ON THE ROAD AGAIN

First stop: 
Walt Whitman's House,
​​Camden, NJ

By Miguel Pérez

​If you have read chapter 12 on this website, about Walt "Whitman's Prophetic Letter," you know why I wanted to visit his home (now a small museum) in Camden, N.J.

​In 1883, while living in Camden, Walt Whitman wrote a letter exalting the merits of Hispanic Americans, explaining that "we Americans have yet to really learn our own antecedents," and that it was time to dismiss the distortions of history "inherited from English writers of the past 200 years."

I wanted to see the place where Whitman wrote his famous letter, published in the New York Times, to expand my Chapter 12 with more interesting details. So, I made it the first stop of my new road trip, and the details I found were not just interesting, but totally unexpected!

When Whitman wrote that letter in 1883, he had not yet moved to the house that is currently a museum! He moved there in 1884!

"So where did Whitman write this letter?" I asked tour guide Rick Starr, a former federal parks ranger who gave me a great one-on-one tour of the two-story home and its many relics from Whitman's life.

Starr explained that in 1883, Whitman was still living with his brother George. "Just a couple of blocks from here, on Stevens Street," he said, "but that house is no longer there."

Yet in his surviving house, which Whitman bought for $1,750 in 1884, I saw his favorite chair, his family photos, even the bed where he died in 1892. I saw photos of his funeral. I was able to leaf through the original copy of Whitman's "Leaves of Grass."

Yes, I have much more to add to Chapter 12. But that will have to wait until I finish my road trip, which is just getting started.

Now it's time to move on to my next stop.
Are you coming?
En español:
Primera parada: ​Casa de Walt Whitman, ​Camden, NJ
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