Content:
This manuscript is a note by Whitman for the poem "To the Man-of-War Bird," which was first published in the April 1, 1876 issue of
Athenaeum.
Content:
Comprised of a clipping featuring text reprinted from the chapter "Triumph of the Wing. The Frigate Bird" in Jules Michelet's
The Bird
and a printed copy of Whitman's "To the Man-of-War-Bird," both of which have been pasted to the back of a letter fragment that Whitman received from T. W. H. Rolleston. This manuscript includes prose notes in Whitman's hand. These notes describe the basic narrative structure of "The Man-of-War-Bird," a poem published in the London
Anthenæum
(1 April 1876). Reprinted as "Thou Who Hast Slept All Night Upon the Storm" in the Philadelphia
Progress
(16 November 1878) and as "To the Man-of-War-Bird" in
Leaves of Grass
(1881–1882 and 1891–1892). As Whitman acknowledged when it appeared in the
Progress
, the poem owes much to Michelet's work, particularly to the English translation of
The Bird,
first published in 1868.
Whitman Archive Title: Thou Who Hast Slept All Night Upon the Storm
Content:
Printed copy of "Thou Who
Hast Slept All Night Upon the Storm" with bibliographic notations and
corrections in Whitman's hand. This clipping is from the Philadelphia
Progress
(November 16, 1878). The poem had been published earlier as
"The
Man-of-War Bird" in the 1 April 18 issue of
The Athenæum.
It was eventually titled "To the Man-of-War-Bird."
Content:
A heavily edited draft of the poem initially published as "The Man-of-War Bird" and eventually titled "To the Man-of-War-Bird." The draft is accompanied by Whitman's note about the poem's first publication in the April 1876 issue of
The Athenæum.
The note itself is dated March 1876.
Whitman Archive Title: Thou Who Hast Slept All Night Upon the Storm
Content:
Proof of "Thou Who
Hast Slept All Night Upon the Storm," with
corrections in Whitman's hand. The poem was first published as
"The
Man-of-War Bird" in the 1 April 18 issue of
The Athenæum
and finally titled "To the Man-of-War-Bird."
Whitman Archive Title: Thou Who Hast Slept All Night Upon the Storm
Content:
Proof of "Thou Who
Hast Slept All Night Upon the Storm," with bibliographic notations and
corrections in Whitman's hand. The poem was first published as
"The
Man-of-War Bird" in the 1 April 18 issue of
The Athenæum
and finally titled "To the Man-of-War-Bird."
Whitman Archive Title: Thou Who Hast Slept All Night Upon the Storm
Content:
Printed copy of "The Man-of-War Bird" (later published as
"To the
To the Man-of-War-Bird") with a bibliographic notation in Whitman's hand. This page is from the London
Athenæum
(April 1, 1876).
Content:
Clipping of "The
Man-of-War-Bird," with handwritten revisions, from the November 16, 1878
Philadelphia Progress
.
The poem had first appeared in the London
Athenaeum
, on 1 April 1876. The poem was included in some copies of
Leaves of Grass
(1876). In the 1881–82 and later printings of Leaves of Grass it was included in the "Sea-Drift" cluster. The newspaper
clipping has been pasted down and no verso image is available.
