Whitman@200: NJ, NY and PA pay tribute to Walt Whitman with hundreds of events

“I depart as air — I shake my white locks at the runaway sun;
I effuse my flesh in eddies, and drift it in lacy jags.

I bequeath myself to the dirt, to grow from the grass I love;
If you want me again, look for me under your boot-soles.’’

— From “Song of Myself’’ (Verse 52) in Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman

Walt Whitman, considered by many to be America’s most significant poet, is buried less than a mile from the Cherry Hill newsroom of the Courier-Post, where I am writing this story.

He shares a mausoleum of his own design, set into a hillside and shared with family members, in his beloved city of Camden. It was there he spent the final decades of his life and published the final version of his masterpiece, "Leaves of Grass.''

In addition to writing poetry and other works, Whitman worked for years as a journalist, founding at last two newspapers and serving as an editor of others in New York and New Orleans.

More:Whitman@200: What does Walt mean to Camden?

More:In his footsteps: Places to get closer to Walt Whitman

More:Walt Whitman: Gay icon, yes; 'Dracula's' muse, maybe

The Civil War moved Whitman to serve as a volunteer nurse at the bedside of wounded soldiers, where he employed his pen to write letters home to their families.

During his lifetime, Whitman’s work was controversial for its celebration of the human body and sexuality, themes that had him ejected from at least one federal government job. The poet also spoke out on social issues from temperance to slavery, although his views on the latter were not always consistent. And he was a champion of the natural world.

In his senior years, his letters to the editor appeared in the Courier-Post.

April is National Poetry Month. If you are seeking to commune with The Good Gray Poet, the father of free verse, “The Bard of Democracy,’’ you could not pick a better time. 

This year marks the 200th anniversary of his birth (May 31, 1819) in what is now Huntington Station, Long Island. There are Whitman@200 events planned throughout the country, but nowhere is the celebration louder than in Whitman’s former homes.

In collaboration with many other organizations and artists, The University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia has taken the lead in organizing events on both sides of the Delaware River. Meanwhile, the Walt Whitman Birthplace Association has a lively calendar of events and collaborations to mark the milestone. Indeed, there is so much celebrating of Whitman in 2019, it is impossible to offer more than a taste of the festivities.

And as is fitting for this “poet of the common man,’’ who loved to roll around in the laurel, swim in the creek and raise his “barbaric yawp!’’ to a universe he felt at one with, there is little elitist about these celebrations.

In fact, Whitman@200 celebrations may find you eating birthday cake at a picnic, spinning a color wheel aboard a ferryboat, enjoying interpretations of his poems by a troupe of drag queens, riding a trolley to see where Whitman liked to skinny dip, or walking in his footsteps while shaking your own locks at the runaway sun:

Whitman@200

Judith Tannenbaum is artistic director of Whitman@200: Art and Democracy for the University of Pennsylvania’s Penn Libraries, which is organizing regional events.

Tannenbaum says she was inspired to seek funding and organize the year-long project after contemplating what she sees as a disconnect between Philadelphia and Camden.

“It’s just something that I started to think about. Why don’t Philadelphians go to Camden more? … On a regular basis, there seemed little connection.’’

In Whitman’s day, ferries crossed the river with far more frequency, she says, linking the cities. So, with primary support from the Pew Center for Arts and Heritage, Tannenbaum and her partners looked to the Delaware River as a means of uniting Whitman fans in a mutual celebration.

Whitman@200 events encompass many genres, as is appropriate for a writer whose work inspired so many other artists, not just other writers but composers, playwrights and actors, opera companies and artists from Oscar Wilde to Patti Smith. It also seeks to highlight many of the issues Whitman addressed in his poetry, from the meaning of democracy and the sanctity of the Union, to issues of equality.

“We knew from the beginning that we did not want it to be just one event,’’ she said. “He was so broad in his scope, and we wanted to meet as many different people and include as many different kinds of audiences as we could.’’

The Delaware River

“Three of the Whitman@200 commissions are focused on the Delaware River,’’ says Tannenbaum. “The RiverLink Ferry is the only surviving ferry. In Whitman’s day, there were many ferries and he loved to ride the ferry.’’

Artist Spencer Finch is the creative force behind “When You Look on the River and the Sky,’’ an experiential exhibition aboard RiverLink crossings from May 10 to Sept. 3. (The ferry runs on weekends and during special events on the Camden Waterfront.)

Whitman’s intense fascination with the natural world inspired Finch to consider our own observations of our surroundings. Two color wheels mounted on either end of the ferry will provide passengers with the opportunity to try to match exactly the colors of the water and the sky, Tannenbaum said.

