Walt Whitman is one of the most significant writers in literature not only in American but also for world literature. He had an interesting life. He was from Long Island, New York and was a New Yorker most of his life. He moved to Brookline with his family at age five, and this had an influence on him. He dropped out of school at age eleven and went to work for a printer. He eventually ends up as a writer for a paper in which he does editorials. He was also a teacher. Although in both professions he got in trouble, he was a good newspaper writer and teacher. He just didn't like doing the work and he was fired from one newspaper for being lazy. Early in 1850, he had to move back home and live with his family. His family gets tired of him because he loafs around. He does do some carpentry work, but mostly just lies around and reads. Due to his extensive reading, he becomes an expert on Egypt and astronomy. During the Civil War, he works in a hospital in Washington DC area attending to wounded soldiers. He will become our foremost Civil War poet with "Drum Taps". He was also very affected by Lincoln's death so he wrote the Lincoln Poemes. Later he works for the government in the Dept. of Treasury. He suffers from a stroke in 1873 and is confined to a wheelchair. He will move to New Jersey to live with his brother. The last twenty years of his life, he will be a univalent. In 1892, he dies so he doesn't get to see the 20th century. The last twenty years of his life, he was a hero for expiring writers and poets; he was one of our first celebrity to have fans. His great work is "Leaves of Grass"book of poetry in which all his poems will be in. There will be many changes in this from the first addition to the last one. It is a key work in all Literature. The original publication led to him meeting Emerson. Whitman is Emerson's poet that he described in his work "The Poet".
Whitman was somewhat at the center of Transadentalist.
