Walt Whitman

1819 – 1892

Walt Whitman was an American poet, essayist, and journalist often called the father of free verse and considered one of the most influential figures in American literature. His 1855 collection Leaves of Grass, which he revised and expanded across six editions over his lifetime, broke from traditional verse forms to celebrate American democracy, the common worker, the body, and the natural world in expansive, cataloguing lines. His Civil War nursing of wounded soldiers and his elegy for Abraham Lincoln—"When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom'd"—deepened the public reach of his work.

Last checked: May 10, 2026, 1:06 PM