Walt Whitman Biography

Walt Whitman is an American poet and essayist, he was known for his unique style of writing, he was a prominent poet whose writing style followed the transition between transcendentalism and realism. He is known to incorporate both views in his poem. One of the prominent examples of Walt Whitman works includes the poem called  'Leaves of Grass'. This collection of verse is often referred to as the landmark of American literature. His work and life were often surrounded by controversies, the verse collection of 'Leaves of Grass' was criticised at the time and was labelled as obscene for its overt sensuality. Apart from the verse collection, he is also known for writing the Drum Taps which was published in 1865. The premise of the book was based on the life and experiences of war-torn soldiers, he wrote the book while volunteering as a nurse during the Civil War of America.

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Early Life And Family

Walt Whitman was born on May 31, 1819, in West Hills, Long Island, New York. Louisa Van Velsor and Walter Whitman were his mother and father. He has eight siblings, he was the second oldest among his siblings. His family did not classify into a wealthy family, he grew up rather in a modest household. Walt Whitman moved to  Brooklyn with his parents at the age of four years old, where they moved from one house to another because of the financial instability of their family.

The love of Whitman for his country is partially attributed to the upbringing and ideologies that was shared by the parents. Three of his brothers were named after leaders of the United States Of America. They were named George Washington Whitman, Thomas Jefferson Whitman and Andrew Jackson Whitman. He described his childhood as mainly restless and troubled because of the economic instability of the family, one interesting fact about Walt Whitman is that he vividly mentioned his interaction with Marquis de Lafayette during a celebration in Brooklyn on July 4, 1825.

Whitman was pulled out of school at the age of 11 because of the financial crisis, he then started working as an office boy for two lawyers. He soon quit the job and started working as an apprentice for the weekly Long Island newspaper the Patriot, which was edited by Samuel E. Clements.

The Whitman biography reveals the alcohol addiction of his father, which is also one of the main reasons he was a supporter of the prohibition of the sale of alcohol. During his teenage years, he and his father had a constrained relationship because of the opposing political views and his father's increasing dependence on alcohol. Whitman and his mother shared some of the political ideologies but not much is mentioned in his biographies.

Early Career

Walt Whitman introduction to the print media industry was through working as an apprentice. One of his first jobs was as an apprentice at a local newspaper on the Patriot, following the job he later joined  Erastus Worthington, in Brooklyn, which was also a publishing house. During his teenage years, his family moved back to his hometown while he remained in the city. Shortly after his parents moved back he joined an editor of the leading Whig weekly newspaper the Long-Island Star. It was during his term as an editor he anonymously published his first poetry in the New York Mirror.  At the age of 16, in May 1835 Whitman moved to New York City to work as a composition, he was not very successful at the job, the main reason can be attributed to the collapsing economy of the country which later resulted in the Panic of 1837. While living in New York and Brooklyn Whitman read about politics and literature in the public libraries, he then moved back with his family in 1836. It is reported in many of the Walt Whitman biographies that he joined several schools as a teacher for a short period of time but did not find them satisfying his needs.

He then started his own publishing house, he published his journal named the Long-Islander, he was the editor, writer, publisher and distributor and even provided home delivery of his journal. He then sold the rights of his journal to E. O. Crowell. He then again returned to New York City where he worked as an editor for the Brooklyn Daily Eagle, a prominent newspaper, serving in that capacity for almost two years, from 1846 to 1848.

One of the most distinguishing qualities about Whitman was his opinionated view about politics, he did not hesitate to write about controversial matters, which often was similar to the views of readers and publishers at that time. This is the reason he was not reported as a long term employee in any of the organizations and had a tarnished reputation with several different newspapers.

He left New York in 1848 and joined the Crescent as an editor he worked in the publishing house only for a short period of three months. It was the turning point of Whitman’s life when he started his new newspaper called the Brooklyn Freeman in the autumn of 1848. 

