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[[Image:Whitman.gif|right|thumb|Walt Whitman]]

[[Image:Whitman.gif|right|thumb|Walt Whitman]]

'''Walt Whitman''' (1819-1892) was an America poet, school teacher, and figure in the movement of [[Transcendentalism]].<ref>[http://transcendentalism-legacy.tamu.edu/roots/legacy/whitman/ Transcendental Legacy in Literature]</ref> Born in Huntington, on [[New York]]'s [[Long Island]], and raised in [[Brooklyn]], he received little formal education.

'''Walt Whitman''' (1819-1892) was an America poet, school teacher, and figure in the movement of [[Transcendentalism]].<ref>[http://transcendentalism-legacy.tamu.edu/roots/legacy/whitman/ Transcendental Legacy in Literature]</ref> Born in Huntington, on [[New York]]'s [[Long Island]], and raised in [[Brooklyn]], he received no schooling after turning 11 years old.

His poetry usually eschews traditional rhymes, meters and themes in favor of free verse, reflecting the themes of democratic egalitarianism and personal liberty that permeated his verse. The first edition of his major work, ''Leaves of Grass'', was self-published in 1855 as a 95-page volume containing a preface and twelve untitled poems.<ref>http://www.whitmanarchive.org/criticism/current/encyclopedia/entry_21.html</ref> One of the first to receive a copy of ''Leaves of Grass'' was the American intellectual and essayist [[Ralph Waldo Emerson]], who praised the book as "the most extraordinary piece of wit and wisdom that America has yet contributed."<ref>http://web.csustan.edu/english/reuben/pal/chap4/whitman.html</ref> Later Emerson would become critical of Whitman's mode of expressing sexuality, a criticism shared by others who perceived amoral and homoerotic aspects in his writings.  Only in later years did his powerful writing style and American themes win Whitman the admiration of the literary community.  Whitman spent his later years working as a nurse in hospitals during the Civil War caring for the wounded.  There are still extant many letters from soldiers and their families expressing deep thanks and love for Whitman's benevolence at this time.  [[Henry James]] attempted to emulate Whitman by visiting hospitals during WWI but his biographies have noted that despite his sincerity he was not able to connect as deeply as Whitman was.

His poetry usually eschews traditional rhymes, meters and themes in favor of free verse, reflecting the themes of democratic egalitarianism and personal liberty that permeated his verse. The first edition of his major work, ''Leaves of Grass'', was self-published in 1855 as a 95-page volume containing a preface and twelve untitled poems.<ref>http://www.whitmanarchive.org/criticism/current/encyclopedia/entry_21.html</ref> One of the first to receive a copy of ''Leaves of Grass'' was the American intellectual and essayist [[Ralph Waldo Emerson]], who praised the book as "the most extraordinary piece of wit and wisdom that America has yet contributed."<ref>http://web.csustan.edu/english/reuben/pal/chap4/whitman.html</ref> Later Emerson would become critical of Whitman's mode of expressing sexuality, a criticism shared by others who perceived amoral and homoerotic aspects in his writings.  Only in later years did his powerful writing style and American themes win Whitman the admiration of the literary community.  Whitman spent his later years working as a nurse in hospitals during the Civil War caring for the wounded.  There are still extant many letters from soldiers and their families expressing deep thanks and love for Whitman's benevolence at this time.  [[Henry James]] attempted to emulate Whitman by visiting hospitals during WWI but his biographies have noted that despite his sincerity he was not able to connect as deeply as Whitman was.