“They can spin the wheels and compare their observations with the weather and the river on that day,’’ she said. “Everything is constantly changing, and it’s a bit like Impressionism … It’s about trying to capture something that’s impossible to capture, and making people really observe the world around them. And every day, the ferry will choose the color of the sky and the water and fly two flags out of 150.’’

Philly’s Bearded Ladies Cabaret, meanwhile, is in on the fun with “Contradict This! A Birthday Funeral for Heroes!’’ with preview performances May 28 and 29 and performances May 31, June 1 and 2 from 7:30 to 9 p.m. on Philadelphia’s Cherry Street Pier. The show will then move to La Mama in New York City where it will mark the 200th anniversary of Stonewall June 20 to 29.

More:Watch: A look inside Walt Whitman's home in Camden

Bearded Ladies Cabaret, in their own words, “is a Philadelphia-based troupe of cabaret artists who fuse cabaret and theater to tackle the politics of gender, identity, and artistic invention with sparkle and wit.’’ They promise to salute the Good Gray Poet with “cake, coffin, gavel, choir, composers and live trolling!’’ with a pageant of “a host of misfits, drag artists, queers, and a local choir.’’

Tannenbaum says founder John Jarboe collaborates with a number of performers, actors and musicians composing a musical cabaret that looks at Whitman as ancestor, for good or ill, “as a birthday pageant and as a trial and as a funeral all wrapped up in one.’’

Also on the Delaware is “RiverRoad,’’ by artists Carolyn Healy and John JH Phillips and opera singer James Osby Gwathney, where an early version of Whitman’s “Song of the Open Road’’ inspires a multimedia installation aboard an industrial barge.

“RiverRoad,’’ which runs June 4 and 5 at 8 and 10 p.m., will incorporate electronic sounds, lights, sculpture, video and more. The barge will depart and return to Penn’s Landing and is meant to be experienced both on board the vessel and from the shore.

“The audience freely follows Gwathney as he recites the poem, traveling with him along the 130 feet of the barge deck through the structures of the set. The artists hope the experience of being afloat on an unusual vessel in the middle of the wide river under night clouds and stars creates both a sense of unease and exhilaration that resonates with the poem,’’ according to promotional materials.

Opera was a favorite of Whitman, said Tannenbaum, and he often crossed the river by ferry to attend.

Also in Philadelphia

Performance artist Homer Jackson will stage walks, accompanied by a gospel choir performing original compositions, through Philadelphia neighborhoods in an interactive tribute to Whitman, as well as Langston Hughes and the Civil Rights movement. Walks, commissioned by Whitman@200, are scheduled for May 18 in North Philadelphia, Strawberry Mansion and other neighborhoods, with additional dates to be announced.

Singer-songwriter Patti Smith, a South Jersey native and fan of Whitman, will perform with her daughter Jesse Paris Smith May 30 at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Her appearance is part of the museum’s offering of “Whitman, Alabama,’’ an installation by filmmaker Jennifer Crandall that relates Whitman’s poetry to the contemporary South through the voices of Alabama residents.

“Whitman Vignettes: Camden and Philadelphia’’ opens at 5:30 p.m. May 28 at the Kamin Gallery, Van Pelt-Dietrich Library, with a reading by poet Michael Dickman. The exhibit runs through Aug. 23.

Meanwhile, partnering organizations have related events everywhere from the Mutter Museum to the Philadelphia Museum of Art to a city brewery. For a full calendar of all affiliated events, including registration information, visit whitmanat200.org/events-by-month

New Jersey

Poetry readings and other events celebrating Walt Whitman are being held throughout the state of New Jersey in 2019.

On April 27, the historic Whitman Stafford House in Laurel Springs will host a Whitman@200 poetry reading from 2 to 4 p.m. The farmhouse, now a historic site, was a place Whitman often stayed with friends and spent time at nearby Crystal Springs.

South Jersey poets will read their favorite Whitman work and respond with their own poetry on April 30 at  Van Pelt-Dietrich Library, University of Pennsylvania, from 6 to 8 p.m. and again on May 21 from 7:30 to 9: 30 p.m. at Camden FireWorks Gallery, South Camden.

“How Sweet the Silent Backward Tracings!,’’ an exhibit about preserving the memory of Whitman, is on view May 1 to June 13 at Paul Robeson Library, Rutgers-Camden, organized by the MidAtlantic Regional Center for the Humanities.

“Friendships and Fondness: Walt Whitman's Appreciation of Ferries in Camden,’’ an art exhibition, will run from May 1 to June 1 at The March House, 325 Cooper St., in Camden, organized by MidAtlantic Center for the Arts.

