“Do I contradict myself? Very well then I contradict myself, (I am large, I contain multitudes.)”

About Walt Whitman

1819 – 1892

American poet and essayist who revised 'Leaves of Grass' across nearly four decades, celebrating democracy, the body and the self.

“Each moment and whatever happens thrills me with joy.”

“It is a beautiful truth that all men contain something of the artist in them.”

“I think of few heroic actions, which cannot be traced to the artistical impulse.”

“Freeing yourself was one thing; claiming ownership of that freed self was another.”

“Become who you are.”

“I refuse to accept other people's ideas of happiness for me.”

Attribution note: Source disputed or unverified.

“Knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom.”

Attribution note: Source disputed or unverified.

“Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response.”

Attribution note: Source disputed or unverified.

“Be yourself; everyone else is already taken.”