Walt Whitman: A Surprising Biography

Walt Whitman: A Surprising Biography PDF Author: Steven Needham
Publisher: Hyperink Inc
ISBN: 1614648204
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 30

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Book Description
ABOUT THE BOOK Walt Whitman is considered one of the most important poets in American history. Whitman is known as the father of free verse, because his poetry was a palpable blend of words and feeling which flowed freely from his pen. His style changed forever the nature of American literature. Whitman was a humanist, who ascribed to schools of both realism and transcendentalism. His poems had a wonderfully natural feel that celebrated humanity it its purest form. Whitman's most famous work was a collection of poems, "Leaves of Grass," which he paid to have published multiple times throughout his life. Considered by many to be the quintessential American poet, Walt Whitman challenged the ideals of American culture and inspired others to do the same. Whitman lived during one of the most tumultuous periods in American history, a time marred by conflict and bloodshed. Although he was never a soldier, he saw first hand the pain and suffering that took place during the American Civil War. After the assassination of President Lincoln shocked the nation, Whitman wrote a poem in honor of the fallen leader titled, "When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom'd." During his life, Whitman also worked as a journalist, a civil servant and a teacher, but his true passion was his poetry. Whitman was a perfectionist who continued to revise his masterpiece, "Leaves of Grass," until his death in 1892, and left a legacy like no other. EXCERPT FROM THE BOOK Walt Whitman was always close to his family, and helped his brothers whenever he could. His brother, George, fought for the Union army during the Civil War, and kept in touch with Whitman through his letters. When the letters stopped arriving, Whitman feared that George had been injured or killed in battle, and he immediately left for the southern United States on foot. Unbelievably, he located his brother and was relieved to find that George had sustained only superficial injuries. Whitman also had the difficult task of committing his brother, Jesse, to the Kings County Lunatic Asylum. Walt Whitman's romantic life has been the topic of much scholarly inquiry over the years. Whitman was never married, and had no children that we know of. However, the fact that his poetry is rife with allusions to sexual desire caused many scholars to seek out answers about the poet's own sexuality. Many Whitman scholars believe that the writer was either homosexual or bisexual, although there is no definitive evidence of his sexual relationships. One of the men with whom Whitman shared a lasting friendship was Peter Doyle, a bus conductor that many people believe was Whitman's lover. Buy a copy to keep reading! CHAPTER OUTLINE Biography of Walt Whitman + Introduction + Early Life + Major Accomplishments + Personal Life + ...and much more

Walt Whitman: A Surprising Biography

Walt Whitman: A Surprising Biography PDF Author: Steven Needham
Publisher: Hyperink Inc
ISBN: 1614648204
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 30

Get Book Here

Book Description
ABOUT THE BOOK Walt Whitman is considered one of the most important poets in American history. Whitman is known as the father of free verse, because his poetry was a palpable blend of words and feeling which flowed freely from his pen. His style changed forever the nature of American literature. Whitman was a humanist, who ascribed to schools of both realism and transcendentalism. His poems had a wonderfully natural feel that celebrated humanity it its purest form. Whitman's most famous work was a collection of poems, "Leaves of Grass," which he paid to have published multiple times throughout his life. Considered by many to be the quintessential American poet, Walt Whitman challenged the ideals of American culture and inspired others to do the same. Whitman lived during one of the most tumultuous periods in American history, a time marred by conflict and bloodshed. Although he was never a soldier, he saw first hand the pain and suffering that took place during the American Civil War. After the assassination of President Lincoln shocked the nation, Whitman wrote a poem in honor of the fallen leader titled, "When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom'd." During his life, Whitman also worked as a journalist, a civil servant and a teacher, but his true passion was his poetry. Whitman was a perfectionist who continued to revise his masterpiece, "Leaves of Grass," until his death in 1892, and left a legacy like no other. EXCERPT FROM THE BOOK Walt Whitman was always close to his family, and helped his brothers whenever he could. His brother, George, fought for the Union army during the Civil War, and kept in touch with Whitman through his letters. When the letters stopped arriving, Whitman feared that George had been injured or killed in battle, and he immediately left for the southern United States on foot. Unbelievably, he located his brother and was relieved to find that George had sustained only superficial injuries. Whitman also had the difficult task of committing his brother, Jesse, to the Kings County Lunatic Asylum. Walt Whitman's romantic life has been the topic of much scholarly inquiry over the years. Whitman was never married, and had no children that we know of. However, the fact that his poetry is rife with allusions to sexual desire caused many scholars to seek out answers about the poet's own sexuality. Many Whitman scholars believe that the writer was either homosexual or bisexual, although there is no definitive evidence of his sexual relationships. One of the men with whom Whitman shared a lasting friendship was Peter Doyle, a bus conductor that many people believe was Whitman's lover. Buy a copy to keep reading! CHAPTER OUTLINE Biography of Walt Whitman + Introduction + Early Life + Major Accomplishments + Personal Life + ...and much more

