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| {{Infobox Writer <!-- for more information see ] --> | |||
| | name = Walt Whitman | |||
| | image = Walt Whitman edit 2.jpg | |||
| | caption = Walt Whitman, 1887 | |||
| | birthdate = {{birth date|1819|5|31}} | |||
| | birthplace = ], ], ], ] | |||
| | deathdate = {{death date and age|1892|3|26|1819|5|31}} | |||
| | deathplace = ] | |||
| }} | |||
| '''Walter Whitman''' (], ] – ], ]) was an ] ], ]ist, ], and ]. He was a part of the transition between ] and ], incorporating both views in his works. Whitman is among the most influential poets in the American canon, often called the father of ].<ref name=Reynolds314/> His work was very controversial in its time, particularly his poetry collection '']'', which was described as obscene for its overt sexuality. | |||
| Born on ], Whitman worked as a journalist, a teacher, a government clerk, and a volunteer nurse during the ] 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 first published in 1855 with his own money. The work was an attempt at reaching out to the common person with an American ]. He continued expanding and revising it until his death in 1892. After a stroke towards the end of his life, he moved to ] where his health further declined. He died at age 72 and his funeral became a public spectacle.<ref name=Loving480/><ref name=Reynolds589>Reynolds, 589</ref> | |||
| Whitman's sexuality is often discussed alongside his poetry. Though he is usually labeled as either ] or ],<ref name=Buckham>Buckham, Luke. "", ''Keene Free Press''. October 11, 2006.</ref> it is unclear if Whitman ever had a sexual relationship with another man.<ref name=Loving19>Loving, 19</ref> Whitman was concerned with politics throughout his life. He supported the ] and opposed the extension of slavery generally, but did not believe in the abolitionist movement. | |||
| ==Life and work== | |||
| ===Early life=== | |||
| Walter Whitman was born on ], ], in ], ], ], to ] parents, Walter and Louisa Van Velsor Whitman. He was the second of nine children<ref>Miller, 17</ref> and was immediately nicknamed "Walt" to distinguish him from his father.<ref name=Loving29>Loving, 29</ref> Walter Whitman Sr. named three of his seven sons after American leaders: Andrew Jackson, George Washington, and Thomas Jefferson. The oldest was named Jesse and another boy died unnamed at the age of six months. The couple's sixth son, the youngest, was named Edward.<ref name=Loving29/> At age four, Whitman moved with his family from West Hills to ], living in a series of homes in part due to bad investments.<ref>Loving, 30</ref> Whitman looked back on his childhood as generally restless and unhappy due to his family's difficult economic status.<ref>Reynolds, 24</ref> One happy moment that he later recalled was when he was lifted in the air and kissed on the cheek by ] during a celebration in Brooklyn on ], ].<ref>Reynolds, 33–34</ref> | |||
| At age eleven Whitman concluded formal schooling.<ref>Loving, 32</ref> He then sought employment, due to his family's financial situation, originally as an office boy for two lawyers and later as an ] and ] for the weekly Long Island newspaper the ''Patriot'', edited by Samuel E. Clements.<ref>Reynolds, 44</ref> There, Whitman learned about the printing press and ].<ref>Kaplan, 74</ref> He may have written "sentimental bits" of filler material for occasional issues.<ref>Callow, 30</ref> Clements aroused controversy when he and two friends attempted to dig up the corpse of ] to create a plaster mold of his head.<ref>Callow, 29</ref> Clements left the ''Patriot'' shortly after, possibly as a result of the controversy.<ref>Loving, 34</ref> | |||
| ===Early career=== | |||
