Walt Whitman Initiative

Walt Whitman Initiative The Walt Whitman Initiative is a nonprofit organization dedicated to connecting New Yorkers of all ages and backgrounds to America's Poet through Whitman-r

The Walt Whitman Initiative is a nonprofit organization dedicated to connecting New Yorkers of all ages and backgrounds to America's Poet through Whitman-related events and activities in and around Manhattan.

New WWI intern Annike Pfeiffer will be at the Tane Poetry Library from 1-4pm on Saturdays. Please drop by to say hi, rel...
06/26/2026

New WWI intern Annike Pfeiffer will be at the Tane Poetry Library from 1-4pm on Saturdays. Please drop by to say hi, relax and immerse yourself with the extensive collection upstairs! Annike is a Junior at the Dalton School in NYC and has always had a love for the arts. 🎭 She is an avid reader, classically trained pianist and figure skater. One of her many passions is to bring the joy of excellent poetry and literature to her NYC community through interning at the Walt Whitman Initiative, editing and writing for her school paper’s arts column, and acting as a regular donator of books to her local lending library. 😊📕

New WWI intern Wongail Awoke will be at the Tane Poetry Library on Friday from 11:30-2pm. Please drop by to ask question...
06/26/2026

New WWI intern Wongail Awoke will be at the Tane Poetry Library on Friday from 11:30-2pm. Please drop by to ask questions and browse! She is a high school student in New York City with a passion for storytelling, writing, media, and community engagement. 📖📢 Through her involvement in student leadership, academic research, and creative projects, she developed an appreciation for literature and how it brings people from all different paths of life together. When she is not working on school projects or a student leadership initiative, she enjoys exploring the city, fostering community spaces, and learning about history and culture! 🌉📚

New WWI intern Steven Shepherd will be at the Tane Poetry Library on Saturdays from 11-2pm! Please feel free to visit hi...
06/26/2026

New WWI intern Steven Shepherd will be at the Tane Poetry Library on Saturdays from 11-2pm! Please feel free to visit him and explore the collection. He is a third-year undergraduate student at Yale University, where he studies Political Science with a particular focus on isolationist politics, narrative crafting, and law. ⚖️ Raised in Fort Myers, Florida, Steven has spent his years in Connecticut navigating a quietly dual existence between private musical exploration and the careful, methodical world of legal study. His interest in Walt Whitman centers on something he finds rarely discussed: the music hidden inside the poetry. Whitman’s expansive meter, layered prose, and rhythmic phrasing carry an elasticity that invites adaptation. This will be Steven’s first time living in New York City, and he arrives with an open curiosity!✏️🌆

Happy 207th, dear Uncle Walt! ❤️💛❤️Celebrating the poet of comradeship in Bolton, UK, with the annual (since 1888!) Whit...
06/01/2026

Happy 207th, dear Uncle Walt! ❤️💛❤️

Celebrating the poet of comradeship in Bolton, UK, with the annual (since 1888!) Whitman Walk across the Lancashire countryside!

Sit awhile dear friend,
Here are biscuits to eat and here is milk to drink,
But as soon as you sleep and renew yourself in sweet clothes, I kiss you with a good-by kiss and open the gate for your egress hence.

Long enough have you dreamed contemptible dreams,
Now I wash the gum from your eyes,
You must habit yourself to the dazzle of the light and of every moment of your life.

☀️💛☀️💛☀️💛☀️💛☀️💛☀️💛☀️💛☀️💛☀️💛

Friends and fellow travelers, only one week before applications for our Susan Jaffe Tane Fellowship close on Sunday 31 M...
05/24/2026

Friends and fellow travelers, only one week before applications for our Susan Jaffe Tane Fellowship close on Sunday 31 May! Graduate students and independent scholars, please have a look at our Initiatives on our website for a full rundown of benefits and application requirements. We’re grateful to Susan for helping us encourage innovative scholarship during these difficult times. And we’re looking forward to reading about your work!

Dear fellow travelers, in the mood to yawp this beautiful day? Please join our poetic intern Ayreli as she recites her ...
04/28/2026

Dear fellow travelers, in the mood to yawp this beautiful day? Please join our poetic intern Ayreli as she recites her favorites from the balcony of our Tane Poetry Library today, 3-3:45pm! (And why not stop in at Fulton Stall Market downstairs for a delicious homemade treat while you’re here?) 💛📚🍪💛

Yawp, Camerados! Starting Tuesday April 14, the Walt Whitman Initiative will be celebrating National Poetry Month with ...
04/13/2026

Yawp, Camerados! Starting Tuesday April 14, the Walt Whitman Initiative will be celebrating National Poetry Month with a weekly yawp from our balcony at 91 South Street NYC! Poetry lover, foodie, New Yorker and cherished intern Ayreli Jimenez Olivares invites you to join her from 3-3:45pm: yawp your favorite poem, listen or simply support truly FREE VERSE!!! (You’re the best, Ayreli! 💛)

Happy re-birthday, Uncle Walt! (If you’re having trouble reading this gravestone, you understand why we’ve enlisted Nee...
03/26/2026

Happy re-birthday, Uncle Walt! (If you’re having trouble reading this gravestone, you understand why we’ve enlisted Neela Wickremesinghe (Director of Restoration and Preservation at Brooklyn’s Green-wood Cemetery) to come have a look at Whitman’s tomb). Please support our poetry-minded public initiatives: visit our website and our library at 91 South Street NYC! 💛

Good news! Today, on the anniversary of Walt Whitman’s death in 1892, the Walt Whitman Initiative is pleased to announce...
03/26/2026

Good news! Today, on the anniversary of Walt Whitman’s death in 1892, the Walt Whitman Initiative is pleased to announce that monuments conservator Neela Wickremesinghe of has agreed to lead a team in conducting a condition assessment of Whitman’s tomb at the Harleigh Cemetery in Camden, New Jersey later this year.

Aided by members of her team, Neela, who serves as Robert A. and Elizabeth Rohn Jeffe Director of Restoration and Preservation at Green-Wood, will help to ascertain the current state of Whitman’s tomb. We are so very grateful for her enthusiasm - and the prospect of gaining professional insights into the structure’s condition more than 130 years after Whitman’s passing. If work is ultimately required for the long term stability of the tomb, it will be good for any interested parties to know and have options for conservation.

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91 South St
New York, NY
10038

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