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Leaves of Grass: First and "Death-Bed" Editions
Leaves of Grass, by Walt Whitman, is part of the Barnes & Noble Classics series, which offers quality editions at affordable prices to the student and the general reader, including new scholarship, thoughtful design, and pages of carefully crafted extras. Here are some of the remarkable features of Barnes & Noble Classics
New introductions commissioned from today's top writers and scholars
Biographies of the authors
Chronologies of contemporary historical, biographical, and cultural events
Footnotes and endnotes
Selective discussions of imitations, parodies, poems, books, plays, paintings, operas, statuary, and films inspired by the work
Comments by other famous authors
Study questions to challenge the reader's viewpoints and expectations
Bibliographies for further reading
Indices & Glossaries, when appropriate
All editions are beautifully designed and are printed to superior specifications; some include illustrations of historical interest. Barnes & Noble Classics pulls together a constellation of influences--biographical, historical, and literary--to enrich each reader's understanding of these enduring works. When Leaves of Grass was first published in 1855 as a slim tract of twelve untitled poems, Walt Whitman was still an unknown. But his self-published volume soon became a landmark of poetry, introducing the world to a new and uniquely American form. The "father of free verse," Whitman drew upon the cadence of simple, even idiomatic speech to "sing" such themes as democracy, sexuality, and frank autobiography.
Throughout his prolific writing career, Whitman continually revised his work and expanded Leaves of Grass, which went through nine, substantively different editions, culminating in the final, authoritative "Death-bed Edition." Now the original 1855 version and the "Death-bed Edition" of 1892 have been brought together in a single volume, allowing the reader to experience the total scope of Whitman's genius, which produced love lyrics, visionary musings, glimpses of nightmare and ecstasy, celebrations of the human body and spirit, and poems of loneliness, loss, and mourning.
Alive with the mythical strength and vitality that epitomized the American experience in the nineteenth century, Leaves of Grass continues to inspire, uplift, and unite those who read it. Karen Karbiener received a Ph.D. from Columbia University and currently teaches at New York University. She also wrote the introduction and notes for the Barnes & Noble Classics edition of Frankenstein.
New introductions commissioned from today's top writers and scholars
Biographies of the authors
Chronologies of contemporary historical, biographical, and cultural events
Footnotes and endnotes
Selective discussions of imitations, parodies, poems, books, plays, paintings, operas, statuary, and films inspired by the work
Comments by other famous authors
Study questions to challenge the reader's viewpoints and expectations
Bibliographies for further reading
Indices & Glossaries, when appropriate
All editions are beautifully designed and are printed to superior specifications; some include illustrations of historical interest. Barnes & Noble Classics pulls together a constellation of influences--biographical, historical, and literary--to enrich each reader's understanding of these enduring works. When Leaves of Grass was first published in 1855 as a slim tract of twelve untitled poems, Walt Whitman was still an unknown. But his self-published volume soon became a landmark of poetry, introducing the world to a new and uniquely American form. The "father of free verse," Whitman drew upon the cadence of simple, even idiomatic speech to "sing" such themes as democracy, sexuality, and frank autobiography.
Throughout his prolific writing career, Whitman continually revised his work and expanded Leaves of Grass, which went through nine, substantively different editions, culminating in the final, authoritative "Death-bed Edition." Now the original 1855 version and the "Death-bed Edition" of 1892 have been brought together in a single volume, allowing the reader to experience the total scope of Whitman's genius, which produced love lyrics, visionary musings, glimpses of nightmare and ecstasy, celebrations of the human body and spirit, and poems of loneliness, loss, and mourning.
Alive with the mythical strength and vitality that epitomized the American experience in the nineteenth century, Leaves of Grass continues to inspire, uplift, and unite those who read it. Karen Karbiener received a Ph.D. from Columbia University and currently teaches at New York University. She also wrote the introduction and notes for the Barnes & Noble Classics edition of Frankenstein.
960 pages, Paperback
Published December 25, 2004
87 people are currently reading
1564 people want to read
About the author
Walt Whitman
1,752 books5,333 followersWalter Whitman Jr. was an American poet, essayist, and journalist. He is considered one of the most influential poets in American literature. Whitman incorporated both transcendentalism and realism in his writings and is often called the father of free verse. His work was controversial in his time, particularly his 1855 poetry collection Leaves of Grass, which was described by some as obscene for its overt sensuality.
