1. Walt Whitman

2. Background Born in Long Island Jobs Office clerk Printer’s assistant
School teacher
Journalist/editor
Part-time carpenter and building contractor

3. Leaves of Grass Published at his own expense, 1855
Went unnoticed (too new/different)
Sent samples, one to Emerson, who embraced it
Republished 9 times, ending in 1891

4. The Image of the Poet Carefully crafted an image:
Full of contradictions
A con artist and a saint
An artist and a hobo
Brags, but shy
Enjoyed the public eye, sought it out
Always, he was real – a man of the people

5. His Unique Style
The father of free verse – poetry with no rhyme or meter
Cadence: the natural rhythm of speech patterns
Wrote in long lists
Rambles and repeats himself
Makes up new words

6. Subject matter The unique American experience
Democracy and the limitless potential of the U.S.
Unspoiled beauty of nature, where he finds spiritual truth and inspiration
The common working person
Equality
Civil War
Celebrates humanity and the human body
Celebrates himself, in the sense that he stands for every American

7. Subject Matter Cont’d
Believed he understood every American because every American was a part of him and he a part of them (shared the same atoms)
Celebrates and expresses an exuberance for life