| The following summer Whitman worked for another printer, Erastus Worthington, in Brooklyn.<ref name=Reynolds45>Reynolds, 45</ref> His family moved back to West Hills in the spring, but Whitman remained and took a job at the shop of Alden Spooner, editor of the leading ] weekly newspaper the ''Long-Island Star''.<ref name=Reynolds45/> While at the ''Star'', Whitman became a regular patron of the local library, joined a town debating society, began attending theater performances,<ref>Callow, 32</ref> and anonymously published some of his earliest poetry in the '']''.<ref>Kaplan, 79</ref> At age 16 in May 1835, Whitman left the ''Star'' and Brooklyn.<ref>Kaplan, 77</ref> He moved to ] to work as a compositor<ref>Callow, 35</ref> though, in later years, Whitman could not remember where.<ref name=Kaplan81>Kaplan, 81</ref> He attempted to find further work but had difficulty in part due to a severe fire in the printing and publishing district<ref name=Kaplan81/> and in part due to a general collapse in the economy leading up to the ].<ref>Loving, 36</ref> In May 1836, he rejoined his family, now living in ].<ref>Callow, 36</ref> Whitman taught intermittently at various schools until the spring of 1838, though he was not satisfied as a teacher.<ref>Loving, 37</ref> | |||
| After his teaching attempts, Whitman went back to Huntington, New York to found his own newspaper, the ]. Whitman served as publisher, editor, pressman, and distributor and even provided home delivery. After ten months, he sold the publication to E. O. Crowell, whose first issue appeared on ], ].<ref name=Reynolds60>Reynolds, 60</ref> No copies of the ''Long-Islander'' published under Whitman survive.<ref>Loving, 38</ref> By the summer of 1839, he found a job as a typesetter in ] with the ''Long Island Democrat'', edited by James J. Brenton.<ref name=Reynolds60/> He left shortly thereafter, and made another attempt at teaching from the winter of 1840 to the spring of 1841, then moved to New York City in May.<ref>Kaplan, 93–94</ref> There, he initially worked a low-level job at the ''New World'', working under ] and ].<ref>Callow, 56</ref> He continued working for short periods of time for various newspapers, particularly as editor of the '']'' for two years, as well as contributing freelance fiction and poetry throughout the 1840s.<ref>Reynolds, 83–84</ref> | |||
| ===''Leaves of Grass''=== | |||
| ] to '']'', Fulton St., Brooklyn, N.Y., steel engraving by Samuel Hollyer from a lost ] by Gabriel Harrison.]] | |||
| {{main|Leaves of Grass}} | |||
| Whitman claimed that after years of competing for "the usual rewards", he determined to become a poet.<ref>Kaplan, 185</ref> He first experimented with a variety of popular literary genres which appealed to the cultural tastes of the period.<ref>Reynolds, 85</ref> As early as 1850, he began writing what would become ''Leaves of Grass'',<ref>Loving, 154</ref> a collection of poetry which he would continue editing and revising until his death.<ref>Miller, 55</ref> Whitman intended to write a distinctly American ]<ref>Miller, 155</ref> and used ] with a ] based on the Bible.<ref>Kaplan, 187</ref> At the end of June 1855, Whitman surprised his brothers with the already-printed first edition of ''Leaves of Grass''. George "didn't think it worth reading".<ref name=Callow226>Callow, 226</ref> | |||
| Whitman paid for the publication of the first edition of ''Leaves of Grass'' himself<ref name=Callow226/> and had it printed at a local print shop during their breaks from commercial jobs.<ref>Loving, 178</ref> 795 copies were printed,<ref>Kaplan, 198</ref> though the author's name was not given. Instead, facing the title page was an engraved portrait done by Samuel Hollyer.<ref>Callow, 227</ref> The book received its strongest praise from ], who wrote a flattering five page letter to Whitman and spoke highly of the book to friends.<ref>Kaplan, 203</ref> The first edition of ''Leaves of Grass'' was widely distributed and stirred up significant interest,<ref>Reynolds, 340</ref> in part due to Emerson's approval,<ref>Callow, 232</ref> but was occasionally criticized for the seemingly "obscene" nature of the poetry.<ref>Loving, 414</ref> Geologist ] wrote to Emerson, calling the book "trashy, profane & obscene" and the author "a pretentious ass".<ref>Kaplan, 211</ref> On ], ], a few days after ''Leaves of Grass'' was published, Whitman's father died at the age of 65.<ref>Kaplan, 229</ref> | |||
| In the months following the first edition of ''Leaves of Grass'', critical responses began focusing more on the potentially offensive sexual themes. Though the second edition was already printed and bound, the publisher almost did not release it.<ref>Reynolds, 348</ref> In the end, the edition went to retail, with 20 additional poems,<ref>Callow, 238</ref> in August 1856.<ref>Kaplan, 207</ref> ''Leaves of Grass'' was revised and re-released in 1860<ref>Loving, 238</ref> again in 1867, and several more times throughout the remainder of Whitman's life. Several well-known writers admired the work enough to visit Whitman, including ] and ].<ref>Reynolds, 363</ref> | |||