Whitman was born in Huntington on Long Island, and lived in Brooklyn as a child and through much of his career. At the age of 11, he left formal schooling to go to work. He worked as a journalist, a teacher, and a government clerk. Whitman's major poetry collection, Leaves of Grass, first published in 1855, was financed with his own money and became well known. The work was an attempt to reach out to the common person with an American epic. Whitman continued expanding and revising Leaves of Grass until his death in 1892.
During the American Civil War, he went to Washington, D.C., and worked in hospitals caring for the wounded. His poetry often focused on both loss and healing. On the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, whom Whitman greatly admired, he authored two poems, "O Captain! My Captain!" and "When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom'd", and gave a series of lectures on Lincoln. After suffering a stroke towards the end of his life, Whitman moved to Camden, New Jersey, where his health further declined. When he died at the age of 72, his funeral was a public event.
Whitman's influence on poetry remains strong. Art historian Mary Berenson wrote, "You cannot really understand America without Walt Whitman, without Leaves of Grass... He has expressed that civilization, 'up to date,' as he would say, and no student of the philosophy of history can do without him." Modernist poet Ezra Pound called Whitman "America's poet... He is America."
Whitman was born in Huntington on Long Island, and lived in Brooklyn as a child and through much of his career. At the age of 11, he left formal schooling to go to work. He worked as a journalist, a teacher, and a government clerk. Whitman's major poetry collection, Leaves of Grass, first published in 1855, was financed with his own money and became well known. The work was an attempt to reach out to the common person with an American epic. Whitman continued expanding and revising Leaves of Grass until his death in 1892.
During the American Civil War, he went to Washington, D.C., and worked in hospitals caring for the wounded. His poetry often focused on both loss and healing. On the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, whom Whitman greatly admired, he authored two poems, "O Captain! My Captain!" and "When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom'd", and gave a series of lectures on Lincoln. After suffering a stroke towards the end of his life, Whitman moved to Camden, New Jersey, where his health further declined. When he died at the age of 72, his funeral was a public event.
Whitman's influence on poetry remains strong. Art historian Mary Berenson wrote, "You cannot really understand America without Walt Whitman, without Leaves of Grass... He has expressed that civilization, 'up to date,' as he would say, and no student of the philosophy of history can do without him." Modernist poet Ezra Pound called Whitman "America's poet... He is America."
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 42 reviews
June 11, 2011
This review is of 'Leaves of Grass: First and "Death-Bed" Editions,' which I read in its 900 page entirety despite my aversion to almost all of it. Don't get me wrong you can pick out a poem or two, put it in a Levi's commercial and make it seem like some pretty compelling stuff. I just don't find the kind of thinker that I deem worthy of my reading attention behind these words. Whitman is most certainly overrated and done so, I would venture to say, most certainly by people who haven't read him in any depth. I'm thinking of a kind of grad-school student who prefers to sound like he knows what he's talking about rather than knowing.
I can look past such shameless self-promotion (writing glowing self-reviews under false names), legacy-management (a lifetime of revising mediocrity), etc. if the art that is produced under such conditions is up to an admirable standard. Bob Dylan comes to mind - a complete self obsessed egomaniac. But I could care less, for the art he has and is still giving the world is unique and powerful. I don't get this with Whitman. Instead of creating art he uses the form to expound a narrative in which he takes on Christ-like proportions, often directing the reader to his omnipresence, to his role as panacea.
All of his so-called meditation on death is but a single-minded, blind appeal to his certainty of man's immortality - as if his repeating of this will make it true. He doesn't have a clue that man's belief in his own immortality is what lends him the justification to do all the disgusting things that he does, be it nothing but waiting sheepishly for heaven or overrunning the world by some divine right.
I can understand being in awe of the polyphonic whirring wheels in the great rising machine that is the United States of the 19th century, but I can't stomach Whitman's certainty that this phenomenon is the hope of mankind. I don't think that it is asking too much to ask Whitman to foresee just what kind of corrupt and disgusting country his is on its way of becoming. He reports much of the same degeneracy that is so consistently at work today, but, like most of his subject matter, Whitman looks past it toward his ideal.
