December 16, 2020
6:30 PM EST

Event Description:

Library of Congress curator Barbara Bair presents: “’For you whoever you are’: Transcribing Whitman Manuscripts Online By Democratic Crowdsourcing.”

Event Video Link:  https://youtu.be/MXDJk9rWRjU

Barbara Bair discusses getting up close and personal to Whitman’s creative process by participating in the Library of Congress By the People Walt Whitman online crowdsourcing project. Learn how to try your hand at transcribing Whitman’s words from his drafts and musings, or review transcriptions of Whitman’s handwritten and printed works from the Library’s digitized collections. Share ideas for teachers to use the online site in a virtual classroom, or for personal browsing, engagement, and enjoyment. The Whitman campaign includes three projects so far.

Find it here: https://crowd.loc.gov/campaigns/walt-whitman

Barbara Bair is a curator or Literature, Culture and Arts in the Manuscript Division at the Library of Congress, and a specialist for digital humanities projects. A member of the organizing committee for the 2019 Washington, D.C., Whitman 200 Festival, Barbara was lead curator for the “Whitman Bicentennial” exhibit and “Walt Whitman Open House” public display featuring Whitman materials from throughout the Library’s collections. Along with a poetry program at the Folger Library, the Open House served as the finale for the citywide celebration of Whitman’s birth.