| Amidst the first publications of ''Leaves of Grass'', Whitman had financial difficulty and was forced to work as a journalist again, specifically with the Brooklyn's ''Daily Times'' starting in May 1857.<ref>Callow, 225</ref> As an editor, he oversaw the paper's contents, contributed book reviews, and wrote editorials.<ref>Reynolds, 368</ref> He left the job in 1859, though it is unclear if he was fired or chose to leave.<ref>Loving, 228</ref> Whitman, who typically kept detailed notebooks and journals, left very little information about himself in the late 1850s.<ref>Reynolds, 375</ref> | |||
| ===Civil War years=== | |||
| ]]] | |||
| As the ] was beginning, Whitman published his poem "]" as a patriotic rally call for the North.<ref>Callow, 283</ref> Whitman's brother George had joined the ] army and began sending Whitman several vividly detailed letters of the battle front.<ref>Reynolds, 410</ref> On ], ], a listing of fallen and wounded soldiers in the ''New York Tribune'' included "First Lieutenant G. W. Whitmore", which Whitman worried was a reference to his brother George.<ref name=Kaplan268>Kaplan, 268</ref> He made his way south immediately to find him, though his wallet was stolen on the way.<ref name=Reynolds411>Reynolds, 411</ref> "Walking all day and night, unable to ride, trying to get information, trying to get access to big people", Whitman later wrote,<ref>Callow, 286</ref> he eventually found George alive, with only a superficial wound on his cheek.<ref name=Kaplan268/> Whitman, profoundly affected by seeing the wounded soldiers and the heaps of their amputated limbs, left for Washington on ], ] with the intention of never returning to New York.<ref name=Reynolds411/> | |||
| In Washington, D.C., Whitman's friend Charley Eldridge helped him obtain part-time work in the army paymaster's office, leaving time for Whitman to volunteer as a nurse in the army hospitals.<ref>Callow, 293</ref> He would write of this experience in "The Great Army of the Sick", published in a New York newspaper in 1863<ref>Kaplan, 273</ref> and, 12 years later, in a book called ''Memoranda During the War''.<ref>Callow, 297</ref> He then contacted Emerson, this time to ask for help in obtaining a government post.<ref name=Reynolds411/> Another friend, John Trowbridge, passed on a letter of recommendation from Emerson to ], Secretary of the Treasury, hoping he would grant Whitman a position in that department. Chase, however, did not want to hire the author of a disreputable book, referring to ''Leaves of Grass''.<ref>Callow, 295</ref> | |||
| The Whitman family had a difficult end to 1864. On ], ], Whitman's brother George was captured by Confederates in Virginia,<ref>Loving, 281</ref> another brother, Andrew Jackson, died of ] compounded by ] on December 3.<ref>Kaplan, 293–294</ref> That month, Whitman committed his brother Jesse to the Kings County Lunatic Asylum.<ref>Reynolds, 454</ref> Whitman's spirits were raised, however, when he finally got a better-paying government post – a low grade clerk in the Bureau of Indian Affairs in the ] – thanks to his friend William Douglas O'Connor. O'Connor, a poet, daguerreotypist and an editor at the ''Saturday Evening Post'', had written to ], Assistant ], on Whitman's behalf.<ref name=Loving283>Loving, 283</ref> Whitman began the new appointment on ], ], with a yearly salary of $1,200.<ref name=Reynolds455>Reynolds, 455</ref> A month later, on ], ], George was released from capture and granted a ] because of his poor health.<ref name=Loving283/> By ], Whitman received a promotion to a slightly higher clerkship<ref name=Reynolds455/> and published ''Drum-Taps''.<ref name=Loving290>Loving, 290</ref> | |||
