Walt Whitman is probably the most influential American poet in history. Born Walter Whitman on May 31, 1819 to Walter Whitman and Louisa van Velsor, he was quickly nicknamed 'Walt' to distinguish him from his father. He was born in West Hills, on famed Long Island, the second of nine children raised in Brooklyn. He became affectionately known as "the Bard of Democracy", mainly because that was the main message of his work. He is also celebrated as "the father of free verse". He was a liberal thinker and vehemently opposed slavery, although he later opposed abolitionists because, in his opinion, they were undemocratic. He managed to marry transcendentalism with realism in his works. His occupation was that of a typography teacher and editor. His greatest work was “Leaves of Grass,” a collection of poems that he first self-published at age 37 in 1855. It was free verse that was loosely inspired by the Bible. He was initially criticized in his own country for his "raw sexuality", but was widely acclaimed elsewhere in Britain by eminent writers. It was an attempt by Whitman to reach out to the common American people by giving them their own "epic". He continued to edit and add material to this work until his death in 1892 in Camden, New Jersey. The poem "America" ​​is one of the latest additions to the collection, written in 1888. Although the poem can be characterized as democratic, both in subject matter and language, Whitman is believed to be cataloging the "new" America that he sees around to itself. The poem includes topics such as relationships, patriotism, heroes, family and ancestors, and also an insight into social commentary. Not long ago, at least…half the paper…registration was nothing more than a hoax intended to defraud those who were ready to swallow it whole, hook, line, and sinker. Even today the discussion rages whether it is the voice of the great poet that is heard reading the verses of one of his timeless works. There is more than just a search for more evidence that can help settle the matter once and for all. What I know is that we all wish it were. We want to feel closer to this American literary Moses. Wallowing in the knowledge that this was the great inventor, Thomas Edison, recording on a wax cylinder an equally great man reciting passages from his masterpiece. Works Cited http://www.whitmanarch....html http://www.smithsonian ...next=/smithsonian-institution/walt-whitman-emily-dickinson-and-the-war-that-changed-poetry -forever-31815/ http://www.biography.c...30126http:// www.poetryfound...38130