American poet · 1819–1892
Walt Whitman
Walt Whitman was an American poet and journalist who continually revised Leaves of Grass, building a long career around the body, democracy, work and the speaking self.
His poems expanded the possibilities of free verse through long catalogues and direct address, seeking a form roomy enough for individual experience and collective life.
How to read Walt Whitman
- Long, parallel lines accumulate people and actions without forcing them into a fixed hierarchy.
- A conversational first-person voice moves freely between observation, public declaration and inward meditation.