Walt Whitman

Walter Whitman Jr. (; May 31, 1819 – March 26, 1892) was an American poet, essayist, and journalist. He is considered one of the most influential poets in American history. Whitman incorporated both transcendentalism and realism in his writings and is often called the father of free verse. His work was controversial in his time, particularly his 1855 poetry collection Leaves of Grass, which was described by some as obscene for its overt sensuality.

Whitman was born in Huntington on Long Island, and lived in Brooklyn as a child and through much of his career. At the age of 11, he left formal schooling to go to work. He worked as a journalist, a teacher, and a government clerk. Whitman's major poetry collection, Leaves of Grass, first published in 1855, was financed with his own money and became well known. The work was an attempt to reach out to the common person with an American epic. Whitman continued expanding and revising Leaves of Grass until his death in 1892.

During the American Civil War, he went to Washington, D.C., and worked in hospitals caring for the wounded. His poetry often focused on both loss and healing. On the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, who Whitman greatly admired, he authored two poems "O Captain! My Captain!" and "When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom'd", and gave a series of lectures on Lincoln. After suffering a stroke towards the end of his life, Whitman moved to Camden, New Jersey, where his health further declined. When he died at the age of 72, his funeral was a public event.

Whitman's influence on poetry remains strong. Art historian Mary Berenson wrote, "You cannot really understand America without Walt Whitman, without Leaves of Grass... He has expressed that civilization, 'up to date,' as he would say, and no student of the philosophy of history can do without him." Modernist poet Ezra Pound called Whitman "America's poet... He is America."

Birth and Death Data: Born May 31, 1819 (West Hills), Died March 26, 1892 (Camden)

Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1911 - 1937

Roles Represented in DAHR: author

= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.

Recordings

Company Matrix No. Size First Recording Date Title Primary Performer Description Role Audio
Victor B-11008 10-in. 9/26/1911 Abraham Lincoln Charles D. Von Neumayer Recitation author  
Victor B-11034 10-in. 9/29/1911 O captain, my captain Charles D. Von Neumayer Recitation author  
Victor B-13097 10-in. 4/8/1913 O captain, my captain Harry E. Humphrey Recitation author  
Victor BA-326 10-in. 7/13/1923 Una hora de alegría y de locura Berta Singerman Recitation author  
Victor CS-010302 12-in. 5/20/1937 Symphony for voices on poems of Walt Whitman Westminster Choir ; John Finley Williamson Mixed vocal chorus, unaccompanied author  
Victor CS-010303 12-in. 5/20/1937 Symphony for voices on poems of Walt Whitman Westminster Choir ; John Finley Williamson Mixed vocal chorus, unaccompanied author  
Victor CS-010304 12-in. 5/20/1937 Symphony for voices on poems of Walt Whitman Westminster Choir ; John Finley Williamson Mixed vocal chorus, unaccompanied author  
Victor CS-010305 12-in. 5/20/1937 Symphony for voices on poems of Walt Whitman Westminster Choir ; John Finley Williamson Mixed vocal chorus, unaccompanied author  

Citation

Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Whitman, Walt," accessed March 28, 2024, https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/102444.

Whitman, Walt. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved March 28, 2024, from https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/102444.

"Whitman, Walt." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 28 March 2024.

DAHR Persistent Identifier

URI: https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/102444

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