Brief biography of the poet, basic facts of life and work:
WALT WHITMAN (1819-1892)
Walter Whitman was born on May 31, 1819 in the sparsely populated village of West Hills, New York, located on the shores of the deserted and hilly island of Long Island.
Whitman's family lived in the village for more than two hundred years. Once it was a fairly prosperous family, but by the beginning of the 19th century the Whitmans became impoverished and, moreover, began to degenerate. Walter turned out to be the only healthy child in a large family.
The mother of the future poet, Louise Van Velsor, was an illiterate, downtrodden woman. In addition to Walter, there were eight more children in her arms. The boy loved his mother dearly, and until the end of her life they were bound by cordial friendship. Walter did not have much closeness with his father.
In 1823, the Whitmans moved to Brooklyn, where their father built a new house with his own hands. The boy was sent to a Brooklyn school. But eleven-year-old Walter had to quit his studies and enter the service of lawyers - father and son - as an office messenger. The owners were kind people, they tried to encourage the boy to read, and enrolled him in the library. And Walter got involved, began to voraciously read Walter Scott, Fenimore Cooper, and the tales of The Arabian Nights.
In the summer of 1831, Whitman became an apprentice at the printing house of the local weekly newspaper The Patriot, published by the Brooklyn postmaster. There the boy had a lot of free time, and he began to compose poems and articles for the newspaper. However, these writings were frankly mediocre.
And then Whitman began to wander from one job to another. One of the next owners explained the reason for this: “He will be too lazy to even shake if he gets a fever.” Another confirmed: “He’s such a quitter that it takes two people to open his mouth.”
Every summer, Walter went to his native farm, where he did nothing, only often went to the ocean shore to lie on the hot sands.
In 1836, he finally returned to his native island and became a school teacher in the small village of Babylon. Work left a lot of free time: the poet spent hours wandering along the shore or swimming in the bay.
In the spring of 1841, Whitman unexpectedly left for New York, where for almost seven years he quietly worked in various publications, either as a typesetter or as a writer of essays, short stories and topical articles.
In 1842, at the request of the Temperance Society, the poet wrote a novel against drunkenness for the small magazine Novy Svet. Unexpectedly, the novel was a resounding success! However, that was the end of the matter.
So Whitman lived to be thirty-five years old. And then there was a sudden rebirth. As one of the poet’s biographers wrote: “Just yesterday he was a wretched scribbler of useless poems, but now he immediately had pages on which eternal life was inscribed in fiery letters. Only a few dozen similar pages have appeared over the centuries of conscious life of mankind.”
In 1848, Whitman traveled to New Orleans and back, along the way he visited seventeen states and traveled - along lakes, rivers, prairies - over four thousand miles. America was then experiencing the happiest period in its destiny; it was a time of general expectation of something good and bright. Biographers are confident that it was during this significant trip that a great poet was born in Whitman.
He himself claimed that the “divine hour of insight” came to him one clear July morning in 1853 or 1854. “I remember,” he wrote, “it was a clear summer morning. I was lying on the grass... and suddenly such a feeling of peace and peace, such omniscience, above all human wisdom, descended on me and spread around me, and I realized... that God is my brother and that His soul is my dear... and that the core of the entire universe is Love".
Whitman began to increasingly retire to his parents' farm or on the ocean shore and write poetry. The book “Leaves of Grass” was written in the shortest possible time. No publisher was found for it. The poet typed it himself and printed it himself in 800 copies in a small printing house that belonged to his close friends. It was published in July 1855, a few days before the death of Whitman's father. The author's name was not included on the binding.
Before the release of Leaves of Grass, the poet called himself by his own name - Walter. But it was too aristocratic for the American ear. Since the book was created for the common people, Whitman took the nickname Walt. In other words, if the name Walter corresponded to the Russian Stepan, then Walt would be translated as Stepashka.
Walt hid from the world on Long Island, where he created new poetry in solitude. From now on, everything he wrote was inserted into the next reissue of Leaves of Grass. In other words, Whitman spent his entire life writing one book.
