Walt Whitman and the Bolton Socialist Club Walks
American Poet Whitman Inspires Annual Whitman Walk in Bolton
Aug 3, 2009
As Paul Salveson explains in his book, With Walt Whitman in Bolton, [1] Walt Whitman never came to Bolton – but in spirit he was as one with ‘those splendid Bolton fellows’.
Modern Day Walt Whitman Celebration in Bolton
Every year Walt Whitman’s birthday is celebrated by Bolton Socialist Club on the nearest Saturday to May 31st. Everyone is welcome to this unique poetic event, marking not only the great man, but his philosophy of ‘loving comradeship’, still alive today in Bolton.
Walt Whitman and the Eagle Street College
In 1887 two Bolton friends, J W Wallace and Dr John Johnston, sent a signed birthday greeting to the great poet. To their delight, Whitman responded and a regular correspondence ensued until the poet’s death five years later.
Wallace and Johnston were the cornerstones of a study group known as The Eagle Street College. The ‘College’ was in effect Wallace’s tiny terraced house where lower middle-class members of Bolton society met to discuss Socialist ideals, sexual politics, literature and art. Whitman, with his love of the outdoors and celebration of humanity and nature, became a Socialist hero to the Eagle Street College.
Walt Whitman Influences British Socialism
In the 1890s British Socialism was a living philosophy, particularly in the industrial North. The Independent Labour Party was the political leading light and Wallace was a member of the Bolton branch. He corresponded with influential figures, including Keir Hardie and Robert Blatchford, editor of the Socialist newspaper, Clarion.
Through these contacts Wallace helped spread Whitman’s poetry amongst the Left and many important figures visited him. Whitman became extremely influential amongst British Socialists.
Edward Carpenter also played a huge role in furthering the Socialist and Whitmanite causes. Part of Whitman’s appeal was his seemingly open discussion of sexuality in his poetry, in particular the Calmus poems.Carpenter lived openly with his gay lover, encouraging within the Bolton group an open-mindedness about sexual and spiritual matters.
The Bolton Whitmanites
Every year the Bolton group celebrated Whitman’s birthday at Wallace’s Bolton home. When Wallace moved to the semi-rural village of Adlington the celebrations took on the added joy of walks on the moors, each member wearing a sprig of lilac (Whitman’s favourite flower), reading their favourite Whitman poems and drinking spiced claret from a Loving Cup, a gift from Whitman.
Dr Johnston visited the poet in America in 1890. Johnston also met friends of Whitman’s during his stay, forging long-lasting links between American and Bolton Whitmanites. Wallace also visited Whitman in 1891 and was greeted by Whitman who joked, “So you’ve come to be disillusioned have you!”.
After the First World War women joined the Bolton group which had been predominantly male. They took an active part in running the group and organising the walks. As Salveson has pointed out, the First World War devastated the Socialist movement in Britain, many of the prominent activists being killed. By the mid-1950s the Bolton Whitmanite meetings and Birthday Walks had faded away.
Walt Whitman Archive in Bolton
In the 1980s Paul Salveson, and members of Bolton Socialist Club, began research on a local writer, Allen Clarke, a friend of Dr Johnston. In Clarke’s writings Salveson discovered an account of Whitman Day celebration in 1913.
Research into Bolton Library's Whitman archives brought to light Whitman’s letters to the group, and material that regularly attracts academics from the States and Britain.
Happily, the Whitman Day celebrations were revived in 1984.
Source:
[1] With Walt Whitman in Bolton: Spirituality, Sex and Socialism in a Northern Mill Town by Paul Salveson (Little Northern Books, 2008)
See Also:
- Saltaire and David Hockney - describes World Heritage Site Yorkshire town of Saltaire where an old woollen mill was turned into an art gallery with a huge selection of David Hockney's works.
- Factory Chimneys in Italian Renaissance Style - examines how factory owners modelled their chimneys on Italian bell towers.
- J M W Turner's Rain Steam Speed - explores Turner's great painting of a Great Western steam engine which is arguably a celebration of the new technology of the Industrial Revolution.
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