Walt Whitman

American poet, essayist and journalist (1819–1892)

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About

Walt Whitman, born May 31, 1819, in West Hills, Long Island, is a major figure in American poetry. Self-taught, he worked as a printer, teacher, and journalist before self-publishing his groundbreaking collection Leaves of Grass in 1855, which revolutionized poetry with its free verse. During the Civil War, he nursed the wounded in Washington hospitals. His constantly revised work includes elegies to Lincoln such as 'O Captain! My Captain!'. He died in Camden, New Jersey, in 1892.

* 1819-05-28 — † 1892-03-26

Major works

Leaves of Grass (1855)poetry collection
Drum-Taps (1865)poetry collection
Sequel to Drum-Taps (1865)poetry collection

Key milestones

1855Self-published the first edition of Leaves of Grass, containing 12 untitled poems.
1862Volunteered as a nurse in Washington hospitals during the Civil War.
1873Suffered a paralytic stroke and moved to Camden, New Jersey.

Themes

celebration of body and souldemocracy and equalitynature and American landscapeexperience of warindividualism and identity

Sources: loc.gov · poets.org · britannica.com

“Do I contradict myself? Very well then I contradict myself, (I am large, I contain multitudes.)”

— Walt WhitmanTheme · Philosophy

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“Keep your face always toward the sunshine - and shadows will fall behind you.”

— Walt WhitmanTheme · Motivation

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“I celebrate myself, and sing myself, And what I assume you shall assume, For every atom belonging to me as good belongs to you.”

— Walt WhitmanTheme · Spirituality

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“Keep your face always toward the sunshine—and shadows will fall behind you.”

— Walt WhitmanTheme · Philosophy

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