Crossing Brooklyn Ferry Resources

A truly amazing video from the famous American inventor Thomas Edison. It shows the Brooklyn waterfront as it looked in 1903. Not only is it one of the first movies ever made, but it captures the cosmopolitan energy of the ports with their tall schooners and steamships.

It's very difficult to hear, but this 36-second clip taken from a wax cylinder recording is thought to be the poet reading form his work "America."

Project Gutenberg makes available an eBook with recordings from "Song of Myself," Whitman's longest and most famous poem.

The classic daguerreotype of Whitman as a young man, looking rakish and a bit confrontational: "You lookin' at me?" He printed this image at the beginning of Leaves of Grass.

Doesn't he look like the kind of guy who would try to sell you some sort of "magic tonic"?

A picture of a ferry steamship from the early 20th century.

In this informative and entertaining book, author David Reynolds explores Whitman's connection to the 19th century, and how he was influenced by theater, politics, and the art of oratory.

Whitman's prose works are collected in Specimen Days and Collect, which are available online.

Easily the best and most comprehensive site devoted to Whitman. It includes his letters, criticism, images, manuscripts, and much, much more. A must-visit for anyone looking to delve deep into Whitman's life and work.

This site includes an interactive version of the text that allows you to track Whitman's revisions to the poem over the years.

Includes an introduction to Leaves of Grass and an essay on "Crossing Brooklyn Ferry."