His use of absolutes is nauseating. According to Whitman, the union armed forces are the greatest in the history of the world; the progress of his fellow man and his country is undeniable; it is something beautiful, something to believe in and participate in. He even disgustingly celebrates man's ability and right to raze redwood trees.
Many will argue that Whitman is an important figure in the human rights movement but I can't help seeing much of his incitement as another outlet for his repressed homosexuality. Like his glorifying of war seemingly just to go on about the handsomeness of every generic soldier, he seems to be more interested in giving the male slave a bath than his rightful freedom. Even his celebration of homosexual love is patterned in an uncourageous formula whereby he writes a sentence on the beauty of women and then 5 or so on the beauty of men. I don't mean to argue that he doesn't have a role in this movement. I'm saying what we're getting is biography and history rather than poetry.
If you've ever mindlessly chanted, "U.S.A. U.S.A." or you're interested in the gay experience circa 1860, if you believe that the progress of man is a holy endeavor and the means to utopia, if you worship those who tell you they should be worshiped, read this book. If not, do your part in recognizing literature that is obsolete; it just may save someone the precious time wasted in reading 900 pages of crap.
I can look past such shameless self-promotion (writing glowing self-reviews under false names), legacy-management (a lifetime of revising mediocrity), etc. if the art that is produced under such conditions is up to an admirable standard. Bob Dylan comes to mind - a complete self obsessed egomaniac. But I could care less, for the art he has and is still giving the world is unique and powerful. I don't get this with Whitman. Instead of creating art he uses the form to expound a narrative in which he takes on Christ-like proportions, often directing the reader to his omnipresence, to his role as panacea.
All of his so-called meditation on death is but a single-minded, blind appeal to his certainty of man's immortality - as if his repeating of this will make it true. He doesn't have a clue that man's belief in his own immortality is what lends him the justification to do all the disgusting things that he does, be it nothing but waiting sheepishly for heaven or overrunning the world by some divine right.
I can understand being in awe of the polyphonic whirring wheels in the great rising machine that is the United States of the 19th century, but I can't stomach Whitman's certainty that this phenomenon is the hope of mankind. I don't think that it is asking too much to ask Whitman to foresee just what kind of corrupt and disgusting country his is on its way of becoming. He reports much of the same degeneracy that is so consistently at work today, but, like most of his subject matter, Whitman looks past it toward his ideal.
His use of absolutes is nauseating. According to Whitman, the union armed forces are the greatest in the history of the world; the progress of his fellow man and his country is undeniable; it is something beautiful, something to believe in and participate in. He even disgustingly celebrates man's ability and right to raze redwood trees.
Many will argue that Whitman is an important figure in the human rights movement but I can't help seeing much of his incitement as another outlet for his repressed homosexuality. Like his glorifying of war seemingly just to go on about the handsomeness of every generic soldier, he seems to be more interested in giving the male slave a bath than his rightful freedom. Even his celebration of homosexual love is patterned in an uncourageous formula whereby he writes a sentence on the beauty of women and then 5 or so on the beauty of men. I don't mean to argue that he doesn't have a role in this movement. I'm saying what we're getting is biography and history rather than poetry.
If you've ever mindlessly chanted, "U.S.A. U.S.A." or you're interested in the gay experience circa 1860, if you believe that the progress of man is a holy endeavor and the means to utopia, if you worship those who tell you they should be worshiped, read this book. If not, do your part in recognizing literature that is obsolete; it just may save someone the precious time wasted in reading 900 pages of crap.
October 26, 2018
Leaves of Grass: First and “Death-Bed” Editions contains best known work of American poet Walt Whitman as well as additional poems that he published before his breakthrough work and that he didn’t include in his final publication. Containing hundreds of poems from the “father of free verse”, the reader gets a essentially a full view of Whitman’s career from beginning to end. In additional each new section of the book has an introduction by Dr. Karen Karbiener who also wrote the Notes at the end of the book giving the reader a better understanding of the essence surrounding Whitman’s work. Though many Whitman loves will enjoy this book, for some like myself this turned out to be too much of something that it turns out I didn’t like after all.
