Walt Whitman was born on May 31, 1819, in West Hills, Long Island, New York. He was the second of six children. From 1825-1830, he attended public school in Brooklyn. After his years of education, Walt Whitman experimented with many different jobs. From 1836-1838, Whitman taught at several schools in Long Island. After teaching, Walt Whitman returned to printing and editing in New York. During this time he edited many papers such as the Aurora (daily newspaper), Evening Tattler, Brooklyn Weekly Freeman, Brooklyn Daily Eagle and the Brooklyn Times. In addition to editing, he also wrote for the Long Island Star. From 1850-1854, Whitman owned and operated a printing office and a stationary store. During this time , he also began to build houses and do some carpentry.In 1855, Walt Whitman published his first edition of Leaves of Grass. However, at the time, Whitman did not reveal to the public the name of the author or the publisher. Whitman continued writing new editions of Leaves of Grass. Before he passed away, in 1892, Whitman published eleven volumes of Leaves of Grass.In addition to writing eleven volumes of Leaves of Grass, Whitman also wrote a volume of poetry titled “Drum-Traps” which was published in 1865. Whitman was inspired to write these poems after spending a lot of time with many soldiers who were wounded in the Civil War. Many of these books did not begin to sell until the war was over.Not long after that, in 1873, Whitman suffered the first of many paralytic attacks. These attackleft him an invalid. Walt Whitman decided to live the rest of his life in Camden, New Jersey. This town was located near the river ferries which he loved to watch. He enjoyed the many visitors who came to honor him. In 1888, the paralysis increased. This caused his death on March 26, 1892. He is now buried in a tomb in Hurleigh Cemetery. How and Why did the themes of WaltWhitman’s writing change over t...
