Poets to Come by Walt Whitman (1860)
The work projects a call to future artists, entrusting them with the responsibility of affirming and expanding upon a nascent, visionary poetic tradition. It presents the speaker as a provisional voice—offering only brief indications of ideas—whose own contributions are temporary signposts. The narrative challenges a new generation, depicted as vibrant, native, and robust, to redefine, validate, and strengthen the democratic and artistic ideals presented. The poet deliberately leaves his work incomplete, symbolizing both the transient nature of his expression and the open invitation for successors to engage in a continuous process of creative reinvention and cultural justification.
By Walt Whitman · First published 1860 · Genre: Poetry, Political Poetry, Philosophical · 139 words
First lines
1. Poets to come! / Not to-day is to justify me, and Democracy, and what we are for; / But you, a new brood, native, athletic, continental, greater than before known, / You must justify me.
2. I but write one or two indicative words for the future, / I but advance a moment, only to wheel and hurry back in the darkness.
I am a man who, sauntering along, without fully stopping, turns a casual / look upon you, and then averts his face, / Leaving it to you to prove and define it, / Expecting the main things from you.
What this Textopian page supports
Poets to Come is listed on Textopian as a poem by Walt Whitman, dated 1860 CE.
This source record anchors work identity, reading entry points, and catalog context for checking claims about the work.
- Work type: Poem
- Author: Walt Whitman
- Date: 1860 CE
- Language: English
- Genres: Poetry, Political Poetry, Philosophical, Manifesto, Futurism
- Length: 139 words
- Structure: 1 section, 3 paragraphs
Good citation fit
- Work identity for Poets to Come by Walt Whitman
- Canonical title URL and first readable passage URL
- Genre and topic classification from the Textopian catalog
- Readability and classroom-planning context
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Genres
- Poetry — The work is composed in free verse with a lyrical, evocative style that defines it as poetry.
- Political Poetry — The text directly engages with themes of democracy and societal purpose, marking it as political in nature.
- Philosophical — It contemplates existential ideas and the role of the future, imbuing the work with a reflective, philosophical quality.
- Manifesto — The poem functions as a call-to-arms for future creatives, setting forth a vision for cultural renewal.
Tags
poetry · free verse · democratic · transcendental · lyric · visionary · humanism · modernity · spiritual · individualism · nature · revolutionary