| Effective ], ], however, Whitman was fired from his job.<ref name=Loving290/> His dismissal came from the new Secretary of the Interior, former ] Senator ].<ref name=Reynolds455/> Though Harlan dismissed several clerks who "were seldom at their respective desks", he may have fired Whitman on moral grounds after finding an 1860 edition of ''Leaves of Grass''.<ref>Loving, 291</ref> O'Connor protested until J. Hubley Ashton had Whitman transferred to the Attorney General's office on July 1.<ref>Kaplan, 304</ref> O'Connor, though, was still upset and vindicated Whitman by publishing a biased and exaggerated biographical study, ''The Good Gray Poet'', in January 1866. The fifty-cent pamphlet defended Whitman as a wholesome patriot, established the poet's nickname and increased his popularity.<ref>Reynolds, 456-457</ref> Also aiding in his popularity was the publication of "]", a relatively conventional poem to ], the only poem to be anthologized during Whitman's lifetime.<ref>Kaplan, 309</ref> | |||
| Part of Whitman's role in the Attorney General's office was interviewing former Confederate soldiers for Presidential ]s. "There are real characters among them", he later wrote, "and you know I have a fancy for anything out of the ordinary."<ref>Loving, 293</ref> In August 1866, he took a month off in order to prepare a new edition of ''Leaves of Grass'' which would not be published until 1867 after difficulty in finding a publisher.<ref>Kaplan, 318–319</ref> He hoped it would be its last edition.<ref>Loving, 314</ref> In February 1868 ''Poems of Walt Whitman'' was published in England thanks to the influence of ],<ref>Callow, 326</ref> with minor changes which Whitman reluctantly approved.<ref>Kaplan, 324</ref> The edition became popular in England, especially with endorsements from the highly respected ].<ref>Callow, 329</ref> Another edition of ''Leaves of Grass'' was issued in 1871, the same year it was mistakenly reported that its author died in a railroad accident.<ref>Loving, 331</ref> As Whitman's international fame increased, he remained working in the attorney general's office until January 1872.<ref>Reynolds, 464</ref> He spent much of 1872 caring for his mother who was now nearly eighty and struggling with ].<ref>Kaplan, 340</ref> He also traveled and was invited to ] to give the commencement address on ], ].<ref>Loving, 341</ref> | |||
| ===Health decline and death=== | |||
| ] | |||
| Early in 1873, Whitman suffered a paralytic ]; his mother died in May the same year. Both events were difficult for Whitman and left him depressed.<ref>Miller, 33</ref> He moved to ] to live with his brother George, paying room and board until he bought his own house on Mickle St. in 1884.<ref>Haas, Irvin. ''Historic Homes of American Authors''. Washington, DC: The Preservation Press, 1991: 141. ISBN 0891331808.</ref> Around this time, he began socializing with Mary Oakes Davis, the widow of a sea captain, who lived nearby.<ref>Loving, 432</ref> She moved in with Whitman on ], ] to serve as his housekeeper in exchange for free rent. She brought with her a cat, a dog, two turtledoves, a canary, and other assorted animals.<ref>Reynolds, 548</ref> During this time, Whitman produced further editions of ''Leaves of Grass'' in 1876, 1881, and 1889. | |||
| As the end of 1891 approached, he prepared a final edition of ''Leaves of Grass'', an edition which has been nicknamed the "Deathbed Edition". He wrote, "L. of G. ''at last complete''—after 33 y'rs of hackling at it, all times & moods of my life, fair weather & foul, all parts of the land, and peace & war, young & old".<ref>Reynolds, 586</ref> Preparing for death, Whitman commissioned a ] ] shaped like a house for $4,000<ref name=Loving479>Loving, 479</ref> and visited it often during construction.<ref>Kaplan, 49</ref> In the last week of his life, he was too weak to lift a knife or fork and wrote: "I suffer all the time: I have no relief, no escape: it is monotony — monotony — monotony — in pain."<ref>Reynolds, 587</ref> | |||
| Whitman died on ], ].<ref>Callow, 363</ref> An ] revealed his lungs had diminished to one-eighth their normal breathing capacity, a result of bronchial pneumonia,<ref name=Loving479/> and that an egg-sized abscess on his chest had eroded one of his ribs. The cause of death was officially listed as "pleurisy of the left side, consumption of the right lung, general ] and parenchymatous nephritis."<ref>Reynolds, 588</ref> A public viewing of his body was held at his Camden home; over one thousand people visited in three hours<ref name=Loving480>Loving, 480</ref> and Whitman's oak coffin was barely visible because of all the flowers and wreaths left for him.<ref>Reynolds, 588</ref> He was buried in his tomb at ] in Camden four days after his death.<ref name=Loving480/> Another public ceremony was held at the cemetery, with friends giving speeches, live music, and refreshments.<ref name=Reynolds589/> Later, the remains of Whitman's parents and two of his brothers and their families were moved to the mausoleum.<ref>Kaplan, 50</ref> | |||
