For most students, the images stirred by the word "poet" are those of an introverted individual removed from the crowd and devoted more to his or her work than engaging in the company of others. Walt Whitman spent a lifetime avoiding these commonly held notions of what a writer should be. From founding his own newspaper to acting as a volunteer nurse during the Civil War, Whitman encountered years of progress and turmoil that dramatically influenced the author he would become. This detailed guide serves as a compass through the magnificent journey Whitman took as a man who wanted to present the profoundly essential relationship between poetry and society.