August 13, 2019
I fully believe in a clue and purpose in Nature, entire and several; and that Invisible spiritual results, just as real and definite as the visible, eventuate all concrete life all materials, through Time
(629) There’s so many quotes I could start with but my own perspective at the moment involves seeing the spiritual in Whitman. There’s a question at the end of this edition asking how we’d describe Whitman’s “religion” or “spirituality”. I’d describe it as universal and authentic, as believing in in the Ultimate but likely not “God” as imagined by dogmatic religion of any kind. He draws from the Bible but only to recognize underlying truth. He’s not concerned with the undue focus on the actual form of things that so much religion gets so wrong. Then again he turns around and embraces those very religious forms as being a beautiful reflection of humanity. The way he transcends things is impressive.
A complaint: I can’t quite get on board with the nationalism. If he were any other color and gender but white and male I wonder how those passages of American optimism might look. Living out of the country for nearly 7 years, I’m nostalgic for America too - but it has more to do with the people I love than the nation as an idea. The desires and attitude he has towards America - its hopes and dreams - are human hopes and reflective of a much more transcendent truth. No nation has a monopoly or some sort of exclusive right to any of that.
But what Whitman did see in transcendent reality was an ultimate or universal good. He didn’t think it had to be tied down with convention - he saw the greatest good through the very essence of what it meant to be human and didn’t think the freedom we have as humans needed to be restricted - that somehow all that we are as humans should be appreciated both good and bad.
Do I contradict myself? Very well then I contradict myself. I am large, I contain multitudes. (153)
There’s a resonance with the greatest of mystical traditions in this, in the transcendence of opposites to realize that the ultimate reality is only good.
This is a great edition as it includes work that wasn’t in the death-bed edition and has an appendix of contemporary reviews of his work. It’s funny how human cynicism stays the same. Sure Whitman was excessive but he recognized the truth in things and that’s why his writing is timeless and not inconsistent even with scripture. It’s the ineffable nature of his writing that is so powerful....those feelings and sparks of realization that hit you.
A complaint: I can’t quite get on board with the nationalism. If he were any other color and gender but white and male I wonder how those passages of American optimism might look. Living out of the country for nearly 7 years, I’m nostalgic for America too - but it has more to do with the people I love than the nation as an idea. The desires and attitude he has towards America - its hopes and dreams - are human hopes and reflective of a much more transcendent truth. No nation has a monopoly or some sort of exclusive right to any of that.
But what Whitman did see in transcendent reality was an ultimate or universal good. He didn’t think it had to be tied down with convention - he saw the greatest good through the very essence of what it meant to be human and didn’t think the freedom we have as humans needed to be restricted - that somehow all that we are as humans should be appreciated both good and bad.
Do I contradict myself? Very well then I contradict myself. I am large, I contain multitudes. (153)
There’s a resonance with the greatest of mystical traditions in this, in the transcendence of opposites to realize that the ultimate reality is only good.
This is a great edition as it includes work that wasn’t in the death-bed edition and has an appendix of contemporary reviews of his work. It’s funny how human cynicism stays the same. Sure Whitman was excessive but he recognized the truth in things and that’s why his writing is timeless and not inconsistent even with scripture. It’s the ineffable nature of his writing that is so powerful....those feelings and sparks of realization that hit you.
January 3, 2023
Took me almost two years, but I made it through this behemoth. My reading of this volume was of course full of stops and starts and long breaks and periods of more progress and periods of less. I thought this would be my last book of 2022, especially since I just needed one more to meet my reading goal, but I got lazy and basically stopped reading anything for the last couple of weeks. Back at work today for the first workday of the year, I did a couple of lunchtime laps on a trail in a snowy park and finished the last ten or so pages of poems.
What I liked:
I dog-eared many, many pages to highlight a line, or a poem, or a thought that I found striking (much to my daughter's dismay--she feels this is a form of book abuse or something). I found some of the imagery to be wonderful and there were many sentiments that resonated with me. There were some times where his long lists felt strong, pointed, and rhetorically effective. I even liked some aspects of having such a comprehensive and in-depth view of one poet's writings, where repeated themes and ideas started to sound familiar, and like they all fit together.
