Walt Whitman

Walt was born May 31, 1819. At age 12 he started learning the printer's trade where he fell in love with words. He quickly started to self teach himself and became aquainted with the works of Homer, Dante, Shakespeare, and the Bible. Walt worked in New york as a printer until a fire destroyed that industry there. When he was 17, in 1836, he began his teaching career as a teacher in a one room school on Long Island. He continued to teach until 1841 when he switched to the career as a full time journalist. He goes through many different jobs including working for the Long Islander, Brooklyn Freeman, Daily Eagle, The Crescent, and other newpapers or magazines. During all this he publishes books and poems. He had two strokes that left him partially paralyzed. Then he died in 1892.

Accomplishments

1842 - Franklin Evans; or The Inebriate (first novel)1855 -first edition of Leaves of Grass1856 - second edition of Leaves of Grass1865 - "When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom'd" and "O Captain! My Captain!" (poems)1866 - The Good Gray Poet 1870 - fifth edition of Leaves of Grass1892 - final edition of Leaves of Grass, also called the deathbed edition

First Poet of DemocracyLeaves of Grass - collection of poems that had many editions, it was his lifes work, he used some of the money from the profits to buy a home.Drum Taps - collection of poems focusing on the growing pains of America during the civil war.O Captain! My Captain! - poem in honor of Lincoln after he was assassinatedRalph Waldo Emerson was said to be inspired by Walt

Lasting Impact

Citations

-Poetry.org. Academy of American Poets, n.d. Web. 21 Jan. 2014. .-Walt Whitman Timeline of Impacting Events. Shmoop University, 2013. Web. 21 Jan. 2014. .

Walt Whitman

Biography

Timeline of Works

1819 - born1830 - leaves school and starts learning the printing trade1836 - starts journalism1855 - dad dies1861 - works as a nurse during the civil war1873 - first stroke- mother dies 4 months later1884 - buys home1888 - second stroke1892 - dies

One of Americas greatest contributers to world cultureHelped with the switch from using literary conventions to new original now american conventions

TimeLine