The critics' attacks did their job: no one bought the first edition of Leaves of Grass. Then the poet personally came to New York, wrote positive reviews about his book and, with the help of friends, published them in several newspapers.
Little by little, single followers of “Leaves of Grass” began to appear in the country. Few enthusiasts have proclaimed Whitman a teacher of life.
In 1861, the Civil War began. A year later, the poet’s brother George, who fought in the northern troops, was wounded. Walt rushed to the front to help his brother. George was recovering, and the reassured Whitman was about to go home. But could not. Many wounded people accumulated in field hospitals, there was almost no one to care for them, people suffered greatly. And Whitman stayed to help.
Most military hospitals were then concentrated in Washington. The poet moved there and cared for the sick and wounded for three years. Every hour he faced smallpox, gangrene, typhus...
Let us note that the poet helped the wounded for free!!! He himself lived in a kennel and received his livelihood from writing small magazine articles.
By the beginning of 1864, Whitman had seriously weakened his health and fell ill. They said that while bandaging a gangrenous patient, the poet carelessly touched the wound with a cut finger, and his entire arm to the shoulder became inflamed. The disease seemed to pass quickly, but a few years later it led to a terrible tragedy.
After the war, Walt Whitman entered service as an official in the Department of Indian Affairs of the Department of the Interior. But when Minister James Garlan, a former Methodist minister, learned that the author of Leaves of Grass was among his new employees, he ordered Whitman to be fired within twenty-four hours. The reason was simple - if in the first edition of the collection Whitman praised the beauty of the human body and sex, then in the third edition, published in 1860, he inserted a section “Galamus”, in which he combined works of openly homosexual content.
There is a long list of Whitman's lovers. For the most part, the poet chose seventeen-year-old boys for himself and said goodbye to them at the age of twenty-two. Fred Vaughan's first permanent lover appeared shortly after the first edition of Leaves of Grass was published. This driver from Brooklyn lived with the poet for several years and then wrote to him throughout his life.
The Home Office scandal ended with Walt moving to a clerk position in the Treasury Department. Nobody touched him there. Suddenly, critics came to Whitman's defense. Garlan was declared a tyrant and given a public flogging. And from that time on Walt began to be called the “good gray-haired poet.”
The disaster occurred in 1873. The same illness contracted in the hospital made itself felt. Walt Whitman was paralyzed and lost the left side of his body.
The poet moved to Camden, New Jersey. English friends collected a small capital for him, quite sufficient for a comfortable existence. His admirer Anna Gilchrist took care of Walt. The poet's friend George Strafford gave him his forest farm as a summer cottage.
The illness did not dampen Whitman's optimism. His poems of that time remained the same songs of happiness as those created in his early years.
The poet spent the last years of his life confined to a wheelchair. He was not bored; his friends and lovers did not leave Walt unattended. Since 1888, almost every day he had a new favorite - a young bank employee, a relative of Albert Einstein, Horace Traubel. As it turned out later, the young man kept detailed notes about the life of the great poet. After Whitman's death, Traubel published his notes and made a substantial fortune from it. It must be said that most of the poet’s former boys did the same.
In 1890, Walt Whitman bought a cemetery plot near Camden and ordered a granite tombstone for himself. However, death did not come to him for a long time. He died slowly and painfully. He was paralyzed three more times.
Walt Whitman died on March 26, 1892. The church refused to perform the funeral service for the libertine. This was done by numerous friends of the poet.
You read the biography (facts and years of life) in a biographical article dedicated to the life and work of the great poet.
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Copyright: biographies of the lives of great poets
Walt Whitman's biography began in 1819. Then the American poet was born, the author of the famous collection “Leaves of Grass”. Based on the achievements of the romantic and realistic traditions, Whitman developed the foundations of new lyrics and entered the history of literature as the forerunner of avant-garde poetry of the 20th century.
Author's main works:
- "Leaves of Grass" (1855);
- the poem “When the lilac blossomed last year in my yard” (1865);
- cycle of poems “Farewell, my fantasy.”