| ==Lifestyle and beliefs== | |||
| ], 1887-88]] | |||
| ===Alcohol=== | |||
| Whitman was a vocal proponent of ] and rarely drank alcohol. He once claimed he did not taste "strong liquor" until he was thirty<ref>Loving, 71</ref> and occasionally argued for ].<ref>Callow, 75</ref> One of his earliest long fiction works, the novel ''Franklin Evans; or, The Inebriate'', first published ], ], is a temperance novel.<ref>Loving, 74</ref> Whitman wrote the novel at the height of popularity of the ] though the movement itself was plagued with contradictions, as was ''Franklin Evans''.<ref>Reynolds, 95</ref> Years later Whitman claimed he was embarrassed by the book<ref>Reynolds, 91</ref> and called it a "damned rot".<ref>Loving, 75</ref> He dismissed it by saying he wrote the novel in three days solely for money while he was under the influence of alcohol himself.<ref>Reynolds, 97</ref> Even so, he wrote other pieces recommending temperance, including ''The Madman'' and a short story "Reuben's Last Wish".<ref>Loving, 72</ref> | |||
| ===Poetic theory=== | |||
| Whitman wrote in the preface to the 1855 edition of ''Leaves of Grass'', "The proof of a poet is that his country absorbs him as affectionately as he has absorbed it." He believed there was a vital, ] relationship between the poet and society.<ref>Reynolds, 5</ref> This connection was emphasized especially in "]" by using an all-powerful first-person narration.<ref>Reynolds, 324</ref> As an American epic, it deviated from the historic use of an elevated hero and instead assumed the identity of the common people.<ref>Miller, 78</ref> ''Leaves of Grass'' also responded to the impact that recent urbanization in the United States had on the masses.<ref>Reynolds, 332</ref> | |||
| ===Religion=== | |||
| Whitman was deeply influenced by ]. He denied any one faith was more important than another, and embraced all religions equally.<ref name=Reynolds237>Reynolds, 237</ref> In "Song of Myself", he gave an inventory of major religions and indicated he respected and accepted all of them – a sentiment he further emphasized in his poem "With Antecedents", affirming: "I adopt each theory, myth, god, and demi-god, / I see that the old accounts, bibles, genealogies, are true, without exception".<ref name=Reynolds237/> In 1874, he was invited to write a poem about the ] movement, to which he responded, "It seems to me nearly altogether a poor, cheap, crude ]."<ref>Loving, 353</ref> Whitman was a religious skeptic: though he accepted all churches, he believed in none.<ref name=Reynolds237/> | |||
| ===Sexuality=== | |||
| ] | |||
| Whitman's sexuality is sometimes disputed, although often assumed to be ] based on his poetry.<ref name=Buckham/> The concept of heterosexual and homosexual personalities was invented in 1868, and it was not widely promoted until Whitman was an old man. Whitman's poetry depicts love and sexuality in a more earthy, individualistic way common in American culture before the medicalization of sexuality in the late 1800s.<ref>{{cite book | last = D'Emilio and Freeman | year = 1997 | title = Intimate Matters - A History of Sexuality in America ISBN 0-226-14264-7 | accessdate=2008-03-26 }}</ref> Though ''Leaves of Grass'' was often labeled pornographic or obscene, only one critic remarked on its author's presumed sexual activity: in a November 1855 review, ] suggested Whitman was guilty of "that horrible sin not to be mentioned among Christians".<ref>Loving, 184–185</ref> Whitman had intense friendships with many men throughout his life. Some biographers have claimed that he may not have actually engaged in sexual relationships with men,<ref name=Loving19/> while others cite letters, journal entries and other sources which they claim as proof of the sexual nature of some of his relationships. <ref>Norton, Rictor "" from The Great Queens of History, updated 18 Nov. 1999 </ref> | |||
