NJDEP-Parks and Forests

Come join us as we celebrate the Poet's 192nd birthday at the Annual Walt Whitman Birthday Celebration on Wednesday May 25, 2011 at 5pm. The ceremony will include readings from the winners of the Walt Whitman Association's Annual High School Poetry Contest. This year's theme, "Conflict and Reconciliation," marks the 150th Anniversary of the Civil War, which begins this year. Whitman, who served as a volunteer in army hospitals in Washington, DC during the war, wrote directly about it and attempted to heal the nation through his representations of it. He wrote some of his poetry from the point of view of a Union sympathizer, but much of his work deals sympathetically with soldiers from both sides of the conflict and stresses their common humanity and the tragedy and waste of war. For more information on the event call (856) 964-5383.

Whitman Birthday Celebration and Special Programs
Call for more information: (856) 964-5383

Whitman's impact on the world of art extends through many mediums including music. One such influence was on the British Composer Vaughan Williams (1872-1958). Williams's compositions include orchestral, stage, chamber, and vocal works. Among his masterpieces is A Sea Symphony. Based largely on text from Walt Whitman's Leaves of Grass, A Sea Symphony was one of the first symphonies to incorporate the use of a choir throughout the work and is an integral part of the musical texture. Williams's first and longest symphony, it was first performed at the Leeds Festival in 1910, with the composer conducting. A Sea Symphony helped set the stage for a new era of symphonic and choral music in England during the first half of the 20th century.

Princeton Pro Musica, a premier central New Jersey choral group in its 32nd year, will be performing A Sea Symphony on May 22, 2011 at 3:00 p.m., in Princeton, at Richardson Auditorium on the Princeton University Campus. For more information, contact Princeton Pro Musica at (609) 683-5122 or visit their website at www.princetonpromusica.org.

Walt Whitman in Mickle Street

When asked why he chose Camden as his home, Whitman replied, " Camden was originally an accident, but I shall never be sorry I was left over in Camden, It has brought me blessed returns." Join us for a tour of Walt Whitman's home in Camden on Mickle Street (today's Mickle/Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard). Here we will explore the great writer's last residence, discuss everyday life and share the thoughts of the many visitors who came to see the aging poet in his final years. Admission is free. Call 856-964-5383 for tour times and to schedule a visit.

*Please Note: Tour times and availability are subject to change. Please call ahead to confirm site hours and tour availability. (856) 964-5383

An admirer of Walt Whitman, artist Wharton Esherick (1887-1970) is recognized as a key link between the pre-1916 Arts and Crafts Movement and the renewed interest in the crafts following the Second World War. He is most widely known for his sculptures and non-traditional furniture designs from the late 1920s and 1930s onward. In his long and varied career, Esherick joined the traditions of the decorative arts with those of the fine arts. He was also a noted printmaker and book illustrator whose work was published in popular magazines and in elegant limited editions.

The artistic talent of Esherick was fused together with his interest in poet Walt Whitman through his woodcut-illustrated publication of Whitman’s Song of the Broad-Axe in 1924. This event marks the coming together of the two great artist’s works with the release of a facsimile edition of Esherick’s hand-lettered and illuminated version of Whitman’s poem. The event coincides with the exhibit, Wharton Esherick and the Birth of the American Modern, a collaborative of the Wharton Esherick Museum, Hedgerow Theater, and the University of Pennsylvania.

JANUARY 29, 2011 Location: University of Pennsylvania

10:30am- 12:30pm Special tour of the exhibition by Wharton Esherick
Museum Director and Curator Paul Eisenhauer

Tour begins in the Kamin Gallery, Van Pelt-Dietrich Library Center
RSVP requested.

2-4 pm Book release, reading, and reception

Book Release of facsimile edition of Esherick's hand-lettered and
illuminated version of the Walt Whitman poem, with remarks, and
reception. In addition, Darrel Blaine Ford will be doing a reading of
Song of the Broad-Axe in the persona of Walt Whitman. Ford uses his
resemblance to Whitman in his impersonation, which celebrates the poet
and seeks to introduce him and his work to a new generation.