Specimen Days & Collect

by Walt Whitman

Published in 1882, Whitman's uniquely revealing impressions of the people, places, and events of his time, principally the Civil War era and its aftermath, offer a rare excursion into the mind and heart of one of America's greatest poets. His intimate observations and reflections have profoundly deepened understanding of 19th-century American life.

Genres: Poetry, Nonfiction, Classics, Philosophy, Biography, Travel, Memoir

384 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1882

About the author

Walter Whitman Jr. was an American poet, essayist, and journalist. He is considered one of the most influential poets in American literature. Whitman incorporated both transcendentalism and realism in his writings and is often called the father of free verse. His work was controversial in his time, particularly his 1855 poetry collection Leaves of Grass, which was described by some as obscene for its overt sensuality.
Whitman was born in Huntington on Long Island, and lived in Brooklyn as a child and through much of his career. At the age of 11, he left formal schooling to go to work. He worked as a journalist, a teacher, and a government clerk. Whitman's major poetry collection, Leaves of Grass, first published in 1855, was financed with his own money and became well known. The work was an attempt to reach out to the common person with an American epic. Whitman continued expanding and revising Leaves of Grass until his death in 1892.
During the American Civil War, he went to Washington, D.C., and worked in hospitals caring for the wounded. His poetry often focused on both loss and healing. On the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, whom Whitman greatly admired, he authored two poems, "O Captain! My Captain!" and "When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom'd", and gave a series of lectures on Lincoln. After suffering a stroke towards the end of his life, Whitman moved to Camden, New Jersey, where his health further declined. When he died at the age of 72, his funeral was a public event.
Whitman's influence on poetry remains strong. Art historian Mary Berenson wrote, "You cannot really understand America without Walt Whitman, without Leaves of Grass... He has expressed that civilization, 'up to date,' as he would say, and no student of the philosophy of history can do without him." Modernist poet Ezra Pound called Whitman "America's poet... He is America."

Reviews

[Ken · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting collection of off and on prose Whitman kept over the years. Episodic with a lot of variety. For instance, it starts like an autobiography, focusing on his life as a boy growing up in New York. Memory snippets.

At its most interesting, Specimen Days chronicles what Whitman calls (and I wish we STILL called) the Secession War. Seems much more accurate than the oxymoronic Civil War. And let's call a spade a spade -- this war was all about Secession based on the practice of slavery, the legacy of which Americans have yet to overcome.

Just by being in Washington serving as a helper at the soldiers' hospitals, Whitman frequently sees Lincoln going to and fro from the White House. In fact, Lincoln comes to recognize and nod at Whitman, who says no painter ever was able to capture the true spirit of Lincoln's face.

Whitman uses the adjective "secesh" to refer to rebel soldiers, some of whom land at the hospitals, but he treats the wounded and sick men equally no matter what color their uniform. For most of us, casualties in any war are merely statistics, but Whitman brings some of them to life as he takes the time to describe what he calls some "specimen cases." Here, for instance, is the case of Thomas Haley:

"In one of the hospitals I find Thomas Haley, company M, 4th New York cavalry -- a regular Irish boy, a fine specimen of youthful physical manliness -- shot through the lungs -- inevitably dying -- came over to this country from Ireland to enlist -- has not a single friend or acquaintance here -- is sleeping soundly at the moment, (but it is the sleep of death) -- has a bullet hole straight through the lung. I saw Tom when first brought here, three days since, and didn't suppose he could live twelve hours -- (yet he looks well enough in the face to a casual observer.) He lies there with his frame exposed above the waist, all naked, for coolness, a fine built man, the tan not yet bleach'd from his cheeks and neck. It is useless to talk to him, as with his sad hurt, and the stimulants they give him, and the utter strangeness of every object, face, furniture, &c., the poor fellow, even when awake, is like some frighten'd animal. Much of the time he sleeps, or half-sleeps. (Sometimes I thought he knew more than he show'd.) I often come and sit by him in perfect silence; he will breathe for ten minutes as softly and evenly as a young babe asleep. Poor youth, so handsome, athletic, with profuse beautiful shining hair. One time as I sat looking at him while he lay asleep, he suddenly, without the least start, awaken'd, open'd his eyes, gave me a long steady look, turning his face very slightly to gaze easier -- one long, clear, silent look -- a slight sigh -- then turn'd back and went into his doze again. Little he knew, poor death-stricken boy, the heart of the stranger that hover'd near."

Try reading THAT and considering him (or the others described) as a statistic. In one swift paragraph, brought to life so you can see him die. And the descriptions, so physical, mirror Whitman's poetry, too, as you'd expect.

After the war, Specimen Days gets quite Thoreau-like, with WW describing nature early in the morning (he liked to wake before dawn) and late at night (he liked to stay awake till midnight). Excellent descriptions of nature here.

After this phase, the book moves to a bit of a travelogue as WW travels as far west as Colorado and Montana before returning east, visiting Longfellow and Emerson (just before their deaths), and complaining about his physical woes (upwards to ten years he suffered from some semi-paralysis of some sort). Despite his problems, Whitman assures us that the best medicine is avoiding doctors and getting naked with nature (don't worry -- in a secluded spot where he can bathe outdoors in a river).

