The Philadelphia Press

Established in 1857 by John W. Forney, the Philadelphia Press was an important and influential newspaper during the last decades of the nineteenth century, famous for its attention to local issues, such as inadequate water mains that posed serious problems for firefighters in the city. From late 1879 through late 1887, Whitman published nineteen works in the Press, including poems, articles, letters, as well as a version of a speech Whitman gave on Abraham Lincoln in Philadelphia on April 15, 1880, "The Martyr President: The Good Gray Poet's Personal Recollections of Him." The poems Whitman published in the Press celebrate people and public events. "What Best I See in Thee" honors General Ulysses S. Grant and "Red Jacket (From Aloft)" honors Red Jacket (1750–1830), the leader of the Iroquois who supported the United States in the War of 1812. "If I Should Need to Name, O Western World" celebrates national elections. As Whitman wrote in his Diary in Canada, "I like well the fact of all these national elections—have written a little poem about it." "Ah, Not This Granite Dead and Cold" commemorates the completion and dedication of the Washington Monument on February 22, 1885. Whitman's final appearance in the Press came a few months after his death. On October 23, 1892, the Press published Whitman's early story, "The Tomb Blossoms," which first appeared in the United States Magazine and Democratic Review in January 1842.

Poems

"What Best I See in Thee." The Philadelphia Press 17 December 1879: 8. Reprinted in Leaves of Grass (1881–82).

"Red Jacket (From Aloft)." The Philadelphia Press 10 October 1884. 4. Reprinted in the "Sands at Seventy" annex to Leaves of Grass (1888).

"If I Should Need to Name, O Western World." The Philadelphia Press 26 October 1884. 8. Reprinted as "Election Day, November, 1884" in the "Sands at Seventy" annex to Leaves of Grass (1888).

"Ah, Not This Granite Dead and Cold." The Philadelphia Press 22 February 1885. 4. Reprinted as "Washington's Monument, February, 1885" in the "Sands at Seventy" annex to Leaves of Grass (1888).

Bibliography

Blodgett, Harold W., and Sculley Bradley, eds. Leaves of Grass: Comprehensive Reader's Edition. New York: New York University Press, 1965.

Loving, Jerome. Walt Whitman: The Song of Himself. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1999.

Mott, Frank Luther. American Journalism a History: 1690-1960. 3rd ed. New York: Macmillan Company, 1995.

Myerson, Joel. Walt Whitman: A Descriptive Bibliography. Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press, 1993.

Pannapacker, William. "Philadelphia, Pennsylvania." Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia. Ed. J. R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings. New York: Garland, 1998.

Whitman, Walt. Daybooks and Notebooks. Ed. William White. Vol. 3. Diary in Canada. The Collected Writings of Walt Whitman. New York: New York University Press, 1978.