Karen Karbiener | "I Am What I Am": Walt Whitman, Good Gay Poet

In celebration of Pride Month and NYPL's 250 Years programming, join esteemed scholar Karen Karbiener for a presentation on Walt Whitman's status as a gay icon.

This event will take place in person and online at the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Library on the 7th Floor.

Walt Whitman and Peter Doyle by M.P. Rice, ca. 1869. Public Domain.

To join the event in person | Doors will open 30 minutes before the program begins. For free events, we generally overbook to ensure a full house. Priority will be given to those who have registered in advance, but registration does not guarantee admission. All registered seats are released shortly before start time, and seats may become available at that time. A standby line will form 30 minutes before the program.

To view the livestream | Whether you're attending in person or online, you must register with your email address. You will need a device with audio and/or video and an internet/cellular connection to view the livestream.

ABOUT THE SPEAKER

Karen Karbiener is an internationally recognized Whitman scholar and has published widely on the poet, including an illustrated edition of Live Oak, with Moss (Abrams, 2021) and Poet of the Body: New York’s Walt Whitman (University of Chicago, 2022).  An active public scholar, she is founder and president of the Walt Whitman Initiative, a NYC-based nonprofit that hosts the annual “Song of Myself” Marathon (in its 23rd year in 2026) and offers its open access Tane Poetry Library to the public at 91 South Street, NYC.  She is completing American Kosmos (under contract with Mariner/HarperCollins), the first biography of Whitman in over 25 years.

Walt Whitman at NYPL

• Borrow: NYPL Catalog


• The Walt Whitman Papers, 1854-1892 in NYPL's Digital Collections

Don't have a New York Public Library card? Get one here!

ACCESSIBILITY NOTES

In-Person

• Assistive listening devices and/or hearing loops are available at the venue.


• ASL interpretation and real-time captioning (CART) are available upon request. Please submit your request via this form or contact SNFL at least two weeks in advance.


• This venue is fully accessible to wheelchairs.

Livestream

• ASL interpretation and real-time captioning (CART) also available (see previous).


• Captions and a transcript will be provided.

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Please submit all press inquiries to Connor Goodwin at least 48 hours before the event: email [email protected].
 

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All programs are subject to change or cancellation. All events at The Stavros Niarchos Foundation Library are subject to recording and photography. 

The 7 Stories Up Series at SNFL is made possible by the Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF).