Presidential Poem of the Week

I Hear America Singing

By Walt Whitman (1819 – 1892)

I hear America singing, the varied carols I hear, 
                                                                Those of mechanics, each one singing his as it should be blithe 
                                               and strong,

The carpenter singing his as he measures his plank or beam,

The mason singing his as he makes ready for work, or leaves off 
 work,

The boatman singing what belongs to him in his boat, the deck- 
                                      hand singing on the steamboat deck,

The shoemaker singing as he sits on his bench, the hatter singing 
                                         as he stands,

The woodcutter’s song, the ploughboy’s on his way in the morning, or at noon intermission or at sundown,

The delicious singing of the mother, or of the young wife at work, 
                                        or of the girl sewing or washing,

Each singing what belongs to him or her and to none else,

The day what belongs to the day—at night the party of young 
                                          fellows, robust, friendly,

Singing with open mouths their strong melodious songs.

 

Walt Whitman grew up in Brooklyn then later Long Island with his eight siblings. His early work in the printing industry fed him his love for written word. He would later teach himself to read. Walt worked first at a printer, then as a teacher, which he would do until he became a full-time journalist at age 22. He founded Long-Islander, a weekly newspaper, and worked as an editor to other New York City area papers until he moved to New Orleans in 1848 to edit their paper, The Crescent. There he was first exposed to slavery, which influenced his later writing. He released Leaves of Grass in 1855, initially with twelve poems, although throughout his life, Whitman would release several more editions of the book. “I Hear America Singing” was released as poem 20 in the 1860 edition of Leaves of Grass. Here, perhaps in reaction to the Civil War, Whitman is reminding the country that despite fundamental differences, we are still a country united; an important concept to remember in what can be a polarizing time of elections.