What I didn't appreciate:
This thing is massive and much of it felt like a chore to read. With there being multiple versions of the same poem, (including, apparently, inclusion of multiple versions of poems that were chopped from the "deathbed" version) and then with the same thoughts, ideas, or themes being revisited time and again in similar but slightly different ways, it just started feeling really, REALLY redundant.
The differences between the first and deathbed versions were pretty confusing to me as someone approaching this casually (if that's even the right word...) rather than in a scholarly setting. In other words, I don't know that I really appreciated having both versions in a single volume. I wonder if I would have enjoyed it more having them packaged as two books. And then all of the "extra" stuff--the poems published outside of LoG, the Old Age Echoes, the "Other Poems" section... so much of it seemed like it was unnecessary.
Stylistically, I've determined that I'm not a huge fan of Whitman's. The writing in the book feels wildly inconsistent from one section to the next, but overall, it feels like a lot of aimless rambling without a whole lot of attention to style. Could very well be that I'm missing some of the finer points, but that's the general impression. As I mentioned earlier, I did mark many pages and passages that stood out, but these felt like small nuggets gleaned from a larger field of difficult or uninspiring parts.
In other words, I don't really recommend this as a "read-through" experience. If you're curious about Whitman's poems, pick it up, read through the first edition, check in on other sections that seem interesting, but don't make the mistake that I did of trying to read it as a book. It just doesn't feel like the work is meant to be consumed that way, even over a period of almost two years.
What I liked:
I dog-eared many, many pages to highlight a line, or a poem, or a thought that I found striking (much to my daughter's dismay--she feels this is a form of book abuse or something). I found some of the imagery to be wonderful and there were many sentiments that resonated with me. There were some times where his long lists felt strong, pointed, and rhetorically effective. I even liked some aspects of having such a comprehensive and in-depth view of one poet's writings, where repeated themes and ideas started to sound familiar, and like they all fit together.
What I didn't appreciate:
This thing is massive and much of it felt like a chore to read. With there being multiple versions of the same poem, (including, apparently, inclusion of multiple versions of poems that were chopped from the "deathbed" version) and then with the same thoughts, ideas, or themes being revisited time and again in similar but slightly different ways, it just started feeling really, REALLY redundant.
The differences between the first and deathbed versions were pretty confusing to me as someone approaching this casually (if that's even the right word...) rather than in a scholarly setting. In other words, I don't know that I really appreciated having both versions in a single volume. I wonder if I would have enjoyed it more having them packaged as two books. And then all of the "extra" stuff--the poems published outside of LoG, the Old Age Echoes, the "Other Poems" section... so much of it seemed like it was unnecessary.
Stylistically, I've determined that I'm not a huge fan of Whitman's. The writing in the book feels wildly inconsistent from one section to the next, but overall, it feels like a lot of aimless rambling without a whole lot of attention to style. Could very well be that I'm missing some of the finer points, but that's the general impression. As I mentioned earlier, I did mark many pages and passages that stood out, but these felt like small nuggets gleaned from a larger field of difficult or uninspiring parts.
In other words, I don't really recommend this as a "read-through" experience. If you're curious about Whitman's poems, pick it up, read through the first edition, check in on other sections that seem interesting, but don't make the mistake that I did of trying to read it as a book. It just doesn't feel like the work is meant to be consumed that way, even over a period of almost two years.
July 17, 2019
Although the Death Bed edition dilutes the energy of the 1855 one, it gains much from quieter and gentler moments. Book 27 is a particularly moving addition.
October 1, 2021
It is mainly the subject matter that kept me from enjoying these poems. With some exceptions, his life experiences and thoughts don't make my heart sing with him.
November 23, 2023
yeah he seems american
September 28, 2015
So, here's the deal. I took a long time with this, long for me. There were parts that I skimmed over, parts that made me uncomfortable, parts that made me reevaluate personal perceptions, parts that I couldn't identify with, and parts that I reread several times. All of these parts culminated in a five star rating, a five star read.
