About this episode
Welcome to the hall of imagination. Tonight I was looking up at the wax figure of the writer Walt Whitman– And I was not surprised in the least when he looked down at me and began speaking.
George, I was most commonly known as "Walt" among friends, family, and in much of my correspondence, rather than as "Mr. Whitman." My parents shortened my given name from Walter to Walt when I was born, and used this familiar form throughout my life. As a poet, I believe I embraced a democratic and accessible persona, and the informal "Walt" aligns with that approach.
However, in public and formal settings—especially as I gained fame—I was often referred to as "Mr. Whitman" or by various honorifics such as "the Bard of Democracy". In my later early years in Camden, New Jersey, I was generally called "Mr. Whitman" by the press and new acquaintances, but those who knew me well continued to use "Walt".
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