HAPPY BIRTHDAY, WALT WHITMAN !

WALT WHITMAN, The Great Grand Oldman of American Poetry And One of The Most Original Authors Writing In English Language, Was Born This Day May 31, 1819 In Westhills, Long Island, USA !

Born Into A Family of Modest Income , Whitman Had Had Virtually Little School Education As He Had To Drop Out In Order To Supplement The Family Income When His Family Shifted To Brooklyn,NY Struggling To Meet The Family Expenses!

Still A Teenager Whitman Got A Job of Printers And Had Gained The Basic Know How That Was To Come In Handy Later When He Got His Seminal Book,'LEAVES OF GRASS' , Self-Published In 1855.

Walt Whitman Had Joined The Profession of Journalism And Had Worked For Many Newspapers n Magazines Before Launching His Own Newspapers .
He Worked Mostly In NY Except One Year In New Orleans Where He Had Seen First Hand The Vicious Plight Of Slaves Which Left An Abiding Imprint On The Young Poet's Psyche And Enhanced His Understanding of America !

Originally Whitman Had Only 12 Poems Which Were Untitled And A Preface For The Book, LEAVES OF GRASS and It Was Only After A Huge Positive Appreciation Plus Support From The Revered American Author n Philosopher,RALPH WALDO EMERSON, That The Rest of Poems Numbering Hundreds Added To The Book Over The Years Through Several Editions Till 1889 When The Final Anthology of LEAVES OF GRASS Appeared !

Whitman Was An Iconoclast For He Revolted Against The Established Form Of Poetry Writing ! He Wrote In Free Verse Showing Least or No Respect For The Traditional ,rather acceptable Practise of Regular Rhyme, Rhythm or Meter.
His Was Free Flow and Spontaneous.
His Subjects were more concerned with the celebration of human body and the multitudes of common man!
His Treatment of Themes Was More Open Plus Unfettered That Had Appeared Shocking n Obscene At That Time,The Latter Was Due To Whitman's Frank Treatment of Human Sexuality n Sensuality ! All These Had Also Earned Him Ill Fame n Censure From Certain Quarters.

Whitman's contributions to poetry was his making it easy to grasp n hence enjoyed and thematically more nearer to the commonfolks! A true Romantic Poet Was He!

'PASSAGE TO INDIA' , 'DRUM TAPS' are two of his other notable works,yet, nowhere near to his Superbrand, LEAVES OF GRASS !

His Stature Grew Exponentially After His Demise in 1892 And Which Is In Continuity Still !

HAPPY BIRTHDAY , WALT WHITMAN !

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TEN QUOTES OF WALT WHITMAN ON HIS 194'TH BIRTHDAY :-
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(1.) ''Nothing endures but personal qualities.''

(2.) ''Whatever satisfies the soul is truth.''

(3.) ''Be curious, not judgmental.''

(4.) ''Battles are lost in the same spirit in which they are won.''

(5.) ''Resist much, obey little.''

(6.) To the real artist in humanity, what are called bad manners are often the most picturesque and significant of all !''

(7.) ''Judging from the main portions of the history of the world, so far, justice is always in jeopardy !''

(8.) ''Keep your face always toward the sunshine - and shadows will fall behind you.''

(9.) ''Every moment of light and dark is a miracle !''

(10.) ''If any thing is sacred, the human body is sacred.''


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MRITYUNJAY JHA
4F, ADARSH NAGAR
SAMASTIPUR
BIHAR
INDIA.
Pin Code : 848101.
+91 9334411390.
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