The Leaves - Walt Whitman

Walter Whitman was born May 31, 1819, in West Hills, Long Island, New York— the second of nine children. He became Walt, became a printer, teacher, journalist, editor, wound-dresser, poet. He became America's poet, though America didn't always know it.

1819
Born May 31 in West Hills, Long Island, New York, second of nine children to Walter and Louisa Whitman

1823
Family moves to Brooklyn; young Walt attends public schools, works as office boy

1830
At age 11, begins work as printer's devil; discovers his love of words and type

1836
Teaches at rural Long Island schools; begins writing fiction and poetry

1841
Edits the New York Aurora and other newspapers; becomes known for his journalism

1846
Becomes editor of Brooklyn Daily Eagle; fired in 1848 for supporting the Free-Soil movement

1848
Travels to New Orleans; witnesses slavery firsthand; returns transformed

1855
Self-publishes first edition of Leaves of Grass (12 poems); Emerson sends famous letter praising it

1861
Civil War begins; brother George enlists; Walt is 42 years old

1862
Travels to Virginia after George is wounded; begins volunteer work as wound-dresser in Washington hospitals

1865
Lincoln assassinated April 14; Whitman writes 'O Captain! My Captain!' and 'When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom'd'

1873
Suffers paralytic stroke; moves to Camden, New Jersey, where he will spend remaining years

1882
Publishes Specimen Days, prose memoirs including Civil War experiences

1888
Publishes Complete Poems and Prose; receives visits from admirers including Oscar Wilde

1892
Dies March 26 in Camden, age 72; 'deathbed edition' of Leaves of Grass published

Emerson's Letter, 1855

"I am not blind to the worth of the wonderful gift of Leaves of Grass. I find it the most extraordinary piece of wit and wisdom that America has yet contributed... I greet you at the beginning of a great career."

— Ralph Waldo Emerson

The Good Gray Poet

After his stroke in 1873, Whitman spent his final nineteen years in Camden, New Jersey, revising Leaves of Grass through edition after edition. He became a literary celebrity in his later years, receiving visits from Oscar Wilde, who called him "the grandest man I have ever seen," and sending his works to admirers across the world.

He died on March 26, 1892. His tomb in Harleigh Cemetery, Camden, was designed by himself: a stone house, windowless, with only his name carved above the door.

🍃 The Leaves 🍃

🌿 The Life of Walt Whitman

Emerson's Letter, 1855

The Good Gray Poet