Walt Whitman

1
Walt Whitman

• The Story of a Legend

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Table Of Contents

• The Early Years
• Jobs and Papers
• The Final Years
• Books Of Poetry
• Citation

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The Early Years

• Walt Whitman was born on May 31, 1819 in West
  Hills, New York.
• Walts father with the same name was skilled in
  the art of carpentry but struggled to find work
  so when Walt was four they moved to Brooklyn.
• Walt had seven other brothers and sisters each
  named after either an important figure in the new
  America or a relative, Jesse (1818-1870), Mary
  (1822-1899), daughter Hannah (1823-1908), Andrew
  Jackson (1827-1863), George Washington
  (1829-1901), and Thomas Jefferson (1833-1890),
  and Edward (1835-1902).
• Walts first job was as an apprentice on the Long
  Island Patriot where he learned the trade of
  printing. He published his first article at the
  age of twelve in The Mirror in 1834.
• After a devastating fire that ruined the printing
  house Walt went out and found a job as a teacher
  at the age of 17.

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Jobs and Papers

• As Walt began into his late twenties he left his
  job as a teacher and he founded his own newspaper
  the Long-Islander as well as edit the Brooklyn
  Daily Eagle.
• Walt left the Brooklyn Daily Eagle to become
  editor of the New Orleans Crescent where he
  learned first hand about the horrors of slaved
  labor.
• After returning to Brooklyn Walt started another
  newspaper called the Brooklyn Freeman which
  contained poetry.

5
The Final Years

• During the Civil War Walt went down to Washington
  D.C. to visit his wounded brother. He ended up
  staying there and he got a job as a clerk writing
  freelance poetry on the side.
• Walt then traveled to Camden to visit his sick
  mother when he received a stoke. He stayed there
  the rest of his life.
• Walt Whitman died on March 26, 1892 and he was
  buried in a tomb that he had designed on a lot in
  Harleigh Cemetery.

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Books Of Poetry

• Leaves of Grass (1855) First edition.
• Leaves of Grass (1856) Second edition.
• Leaves of Grass (1860) Third edition.
• Drum Taps (1865)
• Sequel to Drum Taps (1865)
• Leaves of Grass (1867) Fourth edition.
• Leaves of Grass (1870) Fifth edition.
• Passage to India (1870)
• Leaves of Grass (1876) Centennial edition.
• Leaves of Grass (1881) Sixth edition.
• Leaves of Grass (1891) "Deathbed" edition.
• Good-Bye, My Fancy (1891)

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Citation

• http//jefferson.village.virginia.edu
• http//www.poets.org
• http//www.poetry.about.com