In 1841, the poet moved to New York, where he worked as a typesetter and also earned money from sketches, imitative stories and articles of a topical nature of the same year. Whitman also wrote a novel against drunkenness at this time, Franklin Evans, or the Bitter Drunkard. He is appointed editor of the US Democratic Party newspaper, The Brooklyn Eagle.
Turning point in Whitman's biography
In 1848, Walt Whitman changes, the poet’s biography becomes saturated with mysticism. The author is visited by a sudden insight into existence. Returning to his native village, Whitman devotes himself to poetic creativity.In 1850 Several poems were published that revealed a “new” Whitman to readers. In the printing house of his close friends, he independently printed eight hundred copies of the collection of poems “Leaves of Grass” (1855), which included only twelve poems.
The book, however, was heavily criticized.Subsequently, the poet released the second (1856) and third (1860) editions of the collection, constantly expanding its content. The last one (1862) already included more than a hundred poems.
Walt Whitman's biography has room for drama. He travels to Washington to visit his brother, who was wounded during the Civil War. Under the influence of hospital impressions, he remained in Washington, where for three years he voluntarily cared for the wounded. The experience of working in the infirmary appeared in poems, which were also included in the collection “Leaves of Grass.” After the end of the war, he worked as an official in the Ministry of Internal Affairs, from where, however, he was released (1865) as the author of a “scandalous” book.
Some time later, Whitman worked as a clerk in the Treasury Department. In 1873, the Poet suffered from paralysis, as a result of which he was forced to move to the city of Camden near New York. While relieving his illness in 1879, Whitman made a voyage to the Colorado Rocky Mountains, during which he could admire the majestic spectacle of Niagara Falls.
In 1882, another section “Leaves of Grass” was completed - “Memorable Days”. Walt Whitman died on March 26, 1892.. Thus ended the biography of another publicist who left a mark on the history of literature.
Similar publications.
Walter Whitman, born in Huntington, Long Island, worked as a journalist, teacher, government clerk, and, in addition to publishing his poetry, volunteered during the American Civil War. Early in his career he also wrote a Renaissance novel, Franklin Evans (1842).
Walt Whitman's major work, Leaves of Grass, was first published in 1855 at his own expense. It was an attempt to connect with the common man, done on a truly American scale. He continued to expand and revise this work until his death in 1892. After a stroke towards the end of his life, he moved to Camden (New Jersey), where his health only worsened. When he died at the age of 72, his funeral became a public event. National mourning was declared.
Walt Whitman's poems are still very popular in the United States. Which is surprising considering how late he turned to poetry.
early years
The biography of Walt Whitman began on May 31, 1819 in the West Hills, in the city of Huntington (Long Island). He was born to Quaker parents Walter and Louise Van Velsor Whitman. As the second of nine children, he immediately received the nickname Walt, given specifically to distinguish him from his father. Walter Whitman Sr. named three of his seven sons after prominent American leaders: Andrew Jackson, George Washington and Thomas Jefferson. The oldest was named Jesse, and another boy died at the age of six months without receiving a name. The couple's sixth son, the youngest, was named Edward. At the age of four, Whitman moved with his family from the Western Hills to Brooklyn.
Walt Whitman described his childhood as quite troubled and unhappy, given the family's difficult economic status. One happy moment he later recalled was when the Marquise de Lafayette lifted him into the air and kissed him on the cheek during Independence Day celebrations in Brooklyn on July 4, 1825.
Study and youth
At the age of eleven, Walt Whitman completed his formal education. He then looked for work to help his family. For a time, the future poet worked as an assistant to two lawyers, and later was an intern and journalist for the weekly newspapers Long Island and Patriot, edited by Samuel E. Clements. There Whitman learned about the printing press and typesetting. This brought in at least some money, unlike newfangled popular poems.
Finding a calling
The following summer, Whitman worked for Erastus Worthington in Brooklyn. His family returned to the Western Hills in the spring, but Whitman stayed and took a job in the store of Alden Spooner, editor of the leading weekly newspaper, the Long Island Star.
During this time, Whitman became a regular visitor to the local library, joined the city's debating society, began attending theatrical performances, and anonymously published some of his early poems in the New York Mirror.
