Two scholars say they have found what may be a recording of poet Walt Whitman made in 1890 at the urging of Thomas Edison, a newspaper reported.
But experts are hesitating before pronouncing it authentic, the New York Times reported.The tape is part of an audiocassette collection of poetry readings apparently taken from an NBC radio broadcast from the early 1950s, the Times said.
On the tape, broadcaster Leon Pearson identifies himself and introduces what he says is a wax cylinder recording of Whitman.
The technique of wax cylinder recording was well established by 1890, but Whitman never mentioned making such a cylinder, and the cylinder used in the broadcast has been lost.
Moreover, there have been several cases of cylinder recordings initially attributed to famous people that turned out to be performances by actors.
The best known is a cylinder of President McKinley's last speech before he was assassinated in 1901. The recording was actually made by a well-known actor of the era, Len Spencer.
On the cylinder attributed to Whitman, the voice recites these lines from his poem "America":Centre of equal daughters, equal sons.
All, all alike endear'd, grown, ungrown, young or old.
Strong, ample, fair, enduring, capable, rich.
Perennial with the Earth, with Freedom, Law and Love.Archivists at NBC were unable to locate any information about the program.
The Whitman tape was mentioned in a 1991 article by Professor Larry Don Griffin of Midland College in Texas. He said he came across the tape in the college library.
University of Iowa Professor Ed Folsom, editor of the Walt Whitman Quarterly Review, plans to play a copy of the tape at a March 26 conference commemorating the 100th anniversary of the poet's death at age 72.
In support of the theory that the voice is Whitman's, the Times noted that two letters in the archives of the Edison National Historic Site in West Orange, N.J., suggest that Edison was interested in recording Whitman's voice.
No record remains of whether the cylinder was actually made, however.
- AN EXHIBITION at the New York Public Library, "Walt Whitman: In Life or Death Forever," marks the centenary of the poet's death on March 26. It also highlights rare editions of "Leaves of Grass."
One of these is the "Blue Book," Whitman's own heavily corrected and revised copy of the 1860-61 edition in blue paper covers. When this was found in his desk in 1865 it was considered an immoral book - the discovery led to his dismissal from the Department of the Interior.
The exhibition's manuscripts, books, photographs and letters are all from the library's holdings. These holdings and those of the Library of Congress are the world's two largest collections of Whitman material. The exhibition is on show through Sept. 12.