FireWorks Gallery will host “Out of the Cradle Endlessly,’’ an exhibit by Joe Plageman inspired by a Whitman poem, opening May 19. The exhibit runs til June 28.

More:Watch: A look inside Walt Whitman's home in Camden

The Walt Whitman House will host site tours May 22 to 26, May 29 to June 2 and June 5 on Mickle Street.

A Walt Whitman Association 200th Birthday Celebration will be hosted by the Walt Whitman House at Stedman Gallery, Rutgers-Camden, on May 29 from 5 to 8 p.m.

On May 31, “The City of Camden Celebrates America’s ‘Poet of Democracy,’’ will take place from 10 to 11 a.m. at the Walt Whitman House at 328 Mickel Boulevard., where Whitman lived at the end of his life. The event will focus on the poet’s time in the city with speeches, poetry and song. (At 11 a.m., a birthday celebration will take place at Philadelphia City Hall, which Patti Smith is expected to attend.) “Democratic Vistas: Whitman, Body & Soul’’ will be on view May 30 to Dec. 7 at Stedman gallery.

The Whitman Stafford House in Laurel Springs, where Walt Whitman often stayed and which had a great impact on his work, will host WaltFEST 2019 on June 1 at 3 p.m., sponsored by Laurel Springs Green & Whitman Stafford Committee.

South Jersey poet and educator Rocky Wilson will perform  “Walt, the Ferry’s Back!”: A Tribute to the Good Grey Poet, Walt Whitman, and the City of Camden ,’’ June 2 from 2 to 3 p.m. at The Waterfront South Theatre, Camden.

Finally, “Walt Whitman: The Commercialization of his Name, Poetry, and Image in Modern Society,’’ will be on view at the Camden County Historical Society in Camden from Sept. 4 to Nov. 25.

New York

“Whitman@200: Where it All Began’’ is a year-long celebration at Whitman’s birthplace, a farmhouse in Huntington Station, N.Y., with festivals, conferences, exhibits, community collaborations, lectures, readings and, coolest of all, a Whitman Family Reunion!

Cynthia Shor is executive director of the Walt Whitman Birthplace Association. She began her relationship with Whitman’s birthplace as a teaching poet, offering children lessons from the farmhouse’s kitchen floor.

These days, she oversees a restored landmark that includes an interpretive center and art gallery, and attracts both tourists and world-renowned poets and artists from around the world.

It’s an opportunity and an experience of a lifetime to be present and share Walt’s 200th birthday not only as a literature professor but as a director of the association, that promotes and preserves his legacy.

Here is just a taste of what’s upcoming at Whitman’s first home, where he lived from his birth until his family moved to Brooklyn when he was 4 years old:

Six times per year, the venue hosts “Walking With Whitman,’’ in which writer-in-residence George Wallace hosts readings by one international and one local poet, as well as an open mic.

“Children of the Grass,’’ an exhibition curated by photographer B.A. Van Sise, a cousin of Whitman, of other iconic poets visiting the birthplace. It is a permanent installation.

From May 31 to June 1, the home will host a Birthday Weekend celebration featuring Whitman scholars and poetry, but also “general revelry,’’ says Shor.

“As a Whitman International Week conference comes to an end at NYU, they will come that final day to the birthplace’’ to join in a happy hour Champagne toast, birthday cake and a round of “Happy Birthday to You!’’ at 4:30 p.m.

The weekend will also include musical theater, a Poets Picnic with food trucks and music, student art projects inspired by “I Hear American Singing,’’ interpretative performances by Dance Vision NY, and a one-man play called “Multitudes.’’

On June 28, there will be a poetry event marking the anniversary of Stonewall, and on July 27, the site will host a Whitman Family Reunion of relatives, many of whom still live on Long Island, as part of an oral history project. In August, the birthplace will host its first Walt Whitman Conference, with readings, discussions, “a festive atmosphere,’’ and a great time to visit and tour the site, Shor said.

More:Poem in Your Pocket Day: 'Song of Myself' (Verse 52) by Walt Whitman

For all of the details of Whitman@200 events at the birthplace, visit www.waltwhitman.org/whitman200

The Walt Whitman Initiative, based in New York City, also has a host of events on-going as part of the bicentennial celebration. Visit waltwhitmaninitiative.org for details. The organization is seeking to save the only remaining house Whitman lived in New York City.

Additional events marking the birthday will take place in New York City, including an exhibition, “Walt Whitman: America’s Poet,’’ at the New York Public Library through July 27. Visit www.nypl.org/waltwhitman