Overall, one interesting melange of writing, some parts better than others, but always, like everything he wrote, all about the man in the mirror -- that me Walt Whitman called Walt Whitman, a kind-hearted solipsist if ever there was one.

[Lee Klein · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a pretty dope book of Walt Whitman's prose -- a huge acknowledged influence on Keroauc's prose, he said, plus it includes a dramatization of Whitman walking in Boston Commons with Emerson, Emerson attacking Whitman's every poetic tactic, then Whitman responding that he appreciates and respects Emerson's words that march on him like an unstoppable army of artillery fire and truth and that he will do his damnedest (paraphrasing) NOT to follow Emerson's advice but to supremely exemplify every quality in his work Emerson rails against . . . pretty bad-ass, esp. for those maybe still reeling slightly from MFA criticism uncoilings.

[Dewayne Martin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Anyone studying the Civil War...anyone who loves the history of the Civil War ought to read this. To read a history book of the Civil War is to view a quilt from across the room....to read this book is to feel the fabric of that quilt against your skin. This book places the reader into the world of Whitman's days. Other than that, just his eye for nature and the overal natural world is enough to sweep the reader away.

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

Treasured gift from many years ago. Reads as a loose diary of entries in the 1860s. Highly recommend it if you can get hold of a copy...!

[Nathan Albright · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a strange one. It is not a bad one by any means, and there are certainly some aspects of it that are reasonably pleasant and enjoyable to read, but it is still a strange book, and that is largely because it is a miscellaneous collection of works that has not been fully integrated into something unified and whole. Indeed, the author himself appears to have deliberately made this so out of convenience as well as out of a seeming lack of understanding in how to create a coherent narrative. There are certainly some aspects of this book that are dependent on the reader being familiar with Whitman's life as a nurse in the Civil War and also aware of his poetry and the controversial nature (then and now) of that poetry. It is unlikely that this will be the first book of the author that anyone reads, and would not make very much sense if it was, because the author assumes the reader is familiar with the rough outline of his life and works and is simply filling in the gaps as it were with interesting and somewhat quirky thoughts and reflections. And if you care about Whitman enough that these thoughts and reflections and drafts of poems and speeches and other similar materials are interesting, then you will definitely find this book to be of interest.

This book is about 450 pages long and it is divided into two parts with other miscellaneous material added at the end. The first half of the book or so is made up of Specimen Days, the author's attempt to answer a request to write his memoir. His memoir is a strange one, a mix of discussion of family history, his own civil war experiences, as well as a diary of a period the author had received and responded to the request for a memoir that included his reflections about the sights and sounds of where he lived and the travels he made during this time to the West. After that there is a collection that is called Collect, along with some notes left over and some interesting stories from the author's youth that are interesting stories, including speeches, two prefaces to different editions of Leaves of Grass, and the author's views of the writing of his 19th century contemporaries, which is at least intriguing material for someone who is fond of literary criticism.

As a reader, what I was struck by the most were a few aspects of the author's writing. For one, he seems particularly attuned to creation, and this very visual, even impressionistic understanding of scenes of creation surely informs his poetic sense. It is also funny to see the author think of himself as an expert on various subjects, be it a prophet of unity between the United States and Canada in a free trade and political union, in seeing the possibilities of the West and viewing himself as an expert after one train trip there, as well as his supposed expertise about Abraham Lincoln and the wisdom of the commoner. Whitman certainly viewed himself and his views on poetry and politics highly, whether or not the reader is inclined to always agree is a different matter, and these writings reflect a strong desire on the author's part to convey himself in a positive light and to provide enough materials for the reader to respect the complexity of his thought processes. It seems that even if this book is definitely strange, that a fair-minded reader will nevertheless see much to respect and appreciate here, in that the author has shown us the ligaments of his writing process, and there is something compelling about that.

[Jade Lopert · Rating 3 out of 5]

Specimen Days & Collect is an interesting peek into the influences and thoughts of one of America's greatest poets of his time. It's part autobiography and part an observation of nature and part political opinion. It's really a collection of essays and vignettes instead of one coherent narrative. This is both the best and worst part. It allows for a jumping around that keeps thing interesting, but it also leads to repetitive ideas being brought up repeatedly.
Recommended for fans of Whitman's poetry and nature lovers, because no one can write as lovingly as the natural world around them as Whitman can.

