Binh Danh and Robert Schultz to present at Whitman birthplace during first annual Walt Whitman International Festival, August 8-10.

The festival builds upon the 200th anniversary of the poet’s birth, May 31, 1819, and its announced theme is “the impact of Whitman and the domestic & international social justice experience.” Internationally preeminent Whitman scholar Ed Folsom will make the keynote address. Danh and Schultz will describe Whitman’s views on war, memory, and memorials and their powerful relevance in our own moment. The festival will take place, by coincidence, on the second anniversary of the Unite the Right demonstrations and the violence it brought to the streets of Charlottesville, Virginia. The newly published book by Danh and Schultz, War Memoranda: Photography, Walt Whitman, and Memorials, will be on display and for sale at the festival.

Learn more