Walt Whitman: From Teacher and Journalist to America's Poet
Walt Whitman, arguably the best and most influential poet to hail from the United States, led a multifaceted life that intersected significantly with American history. Born on May 31, 1819, and having lived through the Civil War, Whitman's work attempted to embody the United States and promote a utopian, idealistic vision. This article delves into his early life, his experiences as an educator and journalist, and his eventual rise to literary fame.
Early Life and Education
Walter Whitman Jr., named after his father, was born in West Hills, Long Island. His parents were Walter Whitman, a carpenter and farmer, and Louisa Van Velsor. Walt was the second of nine children. The family held strong patriotic sentiments, naming children after prominent figures like Andrew Jackson, George Washington, and Thomas Jefferson. Interestingly, Andrew Jackson Whitman was born before Andrew Jackson became president.
When Walt was four, the family moved to Brooklyn, a separate city at the time, hoping for better prospects in carpentry or land speculation. However, they struggled financially and moved frequently. A memorable childhood event occurred when the Marquis de Lafayette, during his tour of the United States, picked up young Walt and kissed him while laying the cornerstone of a new public library. This event left a lasting impression, almost adding a prophetic layer to how he was being blessed for democracy.
Whitman's formal education was limited to about six years in Brooklyn's newly founded public schools. He supplemented this with self-education, frequenting libraries, theaters, and museums, and attending lectures. Though the Whitman family wasn't religious, Walt attended lectures by Elias Hicks, a Quaker and abolitionist.
At the age of twelve, Whitman's formal schooling ended as he began an apprenticeship as a type setter at the Long Island Patriot. At this point, he had more formal education than either of his parents. Despite this, he continued voracious reading and self-education and began writing for the Patriot and other newspapers. In 1833, his family moved back to Long Island, but he remained in Brooklyn, continuing to learn and work.
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Teaching Career
In 1835, the Great Fire of New York, which destroyed many newspapers and printing offices, derailed Whitman's printing and journalism career. This forced Whitman to find another job. At the age of seventeen, he embarked on a new career as a teacher. Although he did have an interest in education and in how people learn, this was not a job he was very enthusiastic about
For five years, he taught in small, one-room schools on Long Island. He found these rural communities dull compared to the excitement of New York City. He wrote of one of them, "Ignorance, vulgarity, rudeness, conceit, and dullness are the reigning gods of this deuced sink of despair." He felt he was wasting his youth in remote areas doing work he disliked.
Whitman's teaching methods differed from the rote memorization and recitations common at the time. He favored a more holistic approach, including open-ended discussions and games, similar to the methods advocated by educational reformer Bronson Alcott.
A persistent rumor suggests that Whitman's teaching career ended scandalously after he was allegedly tarred, feathered, and run out of town for having a sexual relationship with a male student. However, there is no documentation to support this story, and evidence suggests he was teaching elsewhere during the alleged time of the incident and even vacationed in the town later.
Return to Journalism
In the early 1840s, Whitman gave up teaching and returned to New York City to pursue journalism and fiction writing. Throughout the first half of the decade, he published short stories in various magazines, journals, and newspapers. He also published his first novel, Franklin Evans The Inebriate, in 1842, to earn money and support the temperance movement.
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In 1845, Whitman moved back to Brooklyn for more affordable living and less competition in the writing field. By 1846, he became the chief editor of the Brooklyn Eagle, a position he lost due to his opposition to slavery, which clashed with the pro-slavery views of the paper's publisher, Isaac van Anden.
Whitman's opposition to slavery at this time was more pragmatic than humanitarian. He wasn't an abolitionist and believed they would destroy the country. He was against the expansion of slavery into western territories and newly admitted states because of its potential impact on the jobs and working conditions of white citizens.
Shortly after being fired from the Brooklyn Eagle, Whitman met J. E. McClure, who offered him a position as editor of the New Orleans Crescent. This marked the first time Whitman left New York State. He loved New Orleans, particularly its mix of French, English, and Spanish languages and cultures. However, it was also there that he witnessed the institution of slavery firsthand.
Although slavery existed in New York during his early life, it was limited due to a gradual emancipation act. In New Orleans, slavery was flourishing, with a functioning auction site near Whitman's residence. This direct exposure to the horrors of slavery impacted him deeply, contrasting with his previous theoretical opposition based on its effects on white workers.
Whitman's time at the Crescent was short-lived, possibly due to disagreements over slavery. Upon returning to New York, he established the Brooklyn Weekly Freeman, a free soil newspaper supporting anti-slavery politicians. He handled most of the writing, editing, and possibly even the type setting. However, his plans to expand the paper were thwarted by a fire that destroyed his office shortly after the first issue. He restarted the paper but could only keep it running for about a year.
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Emergence as a Poet
After his return from New Orleans in 1848, there's a gap in documentation about Whitman's life. He published the novel Life and Adventures of Jack Angle and Autobiography in 1852. However, he resurfaced in 1855 with the first edition of Leaves of Grass.
This collection marked a significant shift in his writing style. Abandoning traditional meter and rhyme, the twelve untitled poems in the first edition were unconventional in length and structure. Printed on oversized paper to accommodate the long lines, these poems covered similar subject matter to his journalism but in a more encompassing and optimistic way. It was a voice that embraced and welcomed all people of all races into one relentlessly optimistic vision.
As the United States became increasingly divided over slavery, Leaves of Grass seemed to be an attempt to unite the nation through poetic democracy. Whitman self-published the work, printing only a few copies due to financial constraints.
Civil War and Later Life
As the American Civil War was beginning, Whitman published his poem "Beat! Beat! Drums!" as a patriotic rally call for the Union. During the Civil War, Whitman's brother George joined the Union Army, sending him detailed letters from the front lines. Whitman traveled to Washington, D.C., where he volunteered as a nurse in army hospitals, an experience he later wrote about in "The Great Army of the Sick" and Memoranda During the War.
After suffering a paralytic stroke in early 1873, Whitman moved to his brother's home in Camden, New Jersey. He continued to revise and expand Leaves of Grass, publishing several more editions. He bought his own house in 1884.
Whitman died on March 26, 1892, in Camden, New Jersey. His influence on poetry remains strong, with many considering him America's poet.
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