DuringWaltWhitman’sdecadeinWashington,DC,1863-1873,helaboredintensely,attimesseemingtohavethreelivesatonce.Hewrotethemostdistinguishedjournalismofhiscareer;cameintohisownasawriterofletters;craftedmemorableCivilWarpoetry,Drum-TapsandSequeltoDrum-TapsandlaterfoldeditintoheavilyrevisedandexpandedversionsofLeavesofGrass;andproducedhissearchingbutalsoflawedcritiqueofAmericanculture,DemocraticVistas.Whitman’sworkthroughthefirstthreeeditionsofLeavesoftenreceivesthehighestpraise,yethiswritingintheWashingtonyearsisexceptional,too,byanyreckoning--andisallthemoreremarkablegiventhathealsocaredforthousandsofwoundedandsicksoldiersinWashingtonhospitals,servingasanattentivevisitor.Inaddition,heservedasagovernmentclerkinvariouspositions,mostnotablyintheattorneygeneral’sofficewhenmuchwasaccomplishedontheroadtowardamulti-racialdemocracyincludingeffortstosuppresstheKuKluxKlan,andmuchwasalsomissed(bothbytheattorneygeneral’sofficeandbyWhitman)intheeffortstoadvanceamorejustandvibrantunion.ThisbookanalysesWhitman’sintegratedlife,writings,andgovernmentworkinhisurbancontexttore-evaluatethewriterandthenation’scapitalinatimeoftransformation.DrawingonanexpandedWhitmancorpus,includingnearly3,000WhitmandocumentstheauthorrecentlyidentifiedintheNationalArchives,WhitmaninWashingtondemonstratesthatthepowerofWhitman’sCivilWarandReconstructionwritingemerges,morefullythanwecouldeverbeforehaveimagined,fromhisintimateknowledgeofthecapitalcity,itsbureaucracies,anditstumultuouspost-warhistory.
writings DC WASHINGTON WRITINGS
