Effective June 30, 1865, however, Whitman was fired from his job. His dismissal came from the new Secretary of the Interior, former Iowa Senator James Harlan. Though Harlan dismissed several clerks who “were seldom at their respective desks,” he may have fired Whitman on moral grounds after finding an 1860 edition of Leaves of Grass. O’Connor protested until J Hubley Ashton had Whitman transferred to the Attorney General’s office on July 1. O’Connor, though, was still upset and vindicated Whitman by publishing a biased and exaggerated biographical study, The Good Gray Poet, in January 1866. The fifty-cent pamphlet defended Whitman as a wholesome patriot, established the poet’s nickname and increased his popularity. Also aiding in his popularity was the publication of ‘O Captain! My Captain!,’ a relatively conventional poem on the death of Abraham Lincoln, the only poem to appear in anthologies during Whitman’s lifetime.
Part of Whitman’s role at the Attorney General’s office was interviewing former Confederate soldiers for Presidential pardons. “There are real characters among them,” he later wrote, “and you know I have a fancy for anything out of the ordinary.” In August 1866, he took a month off in order to prepare a new edition of Leaves of Grass, which would not be published until 1867 after difficulty in finding a publisher. He hoped it would be its last edition.
In February 1868, Poems of Walt Whitman was published in England thanks to the influence of William Michael Rossetti, with minor changes that Whitman reluctantly approved. The edition became popular in England, especially with endorsements from the highly respected writer Anne Gilchrist. Another edition of Leaves of Grass was issued in 1871, the same year it was mistakenly reported that its author died in a railroad accident. As Whitman’s international fame increased, he remained at the attorney general’s office until January 1872. He spent much of 1872 caring for his mother who was now nearly eighty and struggling with arthritis. He also travelled and was invited to Dartmouth College to give the commencement address on June 26, 1872.
Walt Whitman spent his last years at his home in Camden, New Jersey. Today, it is open to the public as the Walt Whitman House.
After suffering a paralytic stroke in early 1873, Whitman was induced to move from Washington to the home of his brother-George Washington Whitman, an engineer-at 431 Stevens Street in Camden, New Jersey. His mother, having fallen ill, was also there and died that same year in May. Both events were difficult for Whitman and left him depressed. He remained at his brother’s home until buying his own in 1884. However, before purchasing his home, he spent the greatest period of his residence in Camden at his brother’s home in Stevens Street. While in residence there he was very productive, publishing three versions of Leaves of Grass among other works. He was also last fully physically active in this house, receiving both Oscar Wilde and Thomas Eakins. His other brother, Edward, an ‘invalid’ since birth, lived in the house.
When his brother and sister-in-law were forced to move for business reasons, he bought his own house at 328 Mickle Street (now 330 Dr Martin Luther King Jr Boulevard). [93] First taken care of by tenants, he was completely bedridden for most of his time in Mickle Street. During this time, he began socializing with Mary Oakes Davis-the widow of a sea captain. She was a neighbor, boarding with a family in Bridge Avenue just a few blocks from Mickle Street. She moved in with Whitman on February 24, 1885, to serve as his housekeeper in exchange for free rent. During this time, Whitman produced further editions of Leaves of Grass in 1876, 1881 and 1889.
While in Southern New Jersey Whitman spent a good portion of his time in the then quite pastoral community of Laurel Springs between 1876 and 1884, converting one of the Stafford Farm buildings to his summer home.
The restored summer home has been preserved as museum by the local historical society. Part of his Leaves of Grass was written here, and in his Specimen Days he wrote of the spring, creek and lake. To him, Laurel Lake was ‘the prettiest lake in: either America or Europe.’
As the end of 1891 approached, he prepared a final edition of Leaves of Grass, a version that has been nicknamed the ‘Deathbed Edition. He wrote, ‘L of G at last complete-after 33 years of hackling at it, all times & moods of my life, fair weather & foul, all parts of the land, and peace & war, young & old.’ reparing for death, Whitman commissioned a granite mausoleum shaped like a house for $4,000 and visited it often during construction.
In the last week of his life, he was too weak to lift a knife or fork and wrote: ‘ suffer all the time: I have no relief, no escape: it is monotony-monotony-monotony-in pain.’
Whitman died on March 26, 1892. An autopsy revealed his lungs had diminished to one-eighth their normal breathing capacity, a result of bronchial pneumonia, and that an egg-sized abscess on his chest had eroded one of his ribs. The cause of death was officially listed as ‘pleurisy of the left side, consumption of the right lung, general military tuberculosis and parenchymatous nephritis.’ A public viewing of his body was held at his Camden home; over one thousand people visited in three hours. Whitman’s oak coffin was barely visible because of all the flowers and wreaths left for him. Four days after his death, he was buried in his tomb at Harleigh Cemetery in Camden. Another public ceremony was held at the cemetery, with friends giving speeches, live music, and refreshments. Whitman’s friend, the orator Robert Ingersoll, delivered the eulogy. Later, the remains of Whitman’s parents and two of his brothers and their families were moved to the mausoleum.
Whitman’s work breaks the boundaries of poetic form and is generally prose-like. He also used unusual images and symbols in his poetry, including rotting leaves, tufts of straw, and debris. He also openly wrote about death and sexuality, including prostitution. He is often labelled as the father of free verse, though he did not invent it.
