Walt+Whitman

 Walt Whitman was born in Long Island on May 31st, 1819 to parents Walter Whitman and Louisa Van Velsor. Walt was the the second of nine children and had to leave school at the age of twelve to support his family. Even though he was self taught, he is considered one of America's greatest poets. Whitman was trained as a printer, where he developed a strong love of the written language. Whitman also had jobs as a teacher, government clerk and journalist, and even served as a volunteer nurse during the Civil War. Walt wrote a novel on the subject on temperance, a social movement against the use and abuse of alcohol, called //Franklin Evans// in 1842. This novel was not as successful as his poems. Whitman did not begin his career as a poet until 1855, when his most acclaimed poem //Leaves of Grass// was published. His goal with Leaves of Grass was to reach out to the common people with an American epic. This work was hailed by many influential writers, such as Ralph Waldo Emerson, but was judged as highly offensive by others. Many of his works were classified as "obscene", probably because he was theorized as being a homosexual or bisexual, and these were widely unaccepted. His actual sexual orientation has never been determined. In matters of politics and government, Whitman supported the Wilmot Proviso, a piece of legislation that would have banned slavery in all territories won from Mexico. He opposed the extension of slavery in to acquired lands, and supported the abolition movement for a time, until he later saw it as a threat to democracy. Unlike many artists of the day, Whitman was renowned and respected as a poet and author in his later years. He died in Camden, New Jersey on March 26, 1892.

Walt's poems are well known for their free verse style. In his attempt to speak to the common people, he used his poetry not only as an art form but as a means to convey the truths of life.

Walt Whitman is still heralded as one of America's best poets. Andrew Carnegie once called him, "the great poet of America so far".  Most Famous Poems: //I Hear America Singing O Captain! My Captain!// //Calamus Whispers of Heavenly Death Passage to India Song of Myself Leaves of Grass//