Walt Whitman (1819-1892) was
one of America's most well known and influential writers of his
time. Born in New York, Whitman wrote extensively throughout his
life although he is most famous for his poems, particularly his
collection published under the title of Leaves of Grass.
Students will investigate the
writing process by reviewing how Whitman revised and refined his
ideas and poems as he wrote by comparing the published version of his
poem "Quicksand Years" to two early drafts written in one of his
original notebooks digitally archived in the Library of Congress’ American
Memory collection.