That's not to say that editing couldn't or shouldn't be had. In fact, Whitman apparently held the same view and did the deed quite often. But that's just it... when you read Whitman you get a sense of a breathing creation that grew out of experience and became simply more of itself. If we had Whitman's consciousness plugged into the sentient machine from Transcendence he'd still be putting out the new and extended more frequently than your average modern artist. Hence the potential for skimming to be had, having been had, etc.
What I simply loved was Whitman's wordsmithing. Given his reported love of rhythm one can easily see him as a beat poet, cherishing Ginsberg's Sunflower Sutra and marveling in the midst of a group of spoken word enthusiasts. It's this wordsmithing that communicates Whitman's passion to me so transparently. I can't help but be moved by such.
“Loafe with me on the grass—loose the stop from your throat;
Not words, not music or rhyme I want—not custom or lecture, not even the best;
Only the lull I like, the hum of your valved voice. ”
To me, Whitman's Leaves feels like a stop loosened. A freely flowing form that doused, drenched, quenched my own inspiration at several points. Because nothing is as freeing as that already freed. Even if only perceived in its freedom, it stirs the desire and need and I believe that's oft the majority of the battle.
That's not to say that editing couldn't or shouldn't be had. In fact, Whitman apparently held the same view and did the deed quite often. But that's just it... when you read Whitman you get a sense of a breathing creation that grew out of experience and became simply more of itself. If we had Whitman's consciousness plugged into the sentient machine from Transcendence he'd still be putting out the new and extended more frequently than your average modern artist. Hence the potential for skimming to be had, having been had, etc.
What I simply loved was Whitman's wordsmithing. Given his reported love of rhythm one can easily see him as a beat poet, cherishing Ginsberg's Sunflower Sutra and marveling in the midst of a group of spoken word enthusiasts. It's this wordsmithing that communicates Whitman's passion to me so transparently. I can't help but be moved by such.
“Loafe with me on the grass—loose the stop from your throat;
Not words, not music or rhyme I want—not custom or lecture, not even the best;
Only the lull I like, the hum of your valved voice. ”
To me, Whitman's Leaves feels like a stop loosened. A freely flowing form that doused, drenched, quenched my own inspiration at several points. Because nothing is as freeing as that already freed. Even if only perceived in its freedom, it stirs the desire and need and I believe that's oft the majority of the battle.
April 29, 2020
I think this book was unnecessary long and repetitive, and I definitely don't see "America" the same way Whitman did; I can't help but see him as a hypocrite who wrote about "women's rights and labor and immigration issues" in his poems, but supported the USA's expansionist war with Mexico in his journalism. He was white trash a blind patriot who thought abolitionists were too radical and I think he would support Trump if he was alive. I'm pretty sure white supremacists enjoy this kind of poetry. Sorry but I can't relate.
The few poems I did like from this book are:
Song of Myself (just some sections)
Out of the Rolling Ocean the Crowd
Scented Herbage Of My Breast
To a Stranger
This Moment Yearning and Thoughtful
O You Whom I Often and Silently Come
To You
There Was a Child Went Forth
Warble for Lilac-Time
Miracles
Who Learns My Lesson Complete?
Proud Music of the Storm
The few poems I did like from this book are:
Song of Myself (just some sections)
Out of the Rolling Ocean the Crowd
Scented Herbage Of My Breast
To a Stranger
This Moment Yearning and Thoughtful
O You Whom I Often and Silently Come
To You
There Was a Child Went Forth
Warble for Lilac-Time
Miracles
Who Learns My Lesson Complete?
Proud Music of the Storm
December 21, 2016
If I were on a prison cell charged with life imprisonment, forbidden to interact with anyone, and restricted to read one book for the rest of my life, this would be my number one choice. I have found no greater peace, wisdom, suffering, voice, and humanity in what I believe is the best book of poetry ever written. It has been the only book to has made me cry three times while reading it, and they were cries of happiness. I too cry my barbaric YAWP over the roofs of this 21st century world, and because of you, my dear Walt, I have become a poet also. Thank you.
September 12, 2014
This was the first time I really read any Whitman extensively. I couldn't help but think how groundbreaking this work must have been at the time. I probably shouldn't have read all of it in one sitting, as it all kind of blurred together. They're the kind of poems you read when you need a confidence boost.
