I Really Think Whitman Could Tell The Future

First of all, I want to say that looking at this old notebook is so cool. Just looking at it. I mean reading it is neat and everything too, but I just find it fascinating to look at the pages. They’re all crinkled and stained, and the messy handwriting is just littered across them. So. Cool. I’ve always loved old book too- even the smell of them. Is that weird? I think so. Anyway… the blog post…

The first thing I notice on all of these pages is a stamp, which I believe says “The Library of Congress”. At first, I thought that this was something standard, stamped on the pages of the notebook in order to prevent it from theft or something, but then I really thought about it. First of all, the stamps look old. They don’t stand out as really bright against the dark ink that Whitman wrote in, or look like they are shiny and new. In fact, some of them look more faded than Whitman’s handwriting. The next thing that strikes me as odd is the idea that The Library of Congress would stamp something like this on a historical document. I understand that libraries typically mark books with their logo in order to ensure that their property is not stolen, but stamping the same logo on every single page of the document seems a little extra if you ask me. Also, I wouldn’t think that a library would do something this permanent to a historic document. Libraries are museums of sorts, and they aim to protect the books in them. I tried to do some research on the topic, but all that was coming up were posts like this one, asking if a library stamp added value to a book that someone was selling. Nice. I guess some things remain mysteries.

The next thing that catches my eye is, of course, the pictures. The images of a man appear to me to be drawings of Abraham Lincoln. This seems relatively normal- he’s just drawing pictures of the man he’s imagining a conversation with (which, you know, we all do). The first image is a side profile of Lincoln, and one thing I notice is what almost looks like an earring. Did Lincoln have pierced ears? I did a little bit more research and found that he did not- in fact, when the actor playing him in the 2012 blockbuster was sporting “earring holes” (the man literally just had his ears pierced), the public was outraged. If my research is accurate, Whitman's decision to draw earrings on Abraham Lincoln is a curious one. But then again, it’s possible that this ‘earring’ is just a curl. The next image is a full body drawing of Lincoln (I’ve decided that’s indeed who it is). His head seems normal enough, but his body is most definitely not proportional. His right hands is abnormally large, and the rest of him is far too small for his head- he looks like those cartoons that people out on the streets of New York draw for “just five dollars!”. Lincoln’s large hand seems to be reaching out for something, while his other arm seems clutched to his stomach, as though he is trying to hold something inside. His efforts seem futile, however, as there are black scribbles that seem to be pouring out of him. Perhaps this is Whitman’s way of showing that Lincoln is pouring all of his thoughts and feelings out to him? Maybe this design is meant to represent the deep conversations that Whitman imagines himself having with the president.

While the other drawings are interesting (Whitman finally gives Lincoln his hat!), I really want to focus on the last drawing. The last drawing is CREEPY, and seems really out of place in this journal. It makes me think of those freaky horror movies where the kid draws something like this in his kindergarten class, and later murders his whole family. The figure on this page appears to be an odd human hybrid type thing, with arms and legs, and a heart and a head. However, unlike the other drawings of men in the notebook, this figure does not look like Lincoln. Instead, this figure looks more like a pirate, with his curly mop of hair, skeleton head, and pirate hat. He seems to be floating, and I can see the rough sketch of a sunset (or a sunrise?) over the water in the background. The most off putting thing about the whole picture, however, is the fact that the figure has a sword in his heart (which takes the place of his body). On top of that, our pirate friend seems totally unbothered by this. He’s just shrugging his shoulders, like “Awh man, I got stabbed in the heart again. I hate it when this happens”. What in the world does this mean? Is this some deep, dramatic art that Whitman is creating in order to represent his tortured soul or his past heartbreaks? Is he dying inside because he can never have an actual conversation with Lincoln? Did he just let his son doodle in his notebook? Did he even have a son? I have a lot of questions.

Well, now that I’ve breezed through Whitman’s (weird) notebook, it’s time for me to go back and look at the annotations. I’m not going to edit anything I wrote previously, but instead comment on my new discoveries below.

On one of the first few pages of the notebook, Whitman had scribbled some names and addresses. Apparently these correspond to some of his friends and the shops he likes to go to. This seems normal enough.

Turns out, Whitman has met the president! Well, not formally, but rather just in passing. However, this quick glance was enough for him to see a “deep latent sadness” in the presidents face. Perhaps, then, the drawing on the last page is supposed to represent Lincoln? Not the Lincoln that the public sees, but rather the Lincoln that Whitman sees inside- the dark, tortured soul. Is this Whitman’s depiction of appearance versus reality? Sure, the presidents life seems fantastic, but how good is it really? Is Perhaps Whitman sees some of his own tortured self in Lincoln.

Next up, the stamp. Turns out this IS a Library of Congress stamp. What the heck Library of Congress? Why would you put something like this on a historical document? Have you no respect for the past?

The next thing I notice in the annotations is that Whitman left one of the pages in his notebook blank. His reasons, however, are not explained. Is it possible that he meant to come back to this page later? Did he leave it blank for aesthetic purposes? Did he get something on it and not want to write on that page? Yet again, I have only questions, no answers.

In these pages lies a famous metaphor, which relates the president to the captain of a ship. The annotation tells us that the very last line of the poem is meant to signify that the president will become the head of the nation (or take the helm of the ship) only to take on more responsibility and problems than his predecessors. Perhaps this is why Whitman sees Lincoln as so tortured- maybe the past is finally catching up to him.

Whitman is a fraud! Turns out all of these sketches are likely done by Whitman's buddies, not himself. As it turns out, these pictures are not of Lincoln, but rather of Whitman himself. Despite not being of Lincoln, however, Whitman certainly seems to resemble him, especially in the pictures with the hat. Possibly Whitman is trying to compare himself to the president. Maybe the whole reason Whitman imagines all these talks with the president is because he believes the two are kindred spirits. Perhaps the two ARE kindred spirits. It’s a shame they never really got to meet.

The creepy drawing on the last page has seemed to puzzle not just me, but historians as well. They have no answers, only suggesting that this image is an “allegory of America itself, poised in a strange halfway state, suspended between day and night, life and death”. Maybe Whitman believes that all of America is just as tortured as him and Lincoln.

Well, that’s all I have for you today (I feel like I’m some talk show announcer). Thank you Mrs. Genesky, this notebook has brought me closer to Whitman than I could ever want to be.