Walt Whitman

Walt Whitman (1819–1892) was born on Long Island, grew up in Brooklyn, and spent his early career as a journalist, printer, and schoolteacher. In 1855, he self-published the first edition of Leaves of Grass, typesetting some of the pages himself. Ralph Waldo Emerson greeted the book as the beginning of a great career; most reviewers were scandalized by its frank sexuality and radical form. This author hub collects 1 work in the Canon Compass ranking, led by Leaves of Grass.