Walt Whitman Birthplace Designated as a National "Literary Landmark"

Walt Whitman Birthplace Association has received official designation as a “Literary Landmark” by United for Libraries. The dedication ceremony will be held September 5, 2014, at 2:00 p.m. at the Whitman Birthplace and is open to the public, free of charge.

Joining WWBA in their celebration is NYS Parks Commissioner Rose Harvey, Congressman Steve Israel, NY State Senators Phil Boyle and Carl Marcellino, NYS Assemblyman Fred Thiele, and sponsors which include Lambda Literary Foundation, Suffolk County Library Association, Suffolk School Library Media Association, and NYS Empire Center for the Book.

The Walt Whitman Birthplace “Literary Landmark” designation is the second in Nassau/Suffolk County, the first being the Windmill at Stony Brook University where Tennessee Williams wrote one of his plays. The Walt Whitman Birthplace will be the third such landmark on Long Island, along with the Langston Hughes Community Library in Queens, NY.

The Literary Landmarks Association was founded in 1986 by Friends of Libraries U.S.A. to encourage the dedication of national historic literary sites. Literary Landmarks continue with United for Libraries, a division of the American Library Association.

Dedications have included homes of famous writers (Ernest Hemingway, Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, William Faulkner), libraries and museum collections, and literary scenes (such as John’s Grill in San Francisco, immortalized by Dashiell Hammett, and Willa Cather’s Prairie near Red Cloud, Nebraska).

A commemorative plaque will be placed on the Interpretive Center to celebrate the designation.

The Walt Whitman Birthplace is located at 246 Old Walt Whitman Road, Huntington Station, NY. For more information about this free event, please call (631) 427-5240 ext. 112 or visit www.waltwhitman.org