Whitman among the Bohemians: Book and Website Launch, and Tour of Pfaff’s Cellar

For several years just before and just after his 1860 edition of Leaves of Grass appeared, Walt Whitman regularly frequented Pfaff’s beer cellar in downtown Manhattan. The basement bar was the gathering place of America’s first bohemians, and was described in the local press as “the trysting-place of the most careless, witty, and jovial spirits of New York—journalists, artists, and poets.” Come hear about the bohemians of antebellum New York who supported, slept with, parodied, and drank with Walt Whitman at a pivotal moment in the poet’s life and career. Joanna Levin (Chapman University) will discuss the new essay collection Whitman Among the Bohemians, co-edited by Edward Whitley. Edward Whitley (Lehigh University) will demonstrate the recent updates to “The Vault at Pfaff’s: An Archive of Art and Literature by the Bohemians of Antebellum New York”. Karen Karbiener (NYU) will lead a walking tour to and inside the site of Pfaff’s Cellar. Moderated by Thomas Augst (NYU), Associate Professor of English.