An Exhibition from the Collection of Robert O. Harris, Jr.
“I greet you at the beginning of a great career,” wrote Ralph Waldo Emerson to Walt Whitman in 1855, on first reading Leaves of Grass. Today regarded as one of America’s great poets, Walt Whitman (1819-1892) was born on Long Island in relative obscurity and spent his formative years in New York, moving to Washington, D.C., during the Civil War and later to Camden, N.J., in retirement. With his “barbaric yawp,” he gave voice to democracy and American ideals, pursuing themes of freedom, love, nature, time, and eternity in verse that was strikingly original, generally devoid of rhyme, meter, or ornament. The exhibition is part of a nation-wide celebration of Whitman’s 200th birthday, here curated by Dallas collector Robert O. Harris, Jr., who has been collecting Whitman for almost 40 years. It offers an exceptional opportunity for the Dallas community to see an extraordinary collection, close to 200 rare items, devoted to an extraordinary poet.
- Every American edition of Leaves of Grass published during Whitman’s lifetime, starting with the 1855 edition, as well as important foreign editions and fine press editions
- Copies of first editions of Whitman’s other books
- Examples of Whitman’s apprenticeship as a writer, including poems and stories contributed to newspapers and magazines, including the very rare novel, Franklin Evans, and his first published story, in the New-York Mirror
- Materials from Whitman’s household, including scrapbooks, ephemera, and a book from his library
- Over 20 original photographs of Whitman, his friends, and family
- Plaster casts of Whitman’s hand and his death mask
- Correspondence and association copies from Whitman’s literary executors, including Horace Traubel, R. M. Bucke, and T.B. Harned
- Ephemera and realia, including tickets to lectures, menus from Whitman’s 70th birthday celebration, a Walt Whitman cigar box, and even a token for the Walt Whitman Bridge
Free & open to the public
Opening Reception: Thu, Sep 12th 7pm
DeGolyer Library
Southern Methodist University
Hillcrest Exhibition Hall
6404 Robert S. Hyer Lane
Dallas, TX
32.8440776, -96.7838505
“Everything Goes Onward and Outward”: Walt Whitman at 200
