Walt Whitman Biography

Martin Gutierrez

Biography of Walt Whitman

Walt Whitman was an essayist, a journalist, and one of America’s most powerful poets, often being called the father of free verse. His work was, however, sometimes controversial, because some saw it offensive for its sexuality. Whitman was born on May 31, 1819 in West Hills, Long Island, New York. Whitman’s love of America was due to the way he was raised by his parents and their own love of their country. They gave three of his younger brother’s names such as George Washington Whitman, Thomas Jefferson Whitman, and Andrew Jackson Whitman.

Walt Whitman lived during the time of the American Civil War and knew people who were part of the American Revolution. He lived in a time when slavery and the rights of African Americans were top issues. He opposed slavery and he wrote poems about the importance of America and in fighting for what is right. He admired Abraham Lincoln and wrote the poem “O Captain! My Captain!” to honor Abraham Lincoln. This poem became one of his most famous literary works.

When he was 11, his father pulled him out of school so he could work and help him support the family. The family moved often, mostly because of his father’s bad investments. He looked at his childhood as often troubled and unhappy because of his family’s economic status. Whitman found work in the printing business and when he was 17 he started teaching in a one room schoolhouse in Long Island. He taught for 5 years and then in 1841 he started a weekly paper called the Long-Islander. He later moved to New York City to work in newspaper and in 1846 he became an editor for the Brooklyn Daily Eagle.

Whitman was a risky editor and his beliefs weren’t always the same as his bosses. Whitman supported issu...

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...in Camden. His final years of life were both rewarding and frustrating. He was finally receiving recognition for his works but he was also disappointed in the way America was developing after the Civil War and his health was also getting worse.

Some of Walt Whitman’s poetry has been set to music by composers such as Ralph Vaughn Williams, Leonard Bernstein, George Crumb, and John Adams. Walt Whitman was inducted into the New Jersey Hall of Fame in 2009 and a bridge that crosses the Delaware River near his home in Camden was named the Walt Whitman Bridge.

On March 26, 1892, Walt Whitman passed away. He was buried in a mausoleum he built in a Camden cemetery. He continued working on the “Leaves of Grass” up to his death. The Leaves of Grass went through 7 editions and grew to around 300 poems. This collection became a landmark in the history of American literature.