In May 1835, Whitman left Brooklyn. He moved to New York to work as a composer. He tried to find permanent work, but experienced difficulties (partly due to a large fire in the printing and publishing district and partly due to the general collapse in the economy that led to the crisis of 1837).
In May 1836, he joined his family, now living in Hempstead, Long Island. Whitman taught intermittently at various schools until the spring of 1838, although he was not a good teacher. In the future, poetry will bring him popularity.
After his teaching attempts, Whitman returned to Huntington, New York, to found his own newspaper, the Long Islander. Whitman worked as a publisher, editor, pressman, distributor, and even did home delivery.
Ten months later he sold the publication to E. O. Crowell. The first issue appeared on July 12, 1839. There are no known surviving copies of the newspaper published under Whitman's leadership. By the summer of 1839, he found work as a typesetter for the Long Island Democrat, edited by James J. Brenton.
Southold incident
Soon the future poet left the newspaper and made another attempt to become a teacher. He practiced this craft from the winter of 1840 until the spring of 1841. One story, possibly apocryphal, tells of Whitman's disgraceful dismissal from teaching at Southold, New York, in 1840. After being called a "sodomite" by a local preacher, Whitman was allegedly smeared with tar and covered in rooster feathers. Biographer Justin Kaplan notes that the story is likely fabricated because Whitman vacationed regularly in the city after this allegedly humiliating situation. Biographer Jerome Loving calls the incident a myth.
First creative attempts
Walt Whitman moved to New York in May 1841. He first worked in low-paying jobs in the New World under the management of Benjamin Sr. and Rufus Wilmot Griswold. He continued to work for short periods of time for various newspapers: in 1842 he was editor of the Aurora, and from 1846 to 1848 he worked for the Brooklyn Eagle.
In 1852, Whitman wrote a novel called The Life and Adventures of Jack Engle. It was part autobiography, part history of New York at that time, where the reader could find some familiar characters from everyday life in the capital.
In 1858, Whitman published a 47,000-word series of tests under the general title Manny—Health and Learning. For these publications he used the pseudonym Moz Velsor. Apparently, he derived the name Velsor from the surname Van Velsor, which belonged to his mother. This self-help guide recommends wearing a beard and sunbathing, comfortable shoes, daily bathing in cold water, eating meat, plenty of fresh air and morning walks. Contemporaries called this work "a bizarre and stupid pseudoscientific treatise."
Walt Whitman, "Leaves of Grass"
Whitman claimed that after years of fruitless pursuit of recognition, he finally decided to become a poet. At first, he experimented with a variety of popular literary genres, focusing on the cultural tastes of the time. Back in 1850, what would soon become Walt Whitman's legendary Leaves of Grass began to emerge. He would continue to edit and revise this collection of poems until his death. Whitman intended to write a distinctly American epic and used free verse with a stilted style based on the Bible to do so. At the end of June 1855, Whitman surprised his brothers with the first edition of Leaves of Grass already printed. George, however, did not even consider it necessary to read it.
Whitman paid for the publication of the first edition of Leaves of Grass and had it printed by a local printer during breaks from his day job. 795 copies were printed. Whitman was not listed as the author; instead, a portrait of him by Samuel Hollier was engraved before the title page. There was also a lengthy text printed there: “Walt Whitman, American, rough, cosmic, promiscuous, carnal and sensual, not sentimental, not above or in place of men or women, no more modest than immodest.”
The main text was preceded by a prose preface of 827 lines. The next twelve untitled poems contained 2,315 lines, 1,336 of which belonged to the first untitled poem, later called "Song of Myself."
The book received praise from Ralph Waldo Emerson, who wrote a flattering five-page letter to Whitman and praised his work, recommending it to everyone he knew. The first edition of Leaves of Grass was widely distributed and attracted considerable interest from readers, partly due to Emerson's approval, but was sometimes criticized for the seemingly "indecent" nature of the poetry. Geologist John Peter Leslie wrote to Emerson, calling the book "trashy, profane and obscene" and the author a "pretentious ass." On July 11, 1855, a few days after the publication of Walt Whitman's first book, his father died at the age of 65.
