Walt Whitman

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variety of his life was the mere reflection of the vitality and variety of the United States of America." Walter Whitman was born into a family of nine children and he had a rough childhood. The Whitman family first settled in the Huntington area by the middle of the seventeenth century. This helped him to write two of the world’s greatest literary works, "There was a Child Went Forth" and "Song to Myself." (Lowen, Nancy- page 6). "There was a Child Went Forth" was about his siblings and his childhood. Out of nine children, only four survived to live to old age. He spoke of how his siblings died and how it affected his family. Whitman had one sibling who was insane, one who was severely retarded, one who died at infancy, one who died of alcoholism, one who died of tuberculosis, and one who fought and almost died in the Civil War. These things directly effected the writing of this poem. (Lowen, Nancy- page 6). "Song to Myself" spoke of his ...

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well as other well-known American lyricists. (Webster Orville III- page 123). It was this publication which gave Whitman his first break as a professional writer. The editor of "The Democratic Review," John L. O’Sullivan, was so impressed with Whitman and his work, he bought at least three more stories from Whitman that very same autumn for the magazine. He also gave Whitman a job writing political speeches for Tammany Hall Democrats. When Whitman turned 19, he took an apprenticeship at a local paper. Later he founded the weekly newspaper, the Long-Islander. He wrote, printed, and delivered his paper himself. Then, he became a school teacher. These factors would later aid him in publishing ...

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