If you are searching for Whitman-related events in the the New York area, please also check the Walt Whitman Birthplace website (we highly recommend the tours of the house Whitman Sr. built and Walt lived in for his first four years) and the Whitman House in Camden, NJ (step inside Walt’s home for his last decade).
If you have an event you’d like to list with us, please let us know: waltwhitmaninitiaitve@gmail.com.
Please join Whitman Initiative president Karen Karbiener for a conversation with Dr. Paul Salveson of Bolton, England. Paul is the perfect person to outline the story of Bolton's strong Whitman links, starting with a meeting of friends in the 1880s and continuing through the 'Whitman Revival' of the 1980s to 2022, when the annual Whitman [...]
Walt Whitman's poetry has been set to music by numerous composers from his time to ours. Scholars estimate that over 1,200 settings have been composed for Whitman's robust songs, making him one of the most 'set' American poets of all time. In 2015, Rob Paterson responded to a commission by the Gulf Coast Symphony (FL) [...]
Get ready, we are bringing back the "Song of Myself" marathon for the 19th year! Happening virtually on June 19th, from 4-7pm (EST). RSVP for the event and receive updates as we get closer to the marathon. RSVP for the Marathon
Whitman's beloved Calamus poems celebrating manly love and comradeship have been transformed into films and performances by the Calamus Project. Please join us for a conversation with Executive Producer Sam Magavern and Production Manager Brian Brown, who will discuss their collaboration with the Ujima Theater and the ways in which Ujima's vision-- rooted in Black [...]
The Walt Whitman Initiative honors Ed Folsom's brilliant 50-year career as Whitman scholar, teacher and mentor with a discussion of the final section (#52) of "Song of Myself," a poem that in theory can never end. Whitman scholars Eric Conrad and Matt Miller, both students of Folsom at the University of Iowa, will be joined [...]
Pulitzer Prize winning composer Paul Moravec creates exciting musical drama-- in the form of opera, oratorio, and choral works-- on American themes. Notable recent accomplishments include Sanctuary Road, an opera based on Underground Railroad narratives; the orchestral work A New Country, with settings of Whitman and Emma Lazarus; and A Nation of Others, an oratorio celebrating Ellis Island that [...]
Please join WWI President Karen Karbiener for a lively discussion with The American Opera Project Interim General Director Charles Jarden and NYU Tisch faculty members Randall Eng and Sam Helfrich, whose students have created new operas inspired by—and even featuring—Walt Whitman and Audre Lorde. Composers Durra Leung and Sean Havrilla, librettists Peyton Marion and Troy Defour, [...]
Get ready, we are bringing back the "Song of Myself" marathon for the 20th year! Happening virtually on June 4th, from 2-5pm (EST).
On the eve of its staged reading at the Walt Whitman Birthplace, the new play "American Poet: Whitman's Warnings" will be the focus of conversation for playwright Sarah Vander Schaaff and WWI president Karen Karbiener. Learn about the genesis of this work exploring Whitman's creative genius in the face of the national crises of his [...]
Author/artist Warren Lehrer’s solo and collaborative books and multimedia projects form a panoramic and very human chronicle of the American experience, from boardwalks, fast food joints, youth detention centers and mental health wards, to the prismatic personalities of immigrant Queens, NY, and a half century of imaginary books by his literary alter ego Bleu Mobley. [...]
John Kevin Jones shares his approach to bringing literature and poetry to life through live performance. He explains that the journey from selecting the work to standing in front of an audience involves immersing oneself in the text and allowing it to become intuitive. By deeply understanding the work and embodying it as a performer, [...]
Join the Walt Whitman Initiative this Valentine's Day for a special program celebrating love, poetry, and connection at the South Street Seaport Museum. Queer History: Walt Whitman's Secret Loves Saturday, February 14 | 3:00 PM South Street Seaport Museum, 213 Water Street $10 admission (Free for Museum members) Discover Walt Whitman's secret loves as we [...]
This celebratory concert features works by Aaron Copeland, Leonard Bernstein, Ricky Ian Gordon and Knickerbocker Chamber Orchestra Director Gary Fagin. WWI president Karen Karbiener will join Fagin in a conversation about how Whitman's words and works resonate with the current state of democracy.
Grace Chorale once again offers a diverse, soul-stirring repertoire in an inspiring setting. Bob Lewis of Fulton Stall Market -- beloved partners of WWI -- is among the featured voices.
Sign up here. Join poet and WWI board member Brad Vogel for five sessions across April and May at the Center for Fiction reading classic New York vignettes crafted by Joseph Mitchell, legendary writer for The New Yorker.
WWI president Karen Karbiener explores the lifelong inspiration of Whitman's earliest land- and seascapes.
Swing by the Park Slope Branch of Brooklyn Public Library for a reading where each poet will read a poem that has gotten them through a hard time...and then share one of their own poems that has helped them survive a hard time. With poet and WWI board member Brad Vogel. April 21st, 6:30-8:00 pm. [...]
Finding Radical Empathy in the Dark: Walt Whitman's "The Sleepers" - Night Session - April 23, 2026 Join poet/WWI board member Brad Vogel as he leads the first ever night class at Cafe Martin in Park Slope. We'll be diving into one of Walt Whitman's spookier, unsettlingly thought-provoking poems from 6:30 - 8:45 pm (with [...]
Tickets here for our reading aboard the tall ship Wavertree at the South Street Seaport Museum from 2-4 pm on Sunday, May 17th. Poets are going out on their respective vessels this month and will be sharing poetry from their time afloat. Ticket sales for this reading go to the shipkeepers who make the series [...]
Actor John Kevin Jones of the Summoners Ensemble -- much beloved WWI camerado -- offers his resonant performance of "Whitman in Love" at the Merchants House Museum (NYC) for a limited run during Pride Month 2026: 6/24 - 6/28. Jones brings to life Whitman's "Live Oak, with Moss" poems, his most intimate expressions of self, in [...]