Walt Whitman

Walt Whitman PDF Author: Milton Meltzer
Publisher: Twenty-First Century Books
ISBN: 9780761322726
Category : Juvenile Nonfiction
Languages : en
Pages : 176

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Book Description
A biography of the nineteenth-century poet, which presents his life in the context of his times, and includes samples of his writing.

Walt Whitman's America

Walt Whitman's America PDF Author: David S. Reynolds
Publisher: Vintage
ISBN: 0307761924
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 705

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Book Description
Winner of the Bancroft Prize and the Ambassador Book Award and Finalist for the National for the Book Critics Circle Award In his poetry Walt Whitman set out to encompass all of America and in so doing heal its deepening divisions. This magisterial biography demonstrates the epic scale of his achievement, as well as the dreams and anxieties that impelled it, for it places the poet securely within the political and cultural context of his age. Combing through the full range of Whitman's writing, David Reynolds shows how Whitman gathered inspiration from every stratum of nineteenth-century American life: the convulsions of slavery and depression; the raffish dandyism of the Bowery "b'hoys"; the exuberant rhetoric of actors, orators, and divines. We see how Whitman reconciled his own sexuality with contemporary social mores and how his energetic courtship of the public presaged the vogues of advertising and celebrity. Brilliantly researched, captivatingly told, Walt Whitman's America is a triumphant work of scholarship that breathes new life into the biographical genre.

Walt Whitman's America

Walt Whitman's America PDF Author: David S. Reynolds
Publisher: Vintage
ISBN: 0307761924
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 704

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Book Description
Winner of the Bancroft Prize and the Ambassador Book Award and Finalist for the National for the Book Critics Circle Award In his poetry Walt Whitman set out to encompass all of America and in so doing heal its deepening divisions. This magisterial biography demonstrates the epic scale of his achievement, as well as the dreams and anxieties that impelled it, for it places the poet securely within the political and cultural context of his age. Combing through the full range of Whitman's writing, David Reynolds shows how Whitman gathered inspiration from every stratum of nineteenth-century American life: the convulsions of slavery and depression; the raffish dandyism of the Bowery "b'hoys"; the exuberant rhetoric of actors, orators, and divines. We see how Whitman reconciled his own sexuality with contemporary social mores and how his energetic courtship of the public presaged the vogues of advertising and celebrity. Brilliantly researched, captivatingly told, Walt Whitman's America is a triumphant work of scholarship that breathes new life into the biographical genre.

Walt Whitman

Walt Whitman PDF Author: Justin Kaplan
Publisher: Harper Collins
ISBN: 9780060535117
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 468

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Book Description
Whitman's genius, passions, poetry, and androgynous sensibility entwined to create an exuberant life amid the turbulent American mid-nineteenth century. In vivid detail, Kaplan examines the mysterious selves of the enigmatic man who celebrated the freedom and dignity of the individual and sang the praises of democracy and the brotherhood of man.

The Life of Walt Whitman in His Own Words

The Life of Walt Whitman in His Own Words PDF Author: Walt Whitman
Publisher: e-artnow
ISBN:
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 671

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Book Description
Specimen Days is a series of diary entries about Whitman's life, from his boyhood days at Rockaway Beach, to his nursing days in Washington D.C during the Civil War, and finally to his time in Camden New Jersey. His account of the Civil War Hospitals is painful to read, but his kindness and ministrations to the wounded soldiers (writing them letters home and giving them horehound candy) are really touching. He estimated that visited between 80,000 and 100,000 young men. My great grandfather was in one of those hospitals, so I like to think that Walt stopped by to give him some candy and talk. After the war, Whitman came down with an illness and was partially paralyzed. He moved to Camden and spent his afternoons outside in nature. He attributes his rebound in health to this time and wrote many essays about the outdoors and the nature around him.

