Walt Whitman






Walt Whitman

author profile


born
May 31, 1819

died
March 26, 1892

gender
male

place of birth
West Hills, Huntington, Long Island, New York, The United States

website

genre
Poetry


about this author

Walter Whitman was an American poet, essayist, journalist, and humanist. He was a part of the transition between Transcendentalism and realism, incorporating both views in his works. Whitman is among the most influential poets in the American canon, often called the father of free verse. His work was very controversial in its time, particularly his poetry collection Leaves of Grass, which was described as obscene for its overt sexuality.

Born on Long Island, Whitman worked as a journalist, a teacher, a government clerk, and a volunteer nurse during the American Civil War in addition to publishing his poetry. Early in his career, he also produced a temperance novel, Franklin Evans (1842). Whitman's major work, Leaves of Grass, was...more




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avg rating: 4.17 | 11,244 ratings | 648 reviews | 182 distinct works | 95 fans
Leaves of Grass Leaves of Grass
by Walt Whitman
avg rating 4.11 — 6,510 ratings — published 1854
117 editions
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Song of Myself Song of Myself
by Walt Whitman
avg rating 4.18 — 826 ratings — published 1950
17 editions
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Poetry and Prose Poetry and Prose
by Walt Whitman
avg rating 4.56 — 290 ratings — published 1996
3 editions
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The Complete Poems The Complete Poems
by Walt Whitman
avg rating 4.40 — 237 ratings — published 1976
4 editions
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The Portable Walt Whitman: Rev... The Portable Walt Whitman: Revised Edition
by Walt Whitman
avg rating 4.19 — 84 ratings — published 1955
6 editions
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Selected Poems Selected Poems
by Walt Whitman
avg rating 3.95 — 62 ratings — published 1976
13 editions
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Songs for the Open Road: Poems... Songs for the Open Road: Poems of Travel and Adventure
by Walt Whitman, Edna St. Vincent Millay
avg rating 4.07 — 58 ratings — published 1998
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Selected Poems 1855-1892 Selected Poems 1855-1892
by Walt Whitman
avg rating 4.63 — 46 ratings — published 2000
5 editions
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Walt Whitman: Poetry and Prose Walt Whitman: Poetry and Prose
by Walt Whitman
avg rating 4.20 — 45 ratings — published 1982
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Leaves of Grass Leaves of Grass
by Walt Whitman
avg rating 4.14 — 28 ratings — published 2004
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"Resist much. Obey little."
Walt Whitman
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"Do I contradict myself? Very well, then, I contradict myself; I am large -- I contain multitudes."
Walt Whitman
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"This is what you shall do; Love the earth and sun and the animals, despise riches, give alms to every one that asks, stand up for the stupid and crazy, devote your income and labor to others, hate tyrants, argue not concerning God, have patience and indulgence toward the people, take off your hat to nothing known or unknown or to any man or number of men, go freely with powerful uneducated persons and with the young and with the mothers of families, read these leaves in the open air every season of every year of your life, re-examine all you have been told at school or church or in any book, dismiss whatever insults your own soul, and your very flesh shall be a great poem and have the richest fluency not only in its words but in the silent lines of its lips and face and between the lashes of your eyes and in every motion and joint of your body."
Walt Whitman
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