Essays

Whitman, Christ, and the Crystal Palace Police: A Manuscript Source Restored

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Abstract

Investigates the anecdote about Whitman being watched by the police at the 1853 Crystal Palace Exhibition, an anecdote that William Douglas O'Connor wrote out but then cancelled in a manuscript about Whitman that he prepared for Moncure Conway; argues that the anecdote is significant in what it reveals about Whitman's attitude toward and relationship with policemen, as well as what it reveals about the possible origins of Leaves of Grass in Whitman's reactions to Bertel Thorwaldsen's statues of "Christ and His Apostles," which were on display at the Crystal Palace.

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How to Cite: Benton, P. (2000) “Whitman, Christ, and the Crystal Palace Police: A Manuscript Source Restored”, Walt Whitman Quarterly Review. 17(4). doi: https://doi.org/10.13008/2153-3695.1587