I liked Walt Whitman because I was told to.

I saw Dead Poets Society and was inspired. In college I bought a poster with some clever words (still have it somewhere). At some point between those I tried to find his Leaves Of Grass in my mainstream bookstores in our Canadian malls. They didn't have any but I could special order one for $600+. This didn't make sense and I wasn't after a special edition, but that's not the only book I ever had trouble getting hold of. Years later I found it in paperback. I read the first tenth and some bits between. I was/am not impressed. In grade 6 I saw The Brain a movie based on a series of books very similar to Tom Sawyer and I devoured those books and everything I could find by Mark Twain who I still prefer to Walt Whitman by a long shot.

Don't get me wrong. I like some things he said, and everything he stands for, and all the nice movies about him, but I just don't like Walt Whitman's work. I prefer the idea of him, to him.