| Biographer David S. Reynolds described a man named Peter Doyle as being the most likely candidate for the love of Whitman's life.<ref>Reynolds, 487</ref> Doyle was a bus conductor whom he met around 1866. They were inseparable for several years. Interviewed in 1895, Doyle said: "We were familiar at once — I put my hand on his knee — we understood. He did not get out at the end of the trip — in fact went all the way back with me."<ref>Kaplan, 311–312</ref> A more direct second-hand account comes from ]. Wilde met Whitman in America in 1882, and wrote to the homosexual rights activist ] that there was "no doubt" about the great American poet's sexual orientation — "I have the kiss of Walt Whitman still on my lips," he boasted.<ref>McKenna, Neil. ''The Secret Life of Oscar Wilde''. Century, 2003: 33. ISBN 0465044387.</ref> The only explicit description of Whitman's sexual activities is second hand. In 1924 ], then an old man, described an erotic encounter he had had in his youth with Whitman to Gavin Arthur, who recorded it in detail in his journal.<ref>Kantrowitz, Arnie. "". ''Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia'', J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings, eds. New York: Garland Publishing, 1998.</ref> Late in his life, when Whitman was asked outright if his series of "]" poems were homosexual, he chose not to respond.<ref>Reynolds, 527</ref> | |||
| There is also some evidence that Whitman may have had sexual relationships with women. He had a romantic friendship with a New York actress named Ellen Grey in the spring of 1862, but it is not known whether or not it was also sexual. He still had a photo of her decades later when he moved to Camden and referred to her as "an old sweetheart of mine".<ref>Callow, 278</ref> In a letter dated ], ] he claimed, "I have had six children - two are dead". This claim has never been corroborated.<ref>Loving, 123</ref> Toward the end of his life, he often told stories of previous girlfriends and sweethearts and denied an allegation from the ''New York Herald'' that he had "never had a love affair".<ref>Reynolds,490</ref> | |||
| ===Shakespeare authorship=== | |||
| Whitman was a proponent of the ], refusing to believe in the historic attribution of the works to ] of Stratford-upon-Avon. Whitman comments in his ''November Boughs'' (1888) regarding Shakespeare's historical plays: | |||
| "Conceiv'd out of the fullest heat and pulse of European feudalism -personifying ill unparalleled ways the medieval aristocracy, its towering spirit of ruthless and gigantic caste, with its own peculiar air and arrogance (no mere imitation) -only one of the "wolfish earls" so plenteous in the plays themselves, or some born descendant and knower, might seem to be the true author of those amazing works -works in some respects greater than anything else in recorded literature."<ref>Nelson, Paul A. "". Reprinted from ''The Shakespeare Oxford Society Newsletter'', Fall 1992: Volume 28, 4A.</ref> | |||
| ===Slavery=== | |||
| Whitman opposed the extension of slavery in the United States and supported the ].<ref name=Reynolds117>Reynolds, 117</ref> However, he was not an ] and believed the movement did more harm than good. He once wrote that the abolitionists had, in fact, slowed the advancement of their cause by their "ultraism and officiousness".<ref>Loving, 110</ref> His main concern was that their methods disrupted the democratic process, as did the refusal of the Southern states to put the interests of the nation as a whole above their own.<ref name=Reynolds117/> Whitman also subscribed to the widespread opinion that even free African-Americans should not vote<ref name=Reynolds473>Reynolds, 473</ref> and was concerned at the increasing number of African-Americans in the legislature.<ref>Reynolds, 470</ref> | |||
| ==Legacy and influence== | |||
| {{Expand|date=April 2008}} | |||
