In 1836 Ralph Waldo Emerson published his essay Nature which presented the views of Transcendentalist philosophy during the meetings. His essay outlined how God was found in nature and spending time in nature led people to be close to divinity. Emerson’s other essay Self-Reliance defended individualism and stressed personal responsibility and nonconformity.

(https://www.historyforkids.net/the-transcendentalists.html/)

President Biden has yet to make a final decision, said the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the discussions. But if he does agree to send the advanced Abrams tanks the move would likely spur Germany to follow with its own coveted Leopard 2 tanks, the officials said.

(https://www.nytimes.com/live/2023/01/24/world/russia-ukraine-news)

Those who lived in the early 19th century and where akin to art, witnessed romanticism brewing as a worldwide art movement, not restricted to any one area, as with other art movements. Romanticism countered the neoclassical movement that promoted rational thoughts, science, practicality, and material aspects of the human form, preferring to showcase emotions, and drama! For the first time artists began to portray daily life with dramatic tones, and emphasized the power of nature and the interaction of man with nature.

(https://www.creativejewishmom.com/2020/07/6-facts-about-romanticism-the-art-movement-that-added-emotion-to-art.html)

The novelist’s great-great-grandfather, John Hathorne, was a leading judge of the Salem witch trials, and Hawthorne was haunted by his ancestor’s shameful past. Some believe that shortly after graduating from Bowdoin, the author added a “w” to his last name in part to make the spelling match the pronunciation and also to disassociate himself from a figure of whom he wrote was “so conspicuous in the martyrdom of the witches, that their blood may fairly be said to have left a stain upon him.”

(https://www.history.com/news/10-things-you-may-not-know-about-nathaniel-hawthorne)

Whitman’s formal education didn’t last very long. Living in New York with his parents, and with his father struggling to make ends meet, Whitman left school at age 11 to help contribute to the household. He got work assisting a law office in the city before turning to the printing business, developing skills that would later inform his work in self-publishing. He continued to educate himself, eventually becoming a teacher at the age of 17.

(https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/535696/facts-about-walt-whitman)

Whitman did not cut a figure as a man of action, but he was still very much interested in physical fitness. He wrote a series of articles for the New York Atlas in the 1850s under the pen name “Mose Velsor” that detailed his approach to diet and wellness. Whitman advocated “manly training” like brisk walks, dancing, and frequent bathing to cure ills and ward off depression. He also considered beards to be effective barriers against germs.

(https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/535696/facts-about-walt-whitman)

Whitman, nearly 42, was an unlikely candidate for a soldier when the Civil War began, but his brother George enlisted in the Army. When Whitman saw his brother's name listed as one of the wounded in 1862, he traveled to Washington and then Virginia to visit. George was fine, but Whitman was struck by the physical toll the war had taken on other soldiers. He stayed in Washington and began a steady rotation of the area’s hospitals, bringing food and books to the wounded. The goods were paid for by donations from friends, as well as Whitman’s own salary working for the Army Paymaster.

(https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/535696/facts-about-walt-whitman)

(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Li-Young_Lee)

He was born Edgar Poe in Boston in 1809; his parents were both actors. His parents were performing in Shakespeare’s King Lear the year he was born, leading to speculation that he was named for the play’s Earl of Gloucester's son, Edgar.

(https://www.thoughtco.com/odd-facts-about-edgar-allan-poe-4864323)

Before Edgar reached the age of 4, his parents died and he was taken in by a wealthy merchant named John Allan and his wife, Francis. They lived in Richmond, Virginia, and christened the boy with the name Edgar Allan Poe.

(https://www.thoughtco.com/odd-facts-about-edgar-allan-poe-4864323)

Poe started on a college career, but with little financial support from the miserly Allan, Poe embarked on a long journey of poverty and debt. Money problems haunted him and tensions with his foster father prompted him into determination to become a successful writer.

(https://www.thoughtco.com/odd-facts-about-edgar-allan-poe-4864323)