Walt Whitman

1. Walt Whitman (May 31, 1819 – March 26, 1892)

2. Bio • Walt Whitman was born on May 31, 1819, on the West Hills of Long Island, New York. • His mother, whom he adored, was barely literate. She never read his poetry, but gave him unconditional love. • His father was a carpenter and builder of houses, and a stern disciplinarian. • At the age of twelve he started to learn the printer's trade.

3. Bio continued • In 1836, at the age of 17, Walt began his career as a teacher. • He taught school until 1841. • He became editor for a number of Brooklyn and New York papers. • Between 1848 and 1855 he developed the style of poetry that astonished Ralph Waldo Emerson. • Walt Whitman passed away on March 26, 1892, at the age of 72.

4. Style of poetry • Whitman had an ear for inner rhythms. • He articulated in the radically free, rolling, thrusting verses. • Largely self-taught. • Relied on both his innate musicality and his experience as a music journalist to formulate aesthetic principles that would carry over into his poetry.

5. Beautiful women WOMEN sit, or move to and fro--some old, some young; The young are beautiful--but the old are more beautiful than the young.

6. Music • There is only one song that I can think of that fits best with Walt Whitman’s poem “Beautiful Women” and that is “Oh, Pretty Woman” by Roy Orbison. Click here to listen 

7. Resources • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walt_Whitman • http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/beautiful-women/