10 Interesting Walt Whitman Facts

Tuesday, March 21st 2017. | People


Walt Whitman Facts tell us about the amazing poet, journalist and essayist from United States. He was born on 31st May 1819 and died on 26th March 1892. The works of Whitman reflected both transcendentalism and realism. Whitman earned the title as the father of free verse. His works remain influential in the American canon even though he is no longer with us. When he was alive, the works raised controversy.

Walt Whitman Facts 1: Leaves of Grass

Sexuality was depicted in his poetry collection entitled Leaves of Grass. This work was considered as the controversial one due to its obscene description.

Walt Whitman Facts 2: the birthplace

The birthplace of Whitman was located in Huntington, Long Island. Whitman had a number of jobs like being a teacher, journalist and government clerk. When American civil war broke out, he became a volunteer nurse.

Facts about Walt Whitman

Facts about Walt Whitman

Walt Whitman Facts 3: Franklin Evans

In the beginning of his career as a writer, Franklin Evans was published in 1842. It was a temperance novel. Check facts about Victor Hugo here.

Walt Whitman Facts 4: Leaves of Grass

In 1855, Leaves of Grass was published in the market. Do you know that Whitman used his own cash for its first publication? This poetry collection is considered as the major work of Whitman.

Walt Whitman 1861

Walt Whitman 1861

Walt Whitman Facts 5: the death

Whitman passed away on March 26th, 1892 at the age of 72.  Before his death, his health had been declined.

Walt Whitman Facts 6: the symbols and images

The poetry of Whitman contains unique symbols and images such as debris, tufts of straws and rotting leaves.

Walt Whitman

Walt Whitman

Walt Whitman Facts 7: the title

He was often called as the father of free verses. He did not set any boundary when creating poetry.  Some of his works were controversial due to his direct writing about sexuality, prostitution and death. See facts about Walt Disney here.

Walt Whitman Facts 8: the view toward religion

Whitman had his own point of view related to religion. He believed that all religions were equal. Deism deeply influenced his way of thinking. However, he was skeptic with religions.

Walt Whitman Old

Walt Whitman Old

Walt Whitman Facts 9: sexuality

The sexuality of Whitman is still disputed by the biographers. They often describe him as a bisexual or homosexual.

Walt Whitman Facts 10: Peter Doyle

One of the men associated with Whitman intimately was Peter Doyle. One of his works, which depicted sexuality, is Leaves of Grass. Whether he had sexual relationship with males is still a matter of debate.

Walt Whitman Facts

Walt Whitman Facts

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