About the Author

Walt Whitman (1819–1892) was an American poet, essayist, and journalist, born on Long Island and largely self-educated, who worked as a printer, teacher, and newspaper editor before turning to poetry. His groundbreaking collection Leaves of Grass, first published in 1855 and expanded throughout his life, shocked Victorian sensibilities with its frank celebration of the body, democracy, and ordinary people, but later earned him the title “father of free verse.” During the Civil War, Whitman nursed wounded soldiers in Washington, D.C., experiences that deepened both his compassion and his belief in the resilience of the human spirit. His quote about keeping one’s face toward the sunshine reflects his lifelong insistence on hope, dignity, and inner freedom even amid national upheaval, personal hardship, and social criticism.