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BROOKLYN WEEKLY, NOVEMBER 10, 2019
Writings on the Walt
Walt Whitman fans celebrate Clinton Hill street co-naming
BY KEVIN DUGGAN
Walt Whitman fanatics
from around the borough
gathered in Clinton Hill on
Saturday to christen a local
street corner as “Walt
Whitman Way” in honor of
the Bard of Brooklyn’s outstanding
artistic legacy,
said the area’s local councilwoman.
“Brooklyn has always
brought big ideas to the
world, and we’re ready to
commemorate another
Brooklynite whose artistic
work and infl uence has
spread globally,” said Laurie
Cumbo. “Walt Whitman
was a cultural icon, visionary,
and a true artist in every
sense of the word.”
The famed poet’s name
now graces the street signs
at the intersection of Dekalb
Avenue and Ryerson Street
— just two blocks from
Whitman’s former home,
where he penned Leaves of
Grass in 1855 .
Some attendants used
the co-naming ceremony to
lobby for their ongoing effort
to landmark the lyricist’s
former Ryerson Street
home between Myrtle and
Park avenues — the only of
Whitman’s New York City
abodes that still stand today,
according to one advocate.
“We still have a chance
to protect his last remaining
NYC home a few blocks from
the co-naming site by designating
it a city landmark for
the benefi t of future generations,”
said Brad Vogel of the
Coalition to Save Walt Whitman’s
House.
Saturday’s ceremony
— which was part of a City
Council bill to co-name 86
thruways around the fi ve
boroughs — was preceded
by a walking tour from
Brooklyn Heights, marking
the path the Bard took several
times while working on
his famous collection of poems
during his time in the
borough.
Musicians, poets, and
singers also graced attendees
with artistic renditions
of the most beloved works by
the poet — whom they also
celebrated in May for his
200th birthday — in an effort
to preserve Whitman’s
memory for future generations
of Brooklynites, according
to Vogel.
“It helps to remind people
that Walt Whitman lived
and emerged as America’s
poet right here in the streets
of Brooklyn,” he said.
Walt Whitman fans celebrated the Bard with the co-naming of a
street corner in Clinton Hill. Photo by Derrick Watterson
Whitman in 1887 (about age 68),
sporting his signature hat and
facial hair. George C. Cox
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