We currently provide full transcriptions and page images for several of Whitman's notebooks. Other notebooks will be added over time, as we are able to complete the work of editing them. For more about our editorial policy and encoding practices for Whitman's notebooks, including a working definition of what constitutes a notebook, see our editorial policy statement. As always, we welcome corrections and suggestions for more effective treatment of Whitman’s work. Comments can be directed to the editors.
In this index we have included dates or date ranges to give a general estimate of when the notebook was written. Since most of Whitman's notebooks are undated, these are often necessarily speculative. For further specificity and explanation of the date associated with any notebook, see the dates and editorial notes in the metadata sections at the top of the individual transcription files. To sort the index list, use the "Sort By" drop-down.
In addition to the full transcriptions available here, this link takes you to the Library of Congress's website devoted to some of the Whitman notebooks in their collections.
Simply enter the word you wish to find and the search engine will search for every instance of the word in the journals. For example: Fight. All instances of the use of the word fight will show up on the results page.
Using an asterisk (*) will increase the odds of finding the results you are seeking. For example: Fight*. The search results will display every instance of fight, fights, fighting, etc. More than one wildcard may be used. For example: *ricar*. This search will return most references to the Aricara tribe, including Ricara, Ricares, Aricaris, Ricaries, Ricaree, Ricareis, and Ricarra. Using a question mark (?) instead of an asterisk (*) will allow you to search for a single character. For example, r?n will find all instances of ran and run, but will not find rain or ruin.
Searches are not case sensitive. For example: george will come up with the same results as George.
Searching for a specific phrase may help narrow down the results. Rather long phrases are no problem. For example: "This white pudding we all esteem".
Because of the creative spellings used by the journalists, it may be necessary to try your search multiple times. For example: P?ro*. This search brings up numerous variant spellings of the French word pirogue, "a large dugout canoe or open boat." Searching for P?*r*og?* will bring up other variant spellings. Searching for canoe or boat also may be helpful.
| Entering in only one field | Searches |
|---|---|
| Year, Month, & Day | Single day |
| Year & Month | Whole month |
| Year | Whole year |
| Month & Day | 1600-#-# to 2100-#-# |
| Month | 1600-#-1 to 2100-#-31 |
| Day | 1600-01-# to 2100-12-# |
| Title | Date (not before) | Date (not after) |
|---|---|---|
| 9th av. | 1854 | 1860 |
| a schoolmaster | 1841 | 1852 |
| Autobiographical Data | 1848 | 1856 |
| from Hookers command | 1863 | 1863 |
| I know a rich capitalist | 1853 | 1860 |
| In his presence | 1850 | 1855 |
| med Cophósis | 1852 | 1854 |
| No doubt the efflux | 1845 | 1855 |
| Poem incarnating the mind | 1840 | 1855 |
| Review— | 1865 | 1865 |
| scene in the woods on | 1863 | 1863 |
| "Summer Duck" | 1852 | 1855 |
| Talbot Wilson | 1847 | 1854 |
| The regular old followers | 1853 | 1855 |
| women | 1854 | 1860 |
| you know how | 1845 | 1855 |