UH grad student discovers novel by Walt Whitman

Zachary Turpin, a University of Houston graduate student, recently discovered a previously unknown novella by poet Walt Whitman. Zachary Turpin, a University of Houston graduate student, recently discovered a previously unknown novella by poet Walt Whitman. Photo: Jon Shapley, Houston Chronicle Photo: Jon Shapley, Houston Chronicle Image 1 of / 27 Caption Close UH grad student discovers novel by Walt Whitman 1 / 27 Back to Gallery

A University of Houston graduate student has discovered a previously unknown novel written by Walt Whitman.

Zachary Turpin, a doctoral candidate in English, has unearthed "Life and Adventures of Jack Engle," a six-installment piece of fiction that was published anonymously as a newspaper serial in 1852.

Tucked away in the long-forgotten, never-digitized Sunday Dispatch, the short novel was all but lost to the ages. But Turpin, who unearthed "Jack Engle" in the Library of Congress archive, used unpublished notes and outlines to connect the story to Whitman, one of America's best known and most beloved poets.

Turpin's discovery "is going to change everything we thought we knew about Whitman's writing career," said Ed Folsom, a University of Iowa English professor and editor of the Walt Whitman Quarterly Review. The novel tells us more about Whitman's early life and work, he said, which the poet later tried to hide.

The Walt Whitman Quarterly Review has published the story free on its website, and the University of Iowa Press is selling copies of the book in hardback and paperback.

Just last year, Turpin got national attention when he discovered a book-length newspaper series on fitness and healthy living that Whitman published under a pseudonym in 1858.

Bonus: Read more about Turpin's discovery and the novel's first chapter.