the new first line "O love!"
this became section 27 of "Calamus" in 1860. In the 1867
Leaves
it was retitled "O
Living Always—Always Dying!" Whitman next transferred it to the "Passage to India" supplement
bound in with
Leaves
, where it
reappeared in 1876; in the 1881
Leaves
Whitman permanently added it to the cluster "Whispers of Heavenly Death."
Content:
A manuscript of the poem "Penitenzia," unpublished in Whitman's
lifetime. The poem is apparently based on a photograph of Whitman possibly
taken by the photographer, William Kurtz, in the 1860s.
A note at the top of the manuscript, in Whitman's hand, reads, "p. 10
Passage to India," indicating that the poem might have been intended for
inclusion in the volume of that name (
Passage to India
) published in 1870. An earlier draft of this poem appears in a notebook now in the Feinberg Collection at the Library of Congress and was the basis for a version titled "Mask with Their Lids," published in Clifton J. Furness's
Walt Whitman's Workshop
and Harold W. Blodgett and Scully Bradley's
Leaves of Grass: Comprehensive Reader's Edition
.
The lines seem to anticipate the poem, "Out from Behind This Mask," first published in
the
New York Tribune
on
February 19,
1876.
Content:
A complete draft, with extensive revisions, of "Passage to India," a poem first published in
1871 in a small volume of the same name. "Passage to India" was later included as a supplement to the 1871 edition of
Leaves of Grass
. This particular draft includes passages cut from letterpress proofs and is bound with a
letter to Andrew and Thomas Rome, dated 15 March 1870. Most of the verso images are unavailable.
Whitman Archive Title: Thou Vast Rondure, Swimming in Space
Content:
An offprint of "Thou Vast
Rondure, Swimming in Space," with note at the top reading "J.
T. Trowbridge, from W. W." and a note on the verso reading "is to app.
in London Fortnightly for April." Though the poem was submitted in
either 1868 or
1869, it
was never published in the
Fortnightly
. It was later incorporated in the poem "Passage to India,"
which was first published in 1871. "Thou Vast Rondure, Swimming
in Space" was not published as a separate poem.
Whitman Archive Title: from the traditional commencement
Content:
The note in this manuscript bears resemblance to the general theme of the
poem "Passage to India," which was
published in the 1871 edition of
Leaves of Grass
, and was retained in all the subsequent
editions.
Content:
This handmade notebook contains notes for a projected poem, "The Soul's Procession," as well as a newspaper clipping attached to the third leaf, entitled "The Steamship Pereire Disaster"
and dated January 28, 1869. Whitman never finished or published this
poem, but various passages are similar to ideas and language in the poem "Passage to India," first
published in the 1871-1872 edition of
Leaves of Grass
and retained in all
subsequent editions.
Content:
Notes and drafted lines for the poem "Passage to India," first published in a small volume of the same name in 1871. It was later included as a supplement to the second issue of the 1871 edition of
Leaves of Grass
. The first
page features the watermark of "Platner & Porter, Congress" in the
upper right-hand corner.
Content:
This manuscript contains a short reminder about alluding to the Suez Canal. The Suez Canal would appear for the first time
in Whitman's poetry in "Passage to
India", published in the 1871 edition
of
Leaves of Grass
, and the reference was retained thereafter.
Content:
Revised draft of the poem "Passage to India," first published in a small volume of the same name in 1871. It was later included as a supplement to the second issue of the 1871 edition of
Leaves of Grass
. At some point before
March 15, 1870
, Whitman had an early draft of the poem set in print by Andrew and Thomas Rome (the printers of the 1855 edition of
Leaves of Grass
). Whitman then used the printed pages to make edits and corrections, which he subsequently sent to publisher J.S. Redfield, who ultimately printed the finished book. Since this particular draft contains portions of the printed poem pasted onto the manuscript pages, it most likely dates from after March 1870. At the repository, the draft is accompanied by a typewritten memorandum by Emory Holloway, as well as typewritten letters from Amy Lowell and Clifton Joseph Furness to Oscar Lion; images of these items are not available.
Content:
The page appears to be a draft of a title page for a manuscript titled
"Leave-taking
Words" or "Last
Ripples (A Prelude to Passage to India)." At the bottom of
the page are four lines from the end of "Out of the Cradle Endlessly Rocking," first
published as "A Child's
Reminiscence" in 1859. The lines from the poem are
cleanly written, suggesting that they were meant to serve as an epigraph
for Whitman's manuscript. "Passage to India" was published first in 1871. On the
verso is a draft of a stanza of "Eidólons," first published in 1876. The verso also contains prose comments on the war, of which the connection to Whitman's published works is unknown.
Content:
This poem became numbered verse paragraph 4 of section 2 of the title poem in the
separate 1871 publication "Passage
to India." In 1881 the poem "Passage to India" was transferred, ungrouped, to the
main body of
Leaves of Grass
.
