Whitman on Wellness: Poetry and Prose for a Healthy Life

By Walt Whitman and Mose Velsor

Long before today's modern use of the term wellness, Walt Whitman, widely considered to be one of America's greatest poets, extolled the virtues of self-care and the mind–body connection. In a series of thirteen newspaper installments, written in 1858 for The New York Atlas under the pseudonym Mose Velsor — unearthed more than 150 years later by a University of Houston graduate student — Whitman adopted the role of advice columnist. Velsor dispensed tips on "manly" health issues, including alcohol use, depression, diet, exercise, physical beauty, sex, socialization, and a host of other subjects. This volume juxtaposes excerpts of Whitman’s well-known verse with his lesser-known prose, offering unique and fascinating insights into one of America’s most beloved poets.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Ixia Press
• Release date: May 17, 2023
• ISBN: 9780486852379

Walt Whitman

Walt Whitman (1819-1892) was an American writer famously known for his poetry collection, Leaves of Grass. In addition to his poetry, Whitman was also a prominent essayist, journalist, and humanist with works centering mainly around the topics of transcendentalism and realism. Born in New York in 1819, Whitman worked at a printing press where he then transitioned to a full-time journalist. During his time in journalism, Whitman developed many important beliefs, many of them formed after having witnessed the auctioning of enslaved individuals. Over the course of his career, Whitman remained very politically aware, disavowing the bloody nature of the Civil War and dedicating resources to help the wounded in various hospitals in New York City. Whitman spent his declining years working on revisions for Leaves of Grass, which was largely thereafter referred to as his “Deathbed Edition.”

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