1. Walt Whitman

2. Background One of 8 children
                                    
One of 8 children
Lived in both a country setting and the city of New York (Brooklyn)
Family was not prosperous
Little formal education

3. Background Worked in journalism until the age of thirty
He kept journals and diaries that became the basis for much of his literary work.

4. Whitman’s Poetry
In 1855, he published his most important collection of poetry, Leaves of Grass.
He revised it nine times before his death in 1892.
“Song of Myself” is one of 12 poems in the book
“Song of Myself” has 52 sections

5. Whitman’s Poetry Continued
Leaves of Grass was controversial
- content
- style/form
- of 800 copies printed, most were thrown
away

6. Whitman’s Style
Uses free verse– verse that has irregular meter and line length (broke all the rules of poetry)
Whitman was considered the first American poet - poetry did not follow traditional poetry
His use of free verse allowed him to express himself without restraint