Walt Whitman was one of America’s most inspiring poets. Born a poetic genius in the nineteenth century, Whitman influenced the twentieth century with his idealistic poetry. He envisioned democracy as a way of life and looked to America for inspiration. Walt Whitman’s background influenced his writing in many ways and produced a new poetic style which changed the face of American Literature. Walt Whitman was born on May 31, 1819, in West Hills, New York, to Walter Whitman, a carpenter, and Louisa Van Velsor. He was the second oldest of nine children (Price and Folsom online). At age four, Whitman and his family moved to Brooklyn, New York, where he spent a difficult childhood because of his family’s poor financial circumstances. At age eleven, Whitman ended his formal education and sought employment to supplement his family’s income. He got a job as an apprentice on a liberal, working-class newspaper called the “Long Islander Patriot.” There he “learned the printing trade and was first exposed to the excitement of putting words into print and observing how thought and event could be quickly transformed into language and immediately communicated to thousands of readers” (Price and Folsom online). Whitman began promoting his ideas to the newspaper. By age twelve, he had his first words published (Price and Folsom online). He was fascinated with seeing his own words and thoughts in print. Two years later, Whitman’s family moved back to West Hills leaving fourteen year old Whitman in the city to pursue a career in journalism. His future career seemed solid until a fire in the printing district demolished the industry, forcing Whitman to return to his family home in Long Island. In 1836, Whitman, at the age of seventeen, began a new career as a teacher (Walt online). He taught for five unhappy years, and then returned to journalism. In 1841, he founded his own weekly newspaper, the “Long Islander” (Walt online). Later, he edited and wrote editorials for a number of newspapers in New York, and then became chief editor of the “Brooklyn Daily Eagle” (Price and Folsom online). In 1848, he left the “Eagle” to become the editor of the “New Orleans Crescent” (Walt online). It was on his travels south that Whitman was first introduced to diverse people, cultures, and lifestyles; and it was in New Orleans that Whitman first experienced the harshness and brutality of slavery. After Whitman’s stint in New Orleans, he returned to New York and founded an anti-slavery newspaper he called “Brooklyn Freeman” (Walt online). He continued to develop and refine his unique style of poetry; and in 1855, Whitman published the first edition of his book “Leaves of Grass,” which consisted of twelve poems. Shortly thereafter, he published a second edition containing thirty-three poems. His poetry addressed significant issues of the day that “he hoped would be read by masses of average Americans and would transform their way of thinking” (Price and Folsom online). At the time of publication, the book was widely ignored. Only one author seemed to appreciate Whitman’s work, and that was Ralph Waldo Emerson. He wrote Whitman a congratulatory letter and wished him a great career. Whitman included Emerson’s letter in his second edition to generate interest in his book. He published several more editions of the “Leaves of Grass” throughout his lifetime, each one containing more poems (Schramm online). In 1865, Whitman’s poetry took a back seat to the Civil War. After learning that one of his brothers was injured in the Civil War, Whitman moved to Washington D.C. and volunteered as a nurse in army hospitals until the end of the war. Whitman only wrote articles for the New York Times during this period of time. After the Civil War, he began writing poetry again. He wrote and published wartime poems, poems about democracy, and poems about the assassination of President Lincoln. During the Civil War, Whitman contracted tuberculosis and was plagued with ill health for the rest of his life. Whitman never married and lived alone most of his life (Price and Folsom online). In 1873, Whitman suffered several strokes. He moved to New Jersey where he continued to write poems, essays, and occasionally give lectures (Whitman online). In 1891, Whitman prepared the infamous “Deathbed” edition of the “Leaves of Grass,” which contained more than two hundred and ninety-three poems printed on three hundred and eighty-two pages (Schramm online). It included some old-age poems and an essay in which Whitman attempts to justify his life and work. In 1892, at the