The Patriotic Poems of Walt Whitman

📕 Walt Whitman (1819-92) was an American poet, essayist, and journalist. A humanist, he was part of the transition between transcendentalism and realism, incorporating both views in his works, and he is among the most influential poets in the American canon. Some of his work was considered controversial in its time, particularly his poetry collection Leaves of Grass which was described as obscene for its overt sensuality, and his own life came under scutiny for his presumed homosexuality. During the American Civil War he worked in hospitals caring for the wounded and his poetry is often focused on both loss and healing. His two well-known poems written on the death of Lincoln, O Captain! My Captain! and When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom'd are included in this collection which is divided into four categories: Poems of War, Poems of After-War, Poems of America and Poems of Democracy. First published in 1918.