Walt Whitman
1819-1892
Other Works
"Song of Myself"
"Crossing Brooklyn Ferry"
"When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom'd"
"I Sing the Body Electric"
"O Captain! My Captain!"
An American Voice Walt Whitman is considered one of America's most loved and original writers. He was a large, powerful man whose greatest pleasure was to be among people. He seemed determined to see and experience everything that America had to offer, and this joyous attitude toward life was evidenced in his first book of poetry, Leaves of Grass.
Revolutionary Poet In both form and content, Whitman's poems were radical and unconventional for their time. He used language that was close to living speech, and he often wrote in the first person, even referring to himself by name. Because no publisher was interested in his strange new poetry, written free-form with no rhyme, Whitman himself paid for the printing of Leaves of Grass.
Poet in War and Peace During the Civil War Whitman volunteered to nurse wounded soldiers in Washington, D. C., and it was later estimated that he had personally aided many thousands of soldiers. The experience moved him deeply and inspired some of his finest poetry. Whitman holds an important place in America's literary history. His new verse forms and stubborn refusal to follow traditional poetic conventions opened the door to a new literary freedom for future generations of poets.
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