Whitman wrote in the preface to the 1855 edition of Leaves of Grass, “The proof of a poet is that his country absorbs him as affectionately as he has absorbed it.” He believed there was a vital, symbiotic relationship between the poet and society. This connection was emphasised especially in ‘Song of Myself’ by using an all-powerful first-person narration. As an American epic, it deviated from the historic use of an elevated hero and instead assumed the identity of the common people. Leaves of Grass also responded to the impact that recent urbanization in the United States had on the masses. n
Part of Whitman’s role at the Attorney General’s office was interviewing former Confederate soldiers for Presidential pardons. “There are real characters among them,” he later wrote, “and you know I have a fancy for anything out of the ordinary.” In August 1866, he took a month off in order to prepare a new edition of Leaves of Grass, which would not be published until 1867 after difficulty in finding a publisher. He hoped it would be its last edition.
In February 1868, Poems of Walt Whitman was published in England thanks to the influence of William Michael Rossetti, with minor changes that Whitman reluctantly approved. The edition became popular in England, especially with endorsements from the highly respected writer Anne Gilchrist. Another edition of Leaves of Grass was issued in 1871, the same year it was mistakenly reported that its author died in a railroad accident. As Whitman’s international fame increased, he remained at the attorney general’s office until January 1872. He spent much of 1872 caring for his mother who was now nearly eighty and struggling with arthritis. He also travelled and was invited to Dartmouth College to give the commencement address on June 26, 1872.
Walt Whitman spent his last years at his home in Camden, New Jersey. Today, it is open to the public as the Walt Whitman House.
After suffering a paralytic stroke in early 1873, Whitman was induced to move from Washington to the home of his brother-George Washington Whitman, an engineer-at 431 Stevens Street in Camden, New Jersey. His mother, having fallen ill, was also there and died that same year in May. Both events were difficult for Whitman and left him depressed. He remained at his brother’s home until buying his own in 1884. However, before purchasing his home, he spent the greatest period of his residence in Camden at his brother’s home in Stevens Street. While in residence there he was very productive, publishing three versions of Leaves of Grass among other works. He was also last fully physically active in this house, receiving both Oscar Wilde and Thomas Eakins. His other brother, Edward, an ‘invalid’ since birth, lived in the house.
When his brother and sister-in-law were forced to move for business reasons, he bought his own house at 328 Mickle Street (now 330 Dr Martin Luther King Jr Boulevard). [93] First taken care of by tenants, he was completely bedridden for most of his time in Mickle Street. During this time, he began socializing with Mary Oakes Davis-the widow of a sea captain. She was a neighbor, boarding with a family in Bridge Avenue just a few blocks from Mickle Street. She moved in with Whitman on February 24, 1885, to serve as his housekeeper in exchange for free rent. During this time, Whitman produced further editions of Leaves of Grass in 1876, 1881 and 1889.
While in Southern New Jersey Whitman spent a good portion of his time in the then quite pastoral community of Laurel Springs between 1876 and 1884, converting one of the Stafford Farm buildings to his summer home.
The restored summer home has been preserved as museum by the local historical society. Part of his Leaves of Grass was written here, and in his Specimen Days he wrote of the spring, creek and lake. To him, Laurel Lake was ‘the prettiest lake in: either America or Europe.’
As the end of 1891 approached, he prepared a final edition of Leaves of Grass, a version that has been nicknamed the ‘Deathbed Edition. He wrote, ‘L of G at last complete-after 33 years of hackling at it, all times & moods of my life, fair weather & foul, all parts of the land, and peace & war, young & old.’ reparing for death, Whitman commissioned a granite mausoleum shaped like a house for $4,000 and visited it often during construction.
In the last week of his life, he was too weak to lift a knife or fork and wrote: ‘ suffer all the time: I have no relief, no escape: it is monotony-monotony-monotony-in pain.’
Whitman died on March 26, 1892. An autopsy revealed his lungs had diminished to one-eighth their normal breathing capacity, a result of bronchial pneumonia, and that an egg-sized abscess on his chest had eroded one of his ribs. The cause of death was officially listed as ‘pleurisy of the left side, consumption of the right lung, general military tuberculosis and parenchymatous nephritis.’ A public viewing of his body was held at his Camden home; over one thousand people visited in three hours. Whitman’s oak coffin was barely visible because of all the flowers and wreaths left for him. Four days after his death, he was buried in his tomb at Harleigh Cemetery in Camden. Another public ceremony was held at the cemetery, with friends giving speeches, live music, and refreshments. Whitman’s friend, the orator Robert Ingersoll, delivered the eulogy. Later, the remains of Whitman’s parents and two of his brothers and their families were moved to the mausoleum.
Whitman’s work breaks the boundaries of poetic form and is generally prose-like. He also used unusual images and symbols in his poetry, including rotting leaves, tufts of straw, and debris. He also openly wrote about death and sexuality, including prostitution. He is often labelled as the father of free verse, though he did not invent it.
Whitman wrote in the preface to the 1855 edition of Leaves of Grass, “The proof of a poet is that his country absorbs him as affectionately as he has absorbed it.” He believed there was a vital, symbiotic relationship between the poet and society. This connection was emphasised especially in ‘Song of Myself’ by using an all-powerful first-person narration. As an American epic, it deviated from the historic use of an elevated hero and instead assumed the identity of the common people. Leaves of Grass also responded to the impact that recent urbanization in the United States had on the masses. n
