'Saerasmid,' an Early Promoter of Walt Whitman

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Bibliographic Information

Clark, George Pierce. "'Saerasmid,' an Early Promoter of Walt Whitman." American Literature. 27.2 (1955): 259-262.

Type: journal ; Genre: literary criticism

Abstract

Identifies "Saerasmid"--the author of numerous parodies of Walt Whitman in the Saturday Press--as Charles Desmarais Gardette, who was also the author of "The Fire-Fiend," a parody of Poe's "The Raven."

People Mentioned in this Work

Clapp, Henry Jr. [pages: 261-262]: Posits that it was at Clapp's insistence that Gardette wrote a number of Whitman parodies for the Saturday Press in 1860, around the same time that Clapp was heavily promoting the 1860 Leaves of Grass in the pages of the Press (261).
Gardette, Charles Desmarais [pages: 259-262]: Provides a very brief biography of Gardette, a history of his parodies of both Whitman and Poe, and evidence to identify him as "Saerasmid," the author of Whitman parodies in the Saturday Press.
Mackenzie, Robert Shelton Dr. [pages: 261]: Briefly mentioned in connection with Gardette's Poe hoax, "The Fire-Fiend." Also mentioned in context of the English actor William Macready, who, like Mackenzie, was also tricked into believing that "The Fire-Fiend" was actually authored by Poe himself (261).
Whitman, Walt [pages: 259-262]: Identifies a Whitman scrapbook in the Oscar Lion Collection of the New York Public Library ("Scrap Book 1860-1882") containing Whitman's poem "You and Me and To-Day" and an 1860 poem from the Saturday Press by Saerasmid titled "Yourn and Mine, and Any-Day" next to which Whitman wrote "Guardettes [sic] Burlesque" (260).

Related Works

Saerasmid. "Autopatheia [Dedicated to Walt Whitman]." New York Saturday Press. 17 Mar. 1860: 1. [more about this work]
Saerasmid. "Poemet [after Walt Whitman]." New York Saturday Press. 11 Feb. 1860: 1. [more about this work]
Saerasmid. "The Bottle Imps: A Domestic 'Manifestation'." New York Saturday Press. 14 Jan. 1860: 1. [more about this work]
Saerasmid. "The New Cinderella: A Bachelor Experience [for the New York Saturday Press]." New-York Saturday Press. 10 Mar. 1860: 4. [more about this work]
Saerasmid. "Yours and Mine, and Any-Day, A Yawp after Walt Whitman." New York Saturday Press. 21 Jan. 1860: 1. [more about this work]