William Sloane Kennedy Memorial Collection of Whitmaniana
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- Wikidata
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Memorial Object
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Object
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Whitman, Walt
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William Sloane Kennedy Memorial Collection of Whitmaniana
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The William Sloane Kennedy Memorial Collection of Whitmaniana celebrates the life and work of Walt Whitman, an iconic American poet known for his anti-slavery sympathies. It was established in 1929 through a bequest by William Sloane Kennedy (1850–1929), a literary critic, journalist, and close confidant of Whitman.
Whitman (1819–1892), often regarded as the father of free verse poetry, is best known for his groundbreaking work "Leaves of Grass," which celebrates individuality, democracy, and the interconnectedness of humanity. As the great-grandson of a slave owner, his position on enslavement and race changed during his lifetime. Initially, he rejected abolitionism as dangerous to the Union, instead seeking to stop the spread of slavery by membership in the Free Soil Party. By the 1850s, however, his views had started to shift, and "Leaves of Grass" underscores his belief in the dignity and potential of all individuals.
Kennedy appreciated Whitman's views on slavery, especially as they advanced in the 1850s and later. In his book, "Fight of a Book for the World," (1926) he wrote, "Would that Wordsworth, Tennyson, Longfellow, Bryant, had so good an anti-slavery record as Whitman! And yet his immediate ancestors had been slaveholders on Long Island" (78).
Kennedy met Professor of Books Edwin Grover during winters in Florida. Grover persuaded him to leave the college his personal collection of materials relating to Whitman and an endowment of $10,000 to expand and maintain the collection. Rollins inherited when Kennedy died in 1929.
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The William Sloane Kennedy Memorial Collection of Whitmaniana, housed in the Special Collections and Archives of Rollins College’s Olin Library, includes over 1,200 items. The collection features rare editions of "Leaves of Grass," personal correspondence, manuscripts, and ephemera connected to Walt Whitman. Among its unique holdings are Kennedy’s annotated scrapbooks and journals, which provide insight into his friendship with Whitman, as well as visual artifacts such as photographic postcards, portraits, and illustrations of Whitman and his contemporaries. The collection continues to grow with additions of scholarly works and modern interpretations of Whitman’s legacy.
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Kennedy, William Sloane and Grover, Edwin Osgood
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1929
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Kennedy, William Sloane
Position: 2629 (30 views)