Walt Whitman

This BBC podcast episode of "In Our Time" features a panel discussion about Walt Whitman's life and work, particularly focusing on his collection "Leaves of Grass." The discussion covers Whitman's family background, early career in journalism, the influence of Ralph Waldo Emerson, and the development of Whitman's free verse style. The panel also explores the themes in "Leaves of Grass," including Whitman's persona, his celebration of the body, and his complex views on race and democracy. The impact of the Civil War on Whitman's work and his later fame, as well as his influence on subsequent poets, are also examined. The episode concludes with a brief discussion of Whitman's complicated views on same-sex love and the panel sharing additional insights and quotations from Whitman's writings.