Walt Whitman Celebration Weekend, Friday 30^th May to Sunday 1^st June 2008

Bolton’s Whitmanites and the Edward Carpenter Forum will be hosting events in and around Bolton to celebrate the poet’s birthday and the 25^th revived ‘Whitman Day’ walk and picnic

Two noted authors will provide a depth of local knowledge and a truly international perspective on the continuing links between Walt Whitman and Lancashire.

Dr Paul Salveson, from Bolton, is the author of a new edition of With Walt Whitman in Bolton, published in Mid-May by Little Northern Books.

Michael Robertson, professor of English at The College of New Jersey, is the author of Worshipping Walt, a group biography of Walt Whitman’s 19th-century disciples, published this spring by Princeton University Press.

Events during the weekend will also feature Professor Sheila Rowbotham, from Manchester University, Joey Cain, from San Francisco, and John Baker, from London, members of the Edward Carpenter Forum.

WEEKEND DIARY

Events on the life and work of Walt Whitman and his followers will take place on:

Friday May 30^th:

·        The Lecture Theatre, Bolton Museum and Library:

·        2.00pm exhibition

·        Speakers and book signings from 3.00 pm

·        Early evening town trail from 5.15 pm to finish Bolton Socialist Club, 16 Wood Street, by 7.00pm

Saturday May 31^st:

·        The Lecture Theatre, Bolton Museum and Library:

·        Speakers from 10.00 am, plus Joey Cain from the Edward Carpenter Forum chairs a conversation with Whitman and Carpenter enthusiasts (from about 11.00am).

·        Whitman Day Walk: meet 2.00pm at Barrow Bridge bus turn round for 5 mile stroll ending at Brian Hey Team Rooms.

Sunday June 1^st:

·        A walk from Adlington to Rivington, with a performance by The Clarion Choir and an afternoon  service at the Unitarian Chapel, Rivington at 2.15.  Meet Adlington station 11.00 (or take 10.45 train from Bolton)

Contact for further details: stuart.murray103@googlemail.com

Other event sponsors and supporters:

Sweetens Bookshop; Workers Educational Association; Sociology Department, School of Social Sciences, Manchester University: English Department, Bolton University: Bolton Socialist Club: Bolton Library and Museum, Bolton Council            : Little Northern Books