Wikipedia:Culture/New York Public Library

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New York Public Library

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The New York Public Library (NYPL) is one of the leading public libraries of the world and is one of the United States's most significant research libraries. It is composed of a very large circulating public library system combined with a very large non-lending research library system. It is simultaneously one of the largest public library systems in the United States and one of the largest research library systems in the world. It is a privately managed, nonprofit corporation with a public mission, operating with both private and public financing.

The historian David McCullough has described the New York Public Library as one of the five most important libraries in the United States, the others being the Library of Congress, the Boston Public Library, and the university libraries of Harvard and Yale. (more...)

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Walter Whitman (May 31, 1819 – March 26, 1892) was an American poet, essayist, journalist, and humanist. He was a part of the transition between Transcendentalism and realism, incorporating both views in his works. Whitman is among the most influential poets in the American canon, often called the father of free verse His work was very controversial in its time, particularly his poetry collection Leaves of Grass, which was described as obscene for its overt sexuality.

Born on Long Island, Whitman worked as a journalist, a teacher, a government clerk, and a volunteer nurse during the American Civil War in addition to publishing his poetry. Early in his career, he also produced a temperance novel, Franklin Evans (1842). Whitman's major work, Leaves of Grass, was first published in 1855 with his own money. The work was an attempt at reaching out to the common person with an American epic. He continued expanding and revising it until his death in 1892. After a stroke towards the end of his life, he moved to Camden, New Jersey where his health further declined. He died at age 72 and his funeral became a public spectacle. (more...)

To commemorate National Poetry Month, [http://exhibitions.nypl.org/treasures/items/show/42 this is Walt Whitman's Blue Book, the famous 3rd edition copy of Leaves of Grass. ]

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For the 250th Anniversary of Candide, [http://candide.nypl.org/text/ read the full book with Candide scholars and have a intertextual conversation!] Check out the Candide article

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[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:DGG/NYPL Wikipedia editing classes for public library patrons]
Free Culture Alliance NYC and NYPL participation

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Culture