Bill Text: NY K00361 | 2019-2020 | General Assembly | Introduced


Bill Title: Commemorating the 200th Anniversary of Walt Whitman's Birthday on May 31, 2019

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 5-0)

Status: (Passed) 2019-05-07 - adopted [K00361 Detail]

Download: New_York-2019-K00361-Introduced.html

Assembly Resolution No. 361

BY: M. of A. Lentol

        COMMEMORATING   the   200th  Anniversary  of  Walt
        Whitman's Birthday on May 31, 2019

  WHEREAS, It is the sense of this Legislative Body to honor  and  pay
tribute  to those American authors whose commitment and creative talents
have contributed to the entertainment and cultural enrichment  of  their
community and the entire State of New York; and

  WHEREAS,  Attendant  to  such  concern,  and in full accord with its
long-standing traditions, this  Legislative  Body  is  justly  proud  to
commemorate  the  200th  Anniversary  of  Walt  Whitman's Birthday; this
auspicious occasion will be celebrated with a myriad of events beginning
May 27th, and culminating with a tour of his hometown on  his  birthday,
Friday, May 31, 2019; and

  WHEREAS,  Walt  Whitman, an American poet, essayist, and journalist,
was born to Louisa (Van Velsor) and Walter Whitman on May 31,  1819,  in
West Hills, Town of Huntington, Long Island; and

  WHEREAS, Walt Whitman lived at the Vinegar Hill house on 99 Reyerson
Street near the Navy Yard in Brooklyn, where he penned American classics
such  as Leaves of Grass, a collection of poetry which he would continue
editing and revising until his death; one  of  its  most  famous  poems,
"Crossing  Brooklyn  Ferry,"  describes  the  ferry trip across the East
River from Manhattan to Brooklyn at  the  exact  location  that  was  to
become the Brooklyn Bridge; and

  WHEREAS, Today, 169 years after Walt Whitman began writing Leaves of
Grass, many of us are still pondering "What is it then between us?"; and

  WHEREAS,  May  31,  2019,  is an opportunity for all New Yorkers and
Americans to reflect upon the legacy of  one  of  the  most  influential
poets  in  the  American  Canon, the Father of Free Verse, Walt Whitman;
now, therefore, be it

  RESOLVED, That this Legislative Body pause in its  deliberations  to
commemorate  the 200th Anniversary of Walt Whitman's Birthday; and be it
further

  RESOLVED, That a copy of this  Resolution,  suitably  engrossed,  be
transmitted to the Brooklyn Public Library.
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