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 "not before" and "not after" dates to give a general estimate of when the notebook was written. Since most of Whitman's notebooks are undated, this range is 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 by title or by date, click the "Title" or "Date" headings at the top of the columns.
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.
Title | Date (not before) | Date (not after) |
Poem incarnating the mind | 1840 | 1855 |
a schoolmaster | 1841 | 1852 |
No doubt the efflux | 1845 | 1855 |
you know how | 1845 | 1855 |
Talbot Wilson | 1847 | 1854 |
Autobiographical Data | 1848 | 1856 |
In his presence | 1850 | 1855 |
"Summer Duck" | 1852 | 1855 |
med Cophósis | 1852 | 1854 |
I know a rich capitalist | 1853 | 1860 |
The regular old followers | 1853 | 1855 |
9th av. | 1854 | 1860 |
women | 1854 | 1860 |
scene in the woods on | 1863 | 1863 |
from Hookers command | 1863 | 1863 |
Review— | 1865 | 1865 |