Celebrating a 200th Anniversary

The U.S. Postal Service celebrates the 200th anniversary of the birth of “the Father of American poetry,” Walt Whitman, by honoring the poet with a new stamp in its Literary Arts series. The First-Day-Of-Issue dedication ceremony will take place at 11 a.m. EST on Thursday, September 12, in Walt Whitman’s birthplace in Huntington Station, NY.

Born 200 years ago, Whitman was one of the nation’s greatest champions. His writing aimed to embody the democratic ethos itself, using poetry to break down the artificial boundaries that separate man and woman, city and countryside, free and enslaved, poet and laborer — and ultimately the self and the universe.

The 1855 publication of “Leaves of Grass” marked the beginning of what would become Whitman’s lifelong masterwork. Over the next 40 years, he published several editions of the collection, which grew from 12 untitled pieces to nearly 400 poems.