User:Frimel17

From 1850s

[edit] Walt Whitman- An American Poet

Walt Whitman or as he was later known, The Good Gray Poet was born on a small farm on Long Island. His parents were working class people. His mother was of Dutch ancestry and his father was of English descent. He would embrace his dualistic heritage and continue to be influenced by it. He was the second out of nine children to be born to his parents. He left school at the age of eleven to go to work at an attorney's office. However, he would continue his education informally with the circulating library and at the other businesses he was employed at. When he was sixteen he found work as a printer's apprentice in Manhattan. However, a fire destroyed most of New York's printing industry; but he was able to use the skills learned as a printer to find work in the journalism industry. In 1836, he began a a six year stint as a schoolteacher. It was during this time that he was able to find some relief from the boredom and stress of teaching by working on the newspaper he started himself, The Long Islander.Although this paper only lasted a year, other papers would occasionally reprint his papers. This paper also led to employment at other publications. One of these publications was The Sun-Down Papers. This was probably the first time that the literary genius of Walt Whitman was first published. He would continue to write other poetry and stories. During the 1840's, he was finally able to support himself as a journalist. He was editor of The Aurora, a well-known New York daily. He wrote about local issues and made contributions to other publications.He left New York for Brooklyn in 1845 but maintained a connection with the city. In 1848, he traveled to New Orleans with his younger brother to begin work at a newspaper there. Although this position didn't last long, he was impacted by his time in New Orleans.He returned home to New York with a renewed sense of appreciation for his home city. Upon his return to Brooklyn, he joined the Free-Soil Party and served as a delegate during their national convention. He also served as editor for their newspaper, The Brooklyn Weekly Freeman. Out of financial necessity, he opened a small store. Soon this store would also become a printshop that he managed with his brother, Jeff. He sold the store after it had been open for three years. In the early 1850'3 he was motivated to write by national events. He wrote "Dough-Face Song", "Blood-Money","The House of Friends" and "Resergemus" in protest of the Fugitive Slave Law. Eventually, "Resergemus" would be incorporated into "Leaves of Grass" under the title "Europe, the 72d and 73d Years of These States". It weas on July 4th, 1855 that he released the first edition. His work in journalism contributed to the publication. This was reflected in the naming of the book, "Grass" was a term used by printers to describe work that they had written themself. "Leaves" was a reference to pages. He used his connections in the journalism industry to publish and promote the book. He wrote anonymous self-reviews and called himself "An American Bard". Even though the book didn't sell many copies; it made quite an impression on the literary scene. Critiques ranged from being thouroughly outraged to mildly appreciative. When Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote him a letter containing the now famous words " I greet you at the begining of a great career, Whitman was motivated to revise "Leaves of Grass". The next edition was published and contained a copy of Emerson's letter to Whitman.It also featured Whitman's response to the letter. Over the years, Whitman would revise "Leaves of Grass" several times. What had began as a small book that contained twelve poems became a larger book that contained almost four hundred poems. When the Civil War began, it had a profound effect on his life. He wrote various recruitment poems. However, he seemed determined to avoid the reality of war. This was until the war hit home. He learned that his brother had been injured. This prompted him to make his way to where his brother was in the hospital. He found his brother safe but was motivated to stay in Washington and help with the war effort. Soon after moving to Washington, he found his calling there. He became a regular feature at the hospitals. He provided comfort to all who needed it, whether they were Union or Confedereate. Eventually the time and effort that he was putting into caring for the wounded started to take its toll on his health. He returned home to rest but came back to nurture the wounded. At the end of the war, he had been reduced to a physical wreck. In 1873, he he was devastated by the death of his mother. It was about this time that he had a paralytic stroke. He never recovered fully from these tragedies. He was forced to leave Washington and had to move in with the family of his brother George in Camden, New Jersey.Over time he was able to buy a house on Mickle Street. He passed away there among the company of admirers on March 26, 1892.