Walt Whitman was born today, May 31st, in 1819. His most notable works include Leaves of Grass, “Song of Myself,” “O Captain! My Captain!,” and “I Sing the Body Electric.” To celebrate Whitman on his 202nd birthday, enjoy these ten interesting facts about the famous American writer.
1. Walt Whitman stopped his formal education at eleven years old and took on a job in a law firm as an “office boy.” It was at this job where Whitman was introduced to poetry and novels.
2. Whitman’s parents, Walter Whitman and Louisa Van Velsor, had nine children, with Walt being the second son.
3. During his lifetime, Whitman worked in teaching, journalism, editing, writing, and publishing. He also volunteered to serve during the Civil War; he worked as a clerk in Washington D.C., tending to visiting soldiers.
4. According to Investors, aside from being considered the “father of free verse poetry,” Whitman was also slightly controversial for his poetry topics. Whitman “introduced readers to previously forbidden topics—sexuality the human body and its functions—and incorporated unusual themes such as [debris, straw, and leaves] into his work.”
5. His poetry collection Leaves of Grass started out with only twelve poems, but eventually amassed to over 400 poems by the time Whitman died.
6. Whitman supposedly served as one of the inspirations for Bram Stoker’s iconic character Count Dracula. An article by the National Endowment for the Humanities quoted a comparison of Whitman and Dracula written by Barbara Belford (who wrote a biography of Stoker). Belford wrote, “Each has long white hair, a heavy moustache, great height and strength, and a leonine bearing. Whitman’s poetry celebrates the voluptuousness of death and the deathlike quality of love.” In fact, Stoker once sent a very adoring fan letter to Whitman. Whitman, touched by Stoker’s genuine enthusiasm and praise, later responded and the two developed a heartfelt affection for one another.
7. Whitman wrote two novels: Franklin Evans and Life and Adventures of Jack Engle.
8. Whitman admired American writer Ralph Waldo Emerson and Emerson praised Whitman’s first edition of Leaves of Grass, calling it “the most extraordinary piece of wit and wisdom that America has yet contributed.”
9. Whitman suffered from a stroke in 1873 and it left him partially paralyzed.
10. Whitman died from bronchial pneumonia at seventy-two years old. Over 1,000 people attended Whitman’s funeral even though at the time of his death his work did not receive the same praise and admiration it does today.
FEATURED IMAGE VIA THE NEW YORK TIMES