From Noon to Starry Night

From Noon to Starry Night PDF Author: Philip Callow
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 422

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Book Description
A biography of the great America poet draws upon a broad range of sources and quotes liberally from Whitman's poetry to discuss his many jobs, his sexual fluidity, his solitariness, and his work.

The Evolution of Walt Whitman

The Evolution of Walt Whitman PDF Author: Roger Asselineau
Publisher: University of Iowa Press
ISBN: 1609380339
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 816

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Book Description
Now, nearly forty years after its original translation into English, Roger Asselineau's complete and magisterial biography of Walt Whitman will remind readers of the complex weave of traditions in Whitman scholarship. It is startling to recognize how much of our current understanding of Whitman was already articulated by Asselineau nearly half a century ago. Throughout its eight hundred pages, The Evolution of Walt Whitman speaks with authority on a vast range of topics that define both Whitman the man and Whitman the mythical personage. Remarkably, most of these discussions remain fresh and relevant, and that is in part because they have been so influential. In particular, The Evolution of Walt Whitman inaugurated the study of Leaves of Grass as a lifelong work in progress, and it marked the end of the habit of talking about Leaves as if it were a single unified book. Asselineau saw Whitman's poetry “not as a body of static data but as a constantly changing continuum whose evolution must be carefully observed.” Throughout Evolution, Asselineau placed himself in the role of the observer, analyzing Whitman's development with a kind of scientific detachment. But behind this objective persona burned the soul of a risk taker who was willing to rewrite Whitman studies by bravely proposing what was then a controversial biographical source for Whitman's art—his homosexual desires. The Evolution of Walt Whitman is a reminder that extraordinary works of criticism never exist in and of themselves. In this expanded edition, Roger Asselineau has provided a new essay summarizing his own continuing journey with Whitman. A foreword by Ed Folsom, editor of the Walt Whitman Quarterly, regards Evolution as the genesis of contemporary Whitman studies.

What Is the Grass

What Is the Grass PDF Author: Mark Doty
Publisher: National Geographic Books
ISBN: 039354141X
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
“[An] incisive, personal mediation.” —New York Times Book Review Mark Doty has always felt haunted by Walt Whitman’s perennially new American voice, and by his equally radical claims about body and soul. In What Is the Grass, Doty effortlessly blends biography, criticism, and memoir to keep company with Whitman and his Leaves of Grass, tracing the resonances between his own experience and the legendary poet’s life and work.

Walt Whitman

Walt Whitman PDF Author: David S. Reynolds
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 019992399X
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 172

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Book Description
From the great events of the day to the patient workings of a spider, few poets responded to the life around them as powerfully as Walt Whitman. Now, in this brief but bountiful volume, David S. Reynolds offers a wealth of insight into the life and work of Whitman, examining the author through the lens of nineteenth-century America. Reynolds shows how Whitman responded to contemporary theater, music, painting, photography, science, religion, and sex. But perhaps nothing influenced Whitman more than the political events of his lifetime, as the struggle over slavery threatened to rip apart the national fabric. America, he believed, desperately needed a poet to hold together a society that was on the verge of unraveling. He created his powerful, all-absorbing poetic "I" to heal a fragmented nation that, he hoped, would find in his poetry new possibilities for inspiration and togetherness. Reynolds also examines the influence of theater, describing how Whitman's favorite actor, the tragedian Junius Brutus Booth--"one of the grandest revelations of my life"--developed a powerfully emotive stage style that influenced Leaves of Grass, which took passionate poetic expression to new heights. Readers will also discover how from the new medium of photography Whitman learned democratic realism and offered in his poetry "photographs" of common people engaged in everyday activities. Reynolds concludes with an appraisal of Whitman's impact on American letters, an influence that remains strong today. Solidly grounded in historical and biographical facts, and exceptionally wide-ranging in the themes it treats, Walt Whitman packs a dazzling amount of insight into a compact volume.