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American Literature
Walt Whitman Biography
Walt Whitman was Born on may 31, 1819. He was born and was the second son of his father Walter Whitman.His father was a house builder and on top of that he had nine other children. The whitman family lived in brooklyn and long island in the 1820’s through 1830’s. When he was twelve Walt Whitman began to learn that he loved to write and read. He became fond of poems and books. He mainly taught himself to read and write. He liked to read the works of of Homer, Dante, Shakespeare, and the Bible.
Walt Whitman worked as a printer in new york city a couple of years later until a fire in the printing district ruined the printing press. When he turned seventeen he got a job …show more content…
In 1848 Whitman left Brooklyn to become editor of the New Orleans Crescent. While he was in New Orleans he experienced slavery in the slave markets of that city. while he was on his way back to Brooklyn he founded a new newspaper called free soil newspaper. while his other newspaper the Brooklyn Freeman continued to develop a unique style of poetry that later astonished Ralph Waldo Emerson. Walt Whitman filed a copyright on the first book of Leaves of Grass. He published the book series himself. And as proof he sent a sent a copy to Emerson in 1855. Walt Whitman released a sequel of the the previous book in 1856. This book consisted of thirty three poems and a letter. During Walt Whitman's life he continued to remake and improve the books he had already made. Releasing several more versions of the book. While Walt Whitman continued to age he released more poems about politics. When the Civil War started Walt Whitman made a promise to live a safe and untainted life. He worked as a journalist that went around the country and wrote about everything he observed. He visited the men that were hurt in battle in new york city hospitals. After that Walt Whitman then traveled to Washington D. C. in 1862. While there he had cared for his brother who had been hurt in the