Brooklyn Freeman dealt with complex issues like slavery and the impact of slavery on the democracy of the country. It was during this period of time he noted his observation in the form of poetry which later proved to be the most trailblazing among the Walt Whitman works of poetry.

Walt Whitman Works Of Literature

One of the most prominent Walt Whitman poem collections is the 'Leaves of Grass'. It was with this poem that Whitman found his writing style and purpose. Walt Whitman Introduction to a clearer first-person narrative was established by this work.  In the spring of 1855, Whitman self-published a collection of 12 poems with a preface titled Leaves of Grass. There were only 795 copies of the book that was published. His writing style was different from many of his contemporary competitors, he presented the poem that had the in favour of a voice that came at the reader directly, in the first person. The collection did not receive much appreciation at first but later came to be known as the landmark of American literature.

Ralph Waldo Emerson, was among the few prominent poets that appreciated the work of the writer. The book was also surrounded by controversy because of the raw nature of the writing, it was criticized to be an obscene and pretentious piece of literature.

Whitman’s father died after few days of the publication of the first series of the book, Whitman was now the main bread earner of the family. Although the book received praise from poets like Emerson the book was not commercially successful.  Leaves of Grass was revised and re-released in 1860, with the addition of the  32 poems, including a new piece, "Sun-Down Poem". The new edition also contained the letter of Emerson and the response of it by the poet. Although the second and the following publications were more gravitated towards the sexual themes. 

Apart from the Walt Whitman poems, he also wrote a series called "Children of Adam". The premise of the series explored female-male eroticism. He also published the series  "Calamus" which explored the intimacy between males. It was partially due to this Whitman always had controversy regarding his sexuality, many biographers label him as homosexual while others mention him as bisexual. Neither of them is ever confirmed by the author himself.

Although surrounded by controversy Walt Whitman’s poem did not make much money and the publishing house was out of business. Some of the other literary works of Whitman included the following, he serialized a novel titled Life and Adventures of Jack Engle: An Auto-Biography: A Story of New York at the Present Time in which the Reader Will Find Some Familiar Characters. This was published in 1852. He also published Manly Health and Training under the pen name Mose Velsor.

Civil War

Whitman moved to Fredericksburg in search of his brother George during the Civil War. his brother was found injured in the war, Whitman then moved to Washington DC, where he took up a part-time job in the paymaster’s office and treated his wounded brother. During this time he also volunteered as a nurse, he visited approximately 6oo hospitals. Many biographers mention this work as physically exhausting for the author but it motivated him to write. The famous poem Drum-taps was written during this period. He published the new verse collection in 1865. The poems represented a more solemn realization of what the Civil War meant for those in the midst of war. Poems like "Beat! Beat! Drums!" and "Vigil Strange I Kept on the Field One Night intricately depicts the emotion and conditions of the soldiers of war.

The second edition of the book was published in the same year with the addition of 18 new poems. The edition contained one of the most important poems that were an elegy on President Abraham Lincoln, "When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom'd.” 

Later Years and Relationships

After the Civil War, the author continued his volunteer works. It was through his volunteer work for veterans Walt Whitman introduced to Peter Doyle. He was a Confederate soldier and train car conductor. Peter and Walt developed a friendship.

The author found a permanent job at Washington as a clerk at the Indian Bureau of the Department of the Interior during the mid-1860s. He continued his work for a long period of time till he suffered from a stroke in 1873 which left him partially paralyzed. During his term at the office, he published  Democratic Vistas and Passage to India, along with the fifth edition of Leaves of Grass. After the stroke, he moved back with his brother to Camden, New Jersey. His mother died few days after his return leaving him in emotional turmoil.

Death And Legacy

During the last years of his life, Whitman got the recognition and validation he deserved. His work was widely praised by his contemporaries. Whitman died on 26 March 1892 in Camden, New Jersey. Up until his death, he added 300 poems to the collection of Leaves of Grass, his final book was published a year before his death in 1891, the book was named  Good-Bye, My Fancy. He is buried in Camden's Harleigh Cemetery.