Life after fame
In the months following the first publication of Leaves of Grass, critical reviews of the book began to focus more on potentially offensive sexual themes. Although the second edition had already been printed, the publisher ended up not releasing even half of the print run. The edition eventually went to retail with 20 additional poems in August 1856. Leaves of Grass was revised and reprinted in 1860, then in 1867, and several more times throughout Whitman's life. Several famous writers admired Whitman's work, including Amos Bronson Alcott and Henry David Thoreau.
During the initial publication of Leaves of Grass, Whitman experienced financial difficulties and was forced to work again as a journalist, notably contributing to the Brooklyn Times from May 1857. As editor, he oversaw the newspaper's content, provided book reviews, and wrote editorials. He left his job in 1859, although it is not clear whether he was fired or decided to leave on his own. Whitman, who usually kept detailed notebooks and journals, left very little information about himself in the late 1850s.
Illness and death
After suffering a paralytic stroke in early 1873, the poet was forced to move from Washington to the home of his brother George Washington Whitman, an engineer, at 431 Stevens Street in Camden, New Jersey. His sick mother was also there and died soon after. Both events were difficult for Whitman and left him feeling depressed. He remained in his brother's house until he purchased the property in 1884. However, before purchasing his home, he spent a lot of time with his brother on Stevens Street. While there he was very productive, publishing three versions of Leaves of Grass along with other works. He hosted Oscar Wilde and Thomas Eakins. His brother, Edward, disabled since birth, lived in the same house.
When his brother and sister-in-law were forced to move for business reasons, he bought his own home at 328 Mickle Street. At first the tenants took care of everything - the poet was completely bedridden for most of his time. Then he began to communicate with Mary Oakes Davis, the widow of a sea captain. She was his neighbor, living with her family on Bridge Avenue, just a few blocks from Mickle Street.
She moved in with Whitman on February 24, 1885, as a housekeeper in exchange for free rent. The woman brought with her a cat, a dog, two turtle doves, a canary and other animals. During this time, Whitman released new editions of Leaves of Grass in 1876, 1881, and 1889.
During this period, Whitman spent most of his time in the then rather puritanical community of Laurel Springs (between 1876 and 1884), turning one of the buildings on Stafford Farm into his summer home. The restored summer house has been preserved as a museum by the local historical society. Part of his “Leaves of Grass” was written here. To him, Laurel Lake was “the most beautiful lake in America and Europe.”
As the end of 1891 approached, he prepared the final edition of Leaves of Grass, a version called the Deathbed Edition. In preparation for his death, Whitman commissioned a granite mausoleum in the shape of a house for $4,000 and visited it frequently during construction. In the last week of his life, he was too weak to lift a knife or fork, and wrote: "I suffer all the time: I have no relief, no release - monotonous, monotonous, monotonous from pain."
Whitman died on March 26, 1892. An autopsy revealed that his lungs had been reduced to one-eighth of their normal breathing capacity as a result of bronchial pneumonia and that an egg-sized abscess on his chest had destroyed one of his ribs. The cause of death was officially stated as “pleurisy, exhaustion of the right lung, general miliary tuberculosis and parenchymal nephritis.” A public viewing of the body was held at his home in Camden, with more than three thousand people visiting in three hours. Due to the fact that everything around was showered with flowers and wreaths, Whitman's oak coffin was barely visible.
Four days after his death, he was buried in his tomb in Harley Cemetery, Camden. Another public ceremony was held there, with speeches given by friends, live music played, and a variety of drinks served. Whitman's friend, orator Robert Ingersoll, gave a eulogy in honor of the poet. Later, the remains of his parents, two brothers and their families were transferred to the mausoleum. Nowadays, monuments to Whitman adorn many US cities.
Features of creativity
Whitman's work blurs the boundaries of poetic form and classical prose. He also used unusual imagery and symbols in his poetry, including rotting leaves, tufts of straw, and debris. He wrote openly about death and sexuality, even describing prostitution. He is often called the father of free verse, although he did not invent it. Walt Whitman's quotes traveled well due to his unusual style.
