Whitman at War

From: With Good Reason
Length: 28:56

On a trip to see his brother, Walt Whitman was so struck by the violence of the Civil War that he stayed to help heal wounded soldiers. He hoped his poetry could heal the war-torn nation in a similar way. Read the full description.

Piece Audio

Playing: Whitman at War
From: With Good Reason

Whitman_small In 1862, poet Walt Whitman went to Fredericksburg, Virginia, searching for his brother George who had been wounded in a Civil War battle. Whitman was so moved by the carnage he found that he worked as a nurse for the rest of the war. Mara Scanlon and Brady Earnhardt say Whitman was helping heal wounded soldiers in the same way he hoped his poetry could heal the war-torn nation. Also featured: This is the 200th anniversary of the birth of 19th-century poet and author Edgar Allan Poe. Jerome McGann says Poe, whose influence is probably unmatched by any American author, was more charming and humorous than his famous dark fiction suggests.

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Piece Description

In 1862, poet Walt Whitman went to Fredericksburg, Virginia, searching for his brother George who had been wounded in a Civil War battle. Whitman was so moved by the carnage he found that he worked as a nurse for the rest of the war. Mara Scanlon and Brady Earnhardt say Whitman was helping heal wounded soldiers in the same way he hoped his poetry could heal the war-torn nation. Also featured: This is the 200th anniversary of the birth of 19th-century poet and author Edgar Allan Poe. Jerome McGann says Poe, whose influence is probably unmatched by any American author, was more charming and humorous than his famous dark fiction suggests.

Broadcast History

Broadcast by Virginia public radio stations in July 2009.

Transcript

"With Good Reason" - Whitman at War script

[clip: Walt Whitman reciting America]
This very early wire recording is thought to be of Walt Whitman himself, reading the poem “America”. You can just make out the words: “strong, ample, fair enduring”.

[poem ]

Ezra Pound called Walt Whitman “America’s poet”. Whitman believed his poetry could heal the nation. And during the Civil War, Whitman actually devoted himself to healing thousands of individual soldiers. He held them, dressed their wounds, wrote their letters home and even spoon-fed them ice cream. I’m Sarah McConnell and today on With Good Reason, Walt Whitman at war. Later on in the show, Edgar Allan Poe found life to be cruel and disappointing, but always maintained a sense of humor.

Clip: His horror stories…

But first, Walt Whitman was best known for the 1855 groundbreaking book of poems, Leaves of Grass. He believe...
Read the full transcript