Walt Whitman turns 200

Walt Whitman is more than a Bridge.

He was a poet, a naturist, a nurse in Washington during the worst part of the Civil War, a favorite son of Camden NJ . . . .

and he turns 200 years old on May 31st

His work Leaves of Grass contains some of the most profound sentiments ever put to paper.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walt_Whitman

https://www.waltwhitman.org/whitman200 

There is a statue of Walt done in 1957, purchased by the Fairmount Park Art Association and placed at the intersection of Broad Street and Packer Avenue.  It is a copy of one that first exhibited at the New York Worlds Fair in 1939.

The house in Camden, NJ where he spent his final years is well known. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walt_Whitman_House 

Throughout his life, he was known to General Lafayette, Abraham Lincoln, and Oscar Wilde.

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www.whitmanat200.org has the many local events happening.

On of interest is at the Philadelphia Museum of Art which has a Film Installation Whitman, Alabama that runs until June 9

It centers on his poem Song of Myself

https://philamuseum.org/exhibitions/889.html

Other events are with University of Pennsylvania’s Libraries and is a part of Whitman at 200: Art and Democracy, a yearlong series of cultural events celebrating Whitman’s 200th birthday in 2019, examining his connection to the Philly region and his relevance today. Major support for Whitman at 200 has been provided to the University of Pennsylvania Libraries by The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage.

https://www.al.com/life/2019/02/the-people-of-whitman-alabama-bring-a-southern-accent-to-philadelphia-museum-of-art.html