Walter H. Eitner

Quick tale of an 1879 trip Whitman took from his NJ home by rail to St. Louis, then on the KC, Lawrence, and Topeka. After a night in Topeka he took the train to Denver and the Rockies, though the author shows Whitman couldn't have traveled as far into the mountains as he claimed to have. He was in town for the 'silver anniversary' of the founding of Lawrence in Bismarck Grove, North Lawrence, about three miles from my house. I especially liked how the author drew on outside materials to demonstrate the artistic license Whitman took when writing about his trip in 'Specimen Days'. Great Kansas history, found at random in the stacks of the Lawrence Public Library while searching for Shel Silverstein for my son Mason. Purchased used on amazon.… (mehr)