WALT WHITMAN

AMERI CA S MOST
I MPORTANT POET
EARLY LIFE
Born May 31, 1819 in Long Island, New York
oParents: Walter Whitman and Louisa Van Velsor Whitman
o2
nd
of 9 children
oLived modestly
oDid most of writing in NY
Age of 12 dropped out of school, learned the printing trade
oWorked as a printer until the age of 17
oBecame interested in writing
1841 Became a full-time journalist
oEdited various NY newspapers

Whitman age 28
CAREER
1848 moved to New Orleans to edit the New Orleans
Crescent
oExperienced slavery firsthand
oInfluenced Whitman to create the Brooklyn Freeman in 1848
when he returned to NY
Anti-slavery publication
Developed unique style of poetry during this time
1855-- self-published first edition of Leaves of Grass
oContained 12 poems
oReceived encouragement from famous poet Ralph Waldo
Emerson
Never received a formal award during his life
Whitman, mid 1850s
Leaves of Grass, 1
st

Edition
EMERSON TO WHITMAN
I greet you at the beginning of a great career, which yet
must have had a long foreground somewhere, for such a
start.
I am not blind to the worth of the wonderful gift of Leaves
of Grass. I find it the most extraordinary piece of wit and
wisdom that America has yet contributed.
It meets the demand I am always making of what seemed
the sterile and stingy nature, as if too much handiwork
were making our western wits fat and mean.

RW Emerson, 1859
WHITMANS STYLE
Incorporated aspects of transcendentalism and realism into
his works
Leaves of Grass highly influential collection of poems
which praised the human form and mind
oCriticized for sexual and secular overtones
oCelebration of life, nature, and humans role in it
Believed there was a symbiotic relationship between poet
and society
oPraised Americas democratic system
oRegarded as Bard of Democracy


LATE LIFE
Worked as freelance journalist at outbreak of Civil War
oVisited many hospitals in NY and Washington, DC
oDeeply affected by witnessing the wounded
oDecided to work in these hospitals
Lived in poverty during this time
oMoved to Camden, NJ to care for his dying mother
oContinued to revise Leaves of Grass
Died March 26, 1892 Camden, NJ due to pneumoniaage of
72



FAMILY LIFE
Siblings and parents not wealthy
oDropped out of school at 12 in order to support his family
financially
oFormal education minimal
Lived in a household which praised America
oBrothers George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, etc.
Family lifeoften dysfunctional
oBrother became alcoholic, sistermentally unstable
Never married, or formed a family of his own
oIntimate relationship young man Peter Doyle
oHomosexual?


Whitman with Peter Doyle
WORKS
Franklin Evans (1842)
oOnly novel he wrote
Leaves of Grass (1855-1891)
o8 editions
oClose to 400 poems
oO Me, O Life, When I heard the Learnd Astronomer
Drum Taps (1865)
oPoetry inspired by his experience with the Civil War
Memoranda During the War (1862-1865)
oDiary of a medic in Civil War
Democratic Vistas (1871)
oWork of comparative politics
oComments on Industrial Revolution, Louisiana Purchase
Specimen Days (1882)
o Autobiography


LEAVES OF GRASS
Most famous work
Collection of various poems which praised the human spirit
and form
Inspired by Emersons The Poet
oUSA needs a poet to write about the country and its society
oWhitman responded with Leaves of Grass
oDistinct American epic
Emphasis on the individual I



1883 edition
WARTS
Refused to remove any papers from his room in the last
years of his life
oFloor was covered two feet deep
Frequently spelled words wrong
oLoafe, kosmos, etc.

FUN FACTS
Embraced by famous Marquis de Lafayette as a child
Source of inspiration for pop culture
oReferenced in Dead Poets Society starring Robin Williams
oAlluded to in hit TV show Breaking Bad
oSinger Lana Del Rey references Whitman poem in Body
Electric


LEGACY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=omveF
R-2hmg