| Walt Whitman has been claimed as America's first "poet of democracy", a title meant to reflect his ability to write in a singularly American character. A British friend of Walt Whitman, Mary Smith Whitall Costelloe, wrote: "You cannot really understand America without Walt Whitman, without ''Leaves of Grass''... He has expressed that civilization, 'up to date,' as he would say, and no student of the philosophy of history can do without him."<ref>Reynolds, 4</ref> ] poet ] called Whitman "America's poet... He ''is'' America."<ref>Pound, Ezra. "Walt Whitman", ''Whitman'', Roy Harvey Pearce, ed. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1962: 8</ref> ] called him "the great poet of America so far".<ref>Kaplan, 22</ref> Edward Hopper, who knew Whitman's poetry well, was, like the poet, "a brilliant impresario of the archetype." Hopper's pictures of naked women by their windows were (says the critic, Walter Wells) most likely influenced by Whitman, most notably the poet's controversial "A Woman Waits for Me." <ref>], ''Silent Theater: The Art of Edward Hopper'', ]: Phaidon, 2007 </ref> | |||
| The literary critic, ] wrote, as the introduction for the 150th anniversary of ''Leaves of Grass'' that, "If you are American, then Walt Whitman is your imaginative father and mother, even if, like myself, you have never composed a line of verse. You can nominate a fair number of literary works as candidates for the secular Scripture of the United States. They might include Melville's ''Moby-Dick'', Twain's ''Adventures of Huckleberry Finn'', and Emerson's two series of ''Essays'' and ''The Conduct of Life''. None of those, not even Emerson's, are as central as the first edition of ''Leaves of Grass''."<ref>Bloom, Harold. Introduction to ''Leaves of Grass''. Penguin Classics, 2005.</ref> | |||
| Whitman considered himself a messiah-like figure in poetry.<ref>Callow, 83</ref> Others agreed: one of his admirers, William Sloane Kennedy, speculated that "people will be celebrating the birth of Walt Whitman as they are now the birth of Christ".<ref>Loving, 475</ref> Whitman's work breaks the boundaries of poetic form and is generally prose-like.<ref name=Reynolds314>Reynolds, 314</ref> He also used unusual images and symbols in his poetry, including rotting leaves, tufts of straw, and debris.<ref>Kaplan, 233</ref> He also openly wrote about death and sexuality, including prostitution.<ref>Loving, 314</ref> He is often labeled as the father of ], though he did not invent it.<ref name=Reynolds314/> | |||
| Whitman's ] lifestyle was adopted by the ] and its leaders such as ] and ] in the 1950s and 1960s as well as anti-war poets like ] and ].<ref>Loving, 181</ref> Whitman also influenced ], author of '']'', and was the model for the character of ]. Stoker said in his notes that Dracula represented the quintessential male which, to Stoker, was Whitman, with whom he corresponded until Whitman's death.<ref>Nuzum, Eric. ''The Dead Travel Fast''. 141–147.</ref> | |||
| ==References== | |||
| ===Notes=== | |||
| {{Reflist|4}} | |||
| ===Bibliography=== | |||
| *Callow, Philip. ''From Noon to Starry Night: A Life of Walt Whitman''. Chicago: Ivan R. Dee, 1992. ISBN 0929587952 | |||
| *Kaplan, Justin. ''Walt Whitman: A Life''. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1979. ISBN 0671225421 | |||
| *Loving, Jerome. ''Walt Whitman: The Song of Himself''. University of California Press, 1999. ISBN 0520226879 | |||
| *Miller, James E., Jr. ''Walt Whitman''. New York: Twayne Publishers, Inc. 1962 | |||
| *Reynolds, David S. ''Walt Whitman's America: A Cultural Biography''. New York: Vintage Books, 1995. ISBN 0679767096 | |||
| ==External links== | |||
| {{Wikisource author}} | |||
| {{wikiquote}} | |||
| {{commons}} | |||
| * An extensive collection of Whitman's poetry | |||
| * – Biography, related essays, poems, and reading guides from the ] | |||
| * | |||
| * includes all editions of "Leaves of Grass" in page-images and transcription, as well as manuscripts, criticism, and biography | |||
| * | |||
| * by Camden County, New Jersey Historical Society | |||
| * Houghton Library, Harvard University. | |||
| * | |||
| '''Sites''' | |||
| * | |||
| * | |||
| *http://litscholar.net/thesis/thesis_precis.htm "Reconstructing Reality: The Mythmaking of Walt Whitman and Leslie Marmon Silko" | |||
| <!-- Metadata: see ] --> | |||
| {{Persondata | |||
| |NAME=Whitman, Walter | |||
| |ALTERNATIVE NAMES=Walt Whitman | |||
| |SHORT DESCRIPTION=Journalist | |||
| |DATE OF BIRTH=], ] | |||
| |PLACE OF BIRTH=Huntington ], ] | |||
| |DATE OF DEATH=], ] | |||
| |PLACE OF DEATH=], ] | |||
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| {{DEFAULTSORT:Whitman, Walt}} | |||
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