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

— Walt Whitman, "Talk to an Art-Union" (1839)

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.

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

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

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

“He is a wise man who does not grieve for the things which he has not, but rejoices for those which he has.”

Attribution note: Source disputed or unverified.

“Knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom.”

Attribution note: Source disputed or unverified.

“Yesterday I was clever, so I wanted to change the world. Today I am wise, so I am changing myself.”

“He who knows others is wise; he who knows himself is enlightened.”

Attribution note: Source disputed or unverified.

“The man who asks a question is a fool for a minute, the man who does not ask is a fool for life.”

“The truth is rarely pure and never simple.”