Yazar: William Michael Rossetti

Walt Whitman, an American poet, essayist, and journalist, was born on May 31, 1819, and is often labeled as the father of free verse with his unique and unconventional style that revolutionized American literature. His magnum opus, “Leaves of Grass, ” which he self-published in 1855 and continually revised throughout his life, celebrated democracy, nature, love, and friendship. This collection, containing “Song of Myself, ” established Whitman among the most influential poets of the American canon. Reflections of his own experiences, beliefs in Transcendentalism, and the impact of the American Civil War are evident in his verse. Whitman”s style broke from the strict rhyme and meter of the day, using instead a natural rhythm that mirrored the fluidity of natural speech, something seen in the works compiled in “Poems by Walt Whitman.” His legacy persists in the admiration of later poets and the continued study of his innovative approach to themes of the self and universality. Whitman died on March 26, 1892, but his poetry endures, capturing the development of a new, distinctly American voice in literature.