Walt Whitman was the first incarnation of the great American poet. A humble, unsuspecting figure who managed to capture America’s soul, Whitman came to prominence in the Civil War era of the 1860s and continued to grow as an artist as his nation grew along with him.

Whitman’s writings captured the essence of his life and times. Not everyone approved of his means of expression in his own lifetime, but he always had a core group of admirers who believed in both the man and his work. Others were slow to acknowledge the stature of Whitman’s literary greatness, but in time they, too, would come to agree. In this book, we will discover the tragedies and triumphs of a man who had an extraordinary way with words and has become known as the father of free verse: Walt Whitman.