Poetic theory
Whitman believed that there was a vital connection between the poet and society. This was especially emphasized in “Song of Myself” with the use of first person narration. As a fan of American epic, he deviated from the historical tradition of using exalted heroes, and instead turned to the personalities of ordinary people. Leaves of Grass was also a response to the impact that recent urbanization in the United States had on the masses. Walt Whitman's poem "O Captain, Captain" is particularly noteworthy in this context.
Sexual orientation
Although biographers continue to debate Whitman's inclinations, he is usually described as homosexual or bisexual. Whitman's orientation is usually inferred from his poetry, although this assumption is disputed. His work depicts love and sexuality in a more earthly way, common in American culture before the medicalization of sexuality in the late 19th century. Walt Whitman's poetry is characterized by a subtle homoeroticism.
Walt Whitman, biography
The poet's ancestors came from Holland. He was born on May 31, 1819, into a poor family of farmers, in a village on Long Island near Brooklyn (New York). There were nine children in a large family, Walt was the eldest. From 1825 - 1830 he studied at a Brooklyn school, but due to lack of money he was forced to leave his studies. He changed many professions: messenger, typesetter, teacher, journalist, editor of provincial newspapers. He loved to travel and walked through 17 states.
Since the late 30s, articles by Whitman have appeared in magazines, in which he opposed the cult of the dollar and emphasized that money leads to spiritual devastation.
He came to the literary life of America late.
In 1850, some of the poet’s poems were published, in particular “Europe”. In this work, the author expressed his perception of history, the events of the revolution of 1848, and sang of freedom.
The early poems were only the harbingers of the birth of an original, original poet, who boldly declared himself in the collection Leaves of Grass, the first edition of which was published in New York in 1855. This year was significant in the poet’s work; it divided his life into two stages - before the collection and after. A special place in the structure of the book is occupied by “Song of Myself,” which is one of its most important parts. It, like the entire collection, is an expression of the author’s poetic credo.
During the Civil War 1861 - 1865. Whitman worked as an orderly in hospitals. The events of the war are dedicated to the poetry “Drumbeat” and “When the Lilacs Last Bloomed” (both 1865).
In 1873, the poet was stricken with paralysis, and he never recovered until the end of his life. He still continued to write and his works were filled with optimism and confidence. One of Whitman's last poems, in which he says goodbye to the world - “Farewell, my Inspiration!”
Walt Whitman- American poet, publicist, his short biography is presented in this article.
Walt Whitman short biography
Walt Whitman was born on May 31, 1819, into a poor family of farmers, in a village on Long Island near Brooklyn (New York). There were nine children in a large family, Walt was the eldest.
From 1825-1830 he studied at a Brooklyn school, but due to lack of money he was forced to leave his studies. He changed many professions: messenger, typesetter, teacher, journalist, editor of provincial newspapers. He loved to travel and walked through 17 states.
Since the late 30s, articles by Whitman have appeared in magazines, in which he opposed the cult of the dollar and emphasized that money leads to spiritual devastation.
In 1850, some of the poet’s poems were published, in particular “Europe”. In this work, the author expressed his perception of history, the events of the revolution of 1848, and sang of freedom. www.site
In 1855, the collection “Leaves of Grass” was published. A special place in the structure of the book is occupied by “Song of Myself”, which is one of its most important parts. It, like the entire collection, is an expression of the author’s poetic credo.
Among his favorite writers were W. Shakespeare, Charles Dickens, George Sand, P.-J. Beranger, F. Cooper.
During the Civil War 1861-1865. Whitman worked as an orderly in hospitals. The poems “Drumbeat” and “When the Lilacs Last Bloomed” (both 1865) are dedicated to the events of the war.
In 1873, the poet was stricken with paralysis, and he never recovered until the end of his life. He still continued to write and his works were filled with optimism and confidence. One of Whitman's last poems, in which he says goodbye to the world - “Farewell, my Inspiration!”
