The Walt Whitman Association

03/10/2026

Very subjective, of course, but in this collection of top 10 American poems, Walt Whitman is the only author that appears twice. One could conclude from that that Walt Whitman is America's greatest poet!

02/06/2026

Walt was passed by the time of this 1895 cold winter and photograph.

But this was a favorite haunt of his in Gloucester City for planked shad and champagne just a few years earlier!

05/20/2025

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Walt Whitman with his nurse Warren Fritzenger on the wharf, near his Mickle Street house in Camden, New Jersey, 1890.

During the last ten years of his life, Walt Whitman was surrounded by a modest but meaningful group of animal companions. Whitman was an animal lover, and his affection for them was well-documented in letters, accounts by visitors, and biographies.

Whitman kept a canary in a cage near a window in his Mickle Street home. He took pleasure in the bird’s singing. He often referred to the bird affectionately in correspondence.

He also had a tortoiseshell cat that was given free rein of the house. He was known to speak kindly to the cat and to include it in the calm rhythm of his everyday life.

During this time, he also began socializing with Mary Oakes Davis—the widow of a sea captain. She was a neighbor, boarding with a family on Bridge Avenue just a few blocks from his home. She moved in with Whitman, to serve as his housekeeper in exchange for free rent. She brought with her a cat, a dog, two turtledoves, a canary, and other assorted animals.

Despite his physical decline from a stroke and old(er) age, Whitman found emotional and even spiritual nourishment in these small forms of life. His home, though cluttered and austere by some visitors’ descriptions, was also described as peaceful, with the soft chirping of the canary or the quiet company of his cat adding warmth to his final years.

03/28/2025

01/01/2025

New Year's Day, 1848
by Walt Whitman

A morning fair: A noontide dubious:
Then gathering clouds obscure the Sun:
Then rain in torrents falls, subsiding soon
Into a gentle dropping. By eve the sun
Sinks into a cloudless west; and a mild breeze
With pleasant motion stirs the atmosphere.
Next in the blue vault above do moon and stars
Vie in bright emulation to destroy the gloom of night.

Such was our New Year's Day, and eventide!
Was it not an index of each passing Year,
Within whose seasons circumstance and change
Ever with Hope and Happiness war?
One now superior: anon the other:
And as succeeds pleasure or pain or joy or sorrow,
Clouding the firmament of each heart,
Raindrops of melancholy dim the eyes,
To shortly dry, hiding the Past and Present
'Neath bright starry thoughts—
Suggestive of a Future aye serene.

Day of a coming year promising change,
Yet full of promises, we need but watch
And pray for guardianship to come
Over caprices and all foolish ways!
So shall bright sunshine in advancing days
And starry invitations lead to Heavenly praise.

10/30/2024

07/04/2024

In one of the most critical and bloodiest battles of the Civil War July 4, 1863 was a day of mournful quiet after the preceding three days of battle.

The Civil War affected Walt Whitman greatly as told in Wikipedia;

“As the nation began to dramatically shift, so did Whitman. His poetry during this time would begin to demonstrate his vision of democracy as people acting collectively and pragmatically to secure a meaningful political freedom. Regarding many of the poems in Drum-Taps, little is known about when they were actually written. However, in the winter of 1862, Whitman traveled to Virginia in search of his brother, George, who he heard had been wounded in the Battle of Fredericksburg.[1]

After witnessing the vast amount casualties of war at the hospital, Walt was profoundly moved. For the next three years, he would devote himself to helping wounded soldiers. Many considered him a nurse and he acted as one, dutifully dressing wounds, assisting in amputations and administering medications. Whitman, however, insisted he be referred to as something simpler, calling himself a mere "visitor & consolatory," one who brought "soothing invigoration" to the sick and wounded. This time in the hospital would have a major effect on his poetry with some of the poems in Drum-Taps being directly based on events transpired in these places. Whitman found great richness to being in the military camps. He was fascinated by the men and wrote letters for them. His experiences here would fill his notebook as rough-draft poems that constitute his 1865 publication”

Provided to YouTube by NonesuchAshokan Farewell / Sullivan Ballou Letter · David McCullough · Paul RoeblingThe Civil War (Original Soundtrack Recording)℗ 199...

05/31/2024

Walt’s 205th birthday celebration!

05/15/2024

Walt Whitman Historic Site Celebrates Walt’s 205th Birthday !

Did you know the only house the author of "Leaves of Grass" ever owned survives today in Camden, NJ? It is known as the Walt Whitman House Historic Site, designated a national historic landmark in 1962. It provides an intimate glimpse into the life of the poet, attracting visitors from around the world. Whitman's original letters, personal belongings, the bed in which he died and the death notice that was nailed to the front door have all been preserved, as well as a collection of rare nineteenth-century photographs.

Come join us in the historic site’s lovely garden for Walt Whitman's 205th Birthday Celebration with the presentation of awards and readings from this year’s winners of the Walt Whitman Association’s High School Poetry Contest. Guest Speaker Dr. Edward Whitley, Lehigh University Professor of English and Walt Whitman Quarterly Review Editorial Board member, will be giving a lecture on his forthcoming book, “Whitman’s Poe: A Study of Literary Networks in Bohemian New York”.

📍 Where: 328 Mickle Boulevard/Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd, Camden, NJ 08103
⏰When: Wednesday, May 29 at 5:00 p.m.

For further information call: (856) 964-5383 or visit us at

Painting by William Smith ©2024 John Hancock Life Insurance Co. Oh me! Oh life! of the questions of these recurring… The question, O me! so sad, recurring—What good amid these, O me, O life? Answer. That you are here—that life exists and identity, That the powerful play goes on, and you may c...

04/20/2024

When lilacs last in the dooryard bloom’d,

And the great star early droop’d in the western sky in the night,

I mourn’d, and yet shall mourn with ever-returning spring.

Ever-returning spring, trinity sure to me you bring,

Lilac blooming perennial and drooping star in the west,

And thought of him I love.

From Whitman’s eulogy written for Abraham Lincoln and published in 1865.