[Henry Sturcke · Rating 5 out of 5]

Specimen Days & Collect gathers much of the prose Walt Whitman published in his lifetime. It’s a hard book to categorize, as unwieldy and idiosyncratic as the author’s poetry. The first part, “Specimen Days,” is a triptych. Its first section details Whitman’s reminiscences of his childhood and youth on Long Island (still wild at the time), Brooklyn, and Manhattan (which Whitman calls New York, Brooklyn still being a separate city). This material seems to have been solicited by a friend; I infer it was John Burroughs, a naturalist a generation younger than Whitman.
The second section prints many diary entries from Whitman’s volunteer work in military hospitals in and around Washington, D. C. during the Civil War (a term Whitman rarely uses, preferring to call it the attempted secession or the war for the Union). I had always heard him referred to as a male nurse, but from Whitman’s account, he reminds me more of a hospital chaplain; indeed, a good one. The section opens with the first battle of Bull Run, the shocking defeat that led many to advocate negotiating the terms of the South’s departure from the Union, countered by Lincoln’s steely resolve (reminiscent of Churchill staring down the group around Lord Halifax, who wanted to sue for peace with Hitler in May 1940). The closing counterpart of this is the account of Lincoln’s assassination. There is much fine writing between these bookends; for instance, a description of the Battle of Chancellorsville: excellent prose about a horrible scene.
The third section details his partial recovery from a stroke. He attributed his improvement to spending time outdoors, as often as possible, naked. I enjoyed this section’s generous depiction of his nature observations: kingfishers and other birds, trees, and streams. At one point, Whitman favorably compared the attractions of sea and shore to poems, painting, and music. The irony wasn’t lost on me that he chose to preserve this in a book and that I sat enjoying the prose on a beautiful day.
The second part, “Collect,” does precisely that. It incorporates Whitman’s lengthy essay, “Democratic Vistas,” some of his lectures, such as “Death of Abraham Lincoln,” and other pieces. “Vistas” contains his call for the United States to produce poets who turn from European models based on feudalism to express the essence of the American experience of democracy. Paradoxically, his fancy leads him to envision this idiosyncratic literature as a model for the entire world. Whitman’s unbounded faith in the potential of the country, were it to fully embrace democracy, is cheering. The essay contains an ambivalent take on women, though, at times progressive but at other times reflecting an idealized view of the traditional role of motherhood.
The book closes with a sampling of early pieces Whitman wrote from his days as a newspaperman; they reflect a writer still developing his voice and philosophy.
It’s difficult to rate this book; it seems too uneven to call it great. As Whitman ages and become a recognized literary figure, his style becomes overblown and verges on self-parody. For instance, his taste for overloaded, parenthetical, paradoxical sentences does him no service when he strays into philosophy to contrast Carlyle and Hegel. But soon, he returns outdoors and listens to birds, and all is well again.
There are several striking passages, such as this remark on the nature of poetry: “At its best, poetic lore is like what may be heard of a conversation in the dark, from speakers far or hid, of which we get only a few broken murmurs. What is not gather’d is far more — perhaps the main thing.”
Or this, in which Whitman anticipates reader response: “Books are to be call’d for, and supplied, on the assumption that the process of reading is not a half sleep, but, in highest sense, an exercise, a gymnast’s struggle; that the reader is to do something for himself, must be on the alert, must him or herself construct indeed the poem, argument, history, metaphysical essay — the text furnishing the hints, the clue, the start or frame-work. Not the book needs so much to be the complete thing, but the reader does. That were to make a nation of supple and athletic minds, well-train’d, intuitive, used to depend on themselves and not on a few coteries of writers.”
Repeatedly Whitman describes the kind of poetry that will accomplish this, fitting for democracy. For example: “America demands a poetry that is bold, modern, and all-surrounding and kosmical, as she is herself.” Whenever he writes in this vein, he seems to be Ezra Pound’s intellectual godfather. The irony is that Pound emigrated to pursue his vocation.
Passages such as these are so numerous that, despite its overall unevenness, this book is essential.

[Stephen C.]

Read in the early days of my Australian adventure, the book is a collection of Whitman’s journal entries over the ladder half of his life. Written with a wonderful, understated flourish throughout, with light-touch when needed, with the appropriate gravity when encountering some of the gruesome details of battle hospitals, the book takes the reader on a journey through America in the late-19th century, as the culture grows and moves further and further towards industrial maturity. From Whitman’s harrowing depictions of the devastation of war, to the close, intimate details of walks through the woods in New Jersey, the reader’s given special insight into what it means to be alive, in a world going through radical change. At once beautiful, bold, warm and compassionate, Whitman carries on, over the course of multiple decades, with an unflagging conviction that this world, and this life, and these people around us, all have meaning. A special read.

[Nancy Newcomer]

Was reading in prep for NYt discussion on Michael Cunningham's "Specimen Days" based on whitman's book. Made me remember the course I took from Iowa writer's workshop online about Walt Whitman and the civil war, which was great. Always a pleasure and inspiration to read him. Had to return to library.

[Mason · Rating 3 out of 5]

Whitman's reflections on the "war of attempted secession" bear revisiting whenever America reaches a fever pitch.

[Darren · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'll always have the stern face of Walt Whitman to remind me how incredibly short life really is.

[Dr Bassham]

Very inciteful reading. I enjoy the old world feel to it.

[Dylan · Rating 5 out of 5]

America's most lyrical wandering poet and visionary - a song of and to himself and a hymn to the ever changing landscape. A beautiul, and essential book.