Together Card

Walt Whitman (1819 – 1892) was a tremendously influential American poet. Much of his youth was spent in Brooklyn, New York. He received no formal schooling after the age of 11, but devoted himself to letters nonetheless. He worked variously as a printer's devil, editor, compositor, and journalist, even publishing his own newspaper for a time. After years of competing for “the usual rewards,” Whitman decided to become a poet. Around 1850, he began work on his epic poem cycle, Leaves of Grass, a project which consumed him until his death. The first edition was self-published in 1855, and immediately gained him accolades from free-thinkers like Emerson, and notoriety among those who objected to its lush sensuality. Whitman's poetry diverged from Victorian style both in form (it was in free verse) and content: his narrators were common people, rather than heroic figures (Abraham Lincoln excepted). Tragically, Whitman chose to stay in the closet his whole life, so that his work would reach the widest audience. He was widely respected and beloved, and remains America’s Poet.