|
|
Article: Worshipping Walt: Lancashire's Whitman disciples: Michael Robertson tells how a group of lower-middle-class men in late-Victorian England found the American poet an inspiration in their desire to reconcile spirituality, science and socialism.(Walt Whitman)
- Article from:
- History Today
- Article date:
- April 1, 2004
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2004 History Today Ltd. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
|
ON A SPRING EVENING in 1887, Dr John Johnston and Mr J.W. Wallace of Bolton laboured together over a letter to Walt Whitman, who was about to celebrate his sixty-eighth birthday. 'Dear Walt,' they boldly began--then, appalled at their temerity, hastened to explain:
In no less familiar or colder
terms can we bring ourselves
to address you, the most loved
of friends, though such a
salutation from strangers to
anyone but yourself would
seem an impertinence.
To their surprise, the ailing old poet responded promptly and warmly to their birthday greeting. Thus began an extraordinary relationship between a group of unknown Boltonians and ...