#OTD in 1819 a great #poet was born. Walt Whitman is America’s world poet—a latter-day successor to Homer, Virgil, Dante, and Shakespeare. In Leaves of Grass (1855, 1891-2), he celebrated democracy, nature, love, and friendship. This monumental work chanted praises to the body as well as to the #soul, and found beauty and reassurance even in death. Along with #EmilyDickinson, Whitman is regarded as one of America’s most significant 19th-century poets and would influence later many poets, including Ezra Pound, William Carlos Williams, Allen Ginsberg, Simon Ortiz, C.K. Williams, and Martín Espada. #poetry #Writer #WritingCommunity #Writing #AmReading #LeavesofGrass #WaltWhitman #Whitman