August 17, 2014
Plain and simple words to live by. Everyone alive should read leaves of Grass at least once
October 10, 2023
Just a few things to say. I liked Emily Dickerson much better, but overall Whitman's poems were good too (although maybe a bit long for my liking). I did learn a bit about him through his writing though!
1. His favorite word must be electric.
2. Favorite flower, the lilac. Me too!!
3. The man likes a list.
4. It must always be North and South, East and West...never just 1 direction.
1. His favorite word must be electric.
2. Favorite flower, the lilac. Me too!!
3. The man likes a list.
4. It must always be North and South, East and West...never just 1 direction.
November 28, 2022
I have always been a huge fan of poetry, but Walt Whitman took it to another level. If it is possible, he only made me love poetrymoreandhave a greater appreciation for it. Although it is by far on the lengthier side, I would highly recommend this for anyone who truly loves poetry.
October 2, 2024
Walt Whitman was 36 when Leaves of Grass was published. 36 when he published his first collection of poems. 36 when he sold barely any copies. 36 when he was still unknown to the world. 36 when he began a poem that would not end till his death 36 years later.
There's still time. So much time.
There's still time. So much time.
December 16, 2021
Many exceptional poems.
February 9, 2022
These poems felt like that one audio u hear on tiktok/ Instagram reels where Beyoncé’s crazy in love instrumental plays and someone is going “Ammeyrican dreamm, best countrayy”
August 23, 2025
he's crazyyyyyy
July 6, 2017
This is not a book to pick up and read straight through! It requires sufficient reflection, and time to visualize his words.
Whitman questions cultural boundaries between people - men/women, rich/poor, races, and religions in much of his work. He explores all that is beautiful in life, and passionately theorizes/preaches about his and nature’s immortality. He “sings” of many things in his poems. I give many examples below, but these are MY personal interpretations, and may not always be in keeping with accepted analysis.
Whitman’s respect for the beauty and perfection of nature is everywhere. Even the dreaded enemy of today’s urban lawns in “The Dandelion", reliably ushers in spring. He often paints a picture, by endless example at times, of nature's resilience, and how we can learn from its example, as he explains in "Me Imperturbe".
Whitman explores relationships between man and woman, or other combinations of the two... with such passion. He shares thoughts about illusion in "Are You the New Person Drawn Toward Me?" He hints at the permanence of soul mates in "To a Stranger", and the reincarnation of all things in nature in “Continuities”. He shows how to learn from those who reject us in “Stronger Lessons”. Further, while I can’t claim to understand “The House of Friends” in its entirety, the closing passage:
…. which is clearly advice to clean one’s own porch before worrying about the evil in others.
Further, dear Walt offers praise to the givers of life, women, in "Unfolded Out of the Folds" and points out that man comes from woman:
Whitman’s passion for life, and beyond, and the passage of time and aging, as night follows day, is illustrated succinctly in "Youth, Day, Old Age and Night", but is driven home in "To Think of Time". In that poem, he made a strong statement about the importance of all things, and the equal value of all walks of life, whether well-known or obscure, and how time will continue beyond our thoughts and cares in this life. My favorite passage from that poem:
He also sings of children. "There Was a Child Went Forth" is a brilliant illustration of how we are products of our environment. In “The Play-Ground” he shows his gratitude for their levity and prays to angels to shield them.
Walt’s passion for the topic of death may have begun in his youth as illustrated in his poem about watching a feathered friend lose its mate in "Sea-Drift". Some of my favorites on death are "O Captain, My Captain!" and "The City Dead House".
In his poetry, he sang songs of himself, of the time in which he lived, of the nature of being. To merely read the words can often leave a person puzzled, as if reading an encyclopedia listing of occupations or ways of life, or a myriad of nature observations. But if the reader pictures or visualizes the entries - walks of life, scenes from nature, landscapes, etc - as he compulsively strives toward inclusiveness and celebrating everyone and everything, it is actually a beautiful time capsule of life in 1800's-era America, from his perspective.
Leaves of Grass was originally released as free verse poetry in 1855, then regularly revised, updated, and appended till its release as the Deathbed Edition in 1891-92. The edition I read also included much of his early “rhyming” work, as well. I highly recommend the Leaves of Grass: First and Death-Bed Editions to fully grasp his transitions and growth over the years.
