When I viewed Whitman artifacts at the Library of Congress, I was able to see some pages of these notebooks in which Whitman kept track of the men he met and what they needed. These photos are actually from the Library of Congress rather my own, but they are clearer. I thought you might like to see just a few of his notes.
Wow. Simple yet powerful. (incoming English student overanalyzing probably)
You can tell how each message was written quickly and at different times with the slanted letters and the changing in opacity (from what I presume to be is the pen drying up). Yet each entry is specifically marked in its own section which really makes me think that Whitman cared for each and every one of them 🙂
I love this analysis of the material artifact!
It’s easy to see how Whitman found the poetry in these interactions.
“something to read”, “a couple of oranges” – they seem like such simple things to want for, but I feel they relay what a personal, intimate moment Whitman must have had with them while they communicated such things in the midst of misery.
“A handsome boy looks like a girl”… Walt gets it. In all seriousness though, now I’m curious about his perspective on androgyny.
I love (well, maybe love is too gruesome a word for the subject? not sure) that he sometimes included what sickness the soldier suffered. Like “(fever and bronchitis”) on the last page. Such a level of care, to make note of their illness, possibly to inform family, or for later treatment, or as an make-shift medical record. Or for his own reference, as he nursed some soldiers. It also looks like he may have written down where the soldiers were from, but I’m not totally sure if the locations jotted down are what that is in reference to.