Walt Whitman (1819  - 1892) is known primarily for a single body of work, Leaves of Grass, which was first presented as a group of twelve poems. Whitman did five major revisions of the book and authorized at least three reissued editions during his lifetime. Though his formal education ended with elementary school, Whitman was an educator at several points in his life. He also worked in the newspaper business, in jobs from typesetter to editor. Chronically poor throughout his life, he came from a large, close-knit family and was something of a patriot. He was an ardent fan of Abraham Lincoln, endorsed Prohibition, and opposed slavery, though he did not support the abolitionist movement. Whitman tried to celebrate the common man in his poetry and is sometimes called “America’s Shakespeare.”