age of seventy-two, Walt Whitman died of pneumonia. Whitman’s writing was influenced by the events and issues that were significant during his lifetime, his interests, and his life experiences. In the early nineteenth century, a significant concern was whether the United States would survive as a country. To help ease those doubts and to encourage democracy, Whitman wrote many poems regarding democracy. For example, in his poem “Song of Myself,” Whitman points out that democracy must include all individuals equally, or it will fail (Schramm online). Another significant event that occurred was the Civil War. It inspired “Drum Taps,” a collection of wartime poetry. Slavery and the failure of the legislative reconstruction efforts after slavery was abolished were two other important issues which inspired Whitman’s best known prose work entitled, “Democratic Vistas.” The interests that influenced Whitman’s writing were many. He loved to read, engage in conversations and debate about various issues, enjoyed learning, and listening to other people’s viewpoints (Beers and O’Dell 363). While in New York, Whitman absorbed language from a variety of sources: libraries, theaters, museums, and lectures. He read romantic novels by Sir Walter Scott, James Fenimore Cooper, and other romantic novelists; saw Shakespeare plays; attended many lectures, including many lectures given by Frances Wright, the Scottish radical emancipationist and women’s right advocate, and radical Quaker leader, Elias Hicks; and visited museums and libraries for inspiration and knowledge (Price and Folsom online). Friendships with radical thinkers and writers influenced his writing, especially concerning issues of race as is depicted in his book of poems entitled “Leaves of Grass,” where blacks become central to

Whitman’s understanding of democracy (Price and Folsom online). Whitman’s life experiences also influenced his poetry. As a child, Whitman rode ferries back and forth across the East River. This memory inspired his 1856 poem called “Crossing Brooklyn Ferry” (Price and Folsom online). Whitman’s lifelong love of the Long Island shore and his boyhood memories of visiting his grandparents there, inspired one of Whitman’s greatest poems, “Out of the Cradle Endlessly Rocking” (Price and Folsom online). This poem reminisces about Whitman’s “boyhood on the Long Island shore and about how his desire to be a poet arose in that landscape” (Price and Folsom online). Whitman’s experience traveling from New York to New Orleans, which introduced him to many different people, cultures, and ways of life, influenced Whitman’s poetry concerning democracy, race, and equality. Whitman’s biggest inspiration, however, came from observing Americans living their everyday lives. These observations were used to give life and purpose to his poetry. Walt Whitman had a substantial impact on American Literature. Using slang, colloquialism, and regional dialect, he created a new version of poetic diction. His unrhymed and unmetered verse often referred to as free verse, “marked a radical departure” from the English poetry prevalent at the time (Whitman online). Whitman embodied his beliefs regarding everyday life and the significant issues of the day, such as democracy, equality, and brotherhood, into his poetry. These controversial issues and new style of writing poetry, “framed the American experience in terms that greatly influence subsequent literature” (Whitman online). Whitman’s goal was to send a message in his poetry “that would help American’s understand their past, experience their present, and anticipate their future” (Schramm online). Whitman transformed American Literature. His American epic “Leaves of Grass” made him a legacy. He influenced subsequent writers with his own poetic diction, new style of writing poetry called free verse, and his informal American slang. Throughout his poetry he emphasized how he viewed life, making his idealism one to be remembered. Works Cited
Beers, Dr. Kylene and Dr. Lee O’Dell. “Walt Whitman.” Elements of Literature Essentials of American Literature Fifth Course. Ed. Dr. Kylene Beers and Dr. Lee O’Dell. Austin: Holt, Rhinehart and Winston, 2007. 361-363. Print.
Price, M. Kenneth and Ed Folsom. “Walt Whitman.” The Walt Whitman Archive. Web. 15 Mar. 2011. .
Schramm, Geoffrey Saunders. “WHITMAN’S LIFELONG ENDEAVOR: Leaves of Grass at 150.” Humanities. 1 Jul. 2005: 24. elibrary. Web. 27 Mar. 2011. .
“Walt Whitman.” Poets.org. Web. 27 Mar. 2011. .
“Whitman, Walt.” New World Encyclopedia. 2 Sept. 2008. Web. 27 Apr. 2011. .