Actor and teacher Stephen Collins is bringing Walt Whitman to life at Patten Free Library.

The library will host Collins at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 12, for “Unlaunch’d Voices: An Evening with Walt Whitman.”

As Whitman, Collins will reminisce about the experiences that led to the creation of his book, “Leaves of Grass.” He also will recall what he considered the most important work of his life — nursing wounded soldiers during the Civil War.

Collins grew up in Cambridge, and received a bachelors degree in literature from UMass Boston. After more than 20 years in a sales career, he is back doing what he truly loves: Performing and teaching. Recently, Collins has been teaching seminars on Whitman, Hardy, Shakespeare, Frost, and Contemporary Poetry at various locations throughout the country.

The newest addition to his repertoire, is a one-man show, “Shake-Scene.” He also works as a professionally licensed tour guide doing narrated historical tours of Boston. His Whitman performances have taken him all over the country. Collins now has eight one-man shows and six courses where his teaching style has been described as a hybrid between lecture and performance.