Walt Whitman (1819 - 92)
West Hills, New York, United States

"I hear America singing, the varied carols I hear,
Those of mechanics, each one singing his as it should be blithe and strong,
The carpenter singing his as he measures his plank or beam,
The mason singing his as he makes ready for work, or leaves off work,
The boatman singing what belongs to him in his boat, the deckhand singing on the steamboat deck,
The shoemaker singing as he sits on his bench, the hatter singing as he stands,
The wood-cutter's song, the ploughboy's on his way in the morning, or at noon intermission or at sundown,
The delicious singing of the mother, or of the young wife at work, or of the girl sewing or washing,
Each singing what belongs to him or her and to none else,
The day what belongs to the day--at night the party of young fellows, robust, friendly,
Singing with open mouths their strong melodious songs."

- Walt Whitman "I hear America Singing"

Walt Whitman is considered to be one of America's most prominent poets. He was born into a Quaker family and attended public school in Brooklyn. Before writing, he worked as a compositor and a teacher. He was also a newspaper editor for periodicals such as The Brooklyn Eagle. From 1850 to 1855, Whitman took his writing more seriously and he published his first edition of Leaves of Grass. Over the next few years, Whitman continued to write and briefly returned to journalism. During the American Civil War he tended wounded soldiers in army hospitals in Washington, D.C., while working as a copyist in the army paymaster's office. Following the war Whitman worked for the Department of the Interior and then as a clerk at the Justice Department. He remained in this position until he suffered a paralytic stroke in 1873. Although he lived nearly twenty more years and published four more editions of Leaves of Grass, Whitman produced little significant new work following his stroke. He died in Camden, New Jersey, at age 72. Some literary techniques he used included free verse, cadence, repetition, onomatopoeia, and parallel structure. He also included American slang or even made up words. Whitman was ahead of his time as he also included minority groups in his works such as Indians and women, which was rarely done.

Works

Poetry
Leaves of Grass (1855) First edition.
Leaves of Grass (1856) Second edition.
Leaves of Grass (1860) Third edition.
Drum Taps (1865)
Sequel to Drum Taps (1865)
Leaves of Grass (1867) Fourth edition.
Leaves of Grass (1870) Fifth edition.
Passage to India (1870)
Leaves of Grass (1876) Centennial edition.
Leaves of Grass (1881) Sixth edition.
Leaves of Grass (1891) "Deathbed" edition.
Good-Bye, My Fancy (1891)
Prose
Franklin Evans; or, The Inebriate (1842)
Democratic Vistas (1871)
Memoranda During the War (1875)
Specimen Days and Collect (1881)
November Boughs (1888)
Complete Prose Works (1892)

Additional Information
Life and Works of Whitman - http://jefferson.village.virginia.edu/whitman/

Sources:

"Whitman, Walt" The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed. New York: Columbia University Press, July 2001. www.bartleby.com/65/.

"Walt Whitman." The Academy of American Poets. 2001. http://www.poets.org/poets/poets.cfm?prmID=127&CFID=2625050&CFTOKEN=80611045