Whitman questions cultural boundaries between people - men/women, rich/poor, races, and religions in much of his work. He explores all that is beautiful in life, and passionately theorizes/preaches about his and nature’s immortality. He “sings” of many things in his poems. I give many examples below, but these are MY personal interpretations, and may not always be in keeping with accepted analysis.
Whitman’s respect for the beauty and perfection of nature is everywhere. Even the dreaded enemy of today’s urban lawns in “The Dandelion", reliably ushers in spring. He often paints a picture, by endless example at times, of nature's resilience, and how we can learn from its example, as he explains in "Me Imperturbe".
Whitman explores relationships between man and woman, or other combinations of the two... with such passion. He shares thoughts about illusion in "Are You the New Person Drawn Toward Me?" He hints at the permanence of soul mates in "To a Stranger", and the reincarnation of all things in nature in “Continuities”. He shows how to learn from those who reject us in “Stronger Lessons”. Further, while I can’t claim to understand “The House of Friends” in its entirety, the closing passage:
“But fear not most the angriest, loudest malice –
Fear most the still and forked fang
That starts from the grass at your feet”
…. which is clearly advice to clean one’s own porch before worrying about the evil in others.
Further, dear Walt offers praise to the givers of life, women, in "Unfolded Out of the Folds" and points out that man comes from woman:
“First the man is shaped in the woman, he can then be shaped in himself.” I love that…
Whitman’s passion for life, and beyond, and the passage of time and aging, as night follows day, is illustrated succinctly in "Youth, Day, Old Age and Night", but is driven home in "To Think of Time". In that poem, he made a strong statement about the importance of all things, and the equal value of all walks of life, whether well-known or obscure, and how time will continue beyond our thoughts and cares in this life. My favorite passage from that poem:
"The vulgar and the refined, what you call sin and what you call goodness, to think how wide a difference,
To think the difference will still continue to others, yet we lie beyond the difference."
He also sings of children. "There Was a Child Went Forth" is a brilliant illustration of how we are products of our environment. In “The Play-Ground” he shows his gratitude for their levity and prays to angels to shield them.
Walt’s passion for the topic of death may have begun in his youth as illustrated in his poem about watching a feathered friend lose its mate in "Sea-Drift". Some of my favorites on death are "O Captain, My Captain!" and "The City Dead House".
In his poetry, he sang songs of himself, of the time in which he lived, of the nature of being. To merely read the words can often leave a person puzzled, as if reading an encyclopedia listing of occupations or ways of life, or a myriad of nature observations. But if the reader pictures or visualizes the entries - walks of life, scenes from nature, landscapes, etc - as he compulsively strives toward inclusiveness and celebrating everyone and everything, it is actually a beautiful time capsule of life in 1800's-era America, from his perspective.
Leaves of Grass was originally released as free verse poetry in 1855, then regularly revised, updated, and appended till its release as the Deathbed Edition in 1891-92. The edition I read also included much of his early “rhyming” work, as well. I highly recommend the Leaves of Grass: First and Death-Bed Editions to fully grasp his transitions and growth over the years.
May 22, 2021
Such a unique voice. I loved the combination of observation of everyday folks of all sorts, along with his own take on spirituality. Pretty radical for the time. Interesting that he kept revising Leaves of Grass and the final versions contain a lifetime of writing poetry.
August 14, 2009
from Starting from Paumanok
Here lands female and male,
Here the heir-ship and heiress-ship of the world, here the flame of materials,
Here spirituality the translatress, the openly-avow'd,
The ever-tending, the finale of visible forms,
The satisfier, after due long-waiting now advancing,
Yes here comes my mistress the soul.
from I Sing the Body Electric
This is the female form,
A divine nimbus exhales from it head to foot,
It attracts with fierce undeniable attraction.
Hair, bosom, hips, bend of legs, negligent falling hands
all diffused, mine too diffused,
Be not ashamed women, You are the gates of the body,
and you are the gates of the soul.
from Song of Myself
I believe a leaf of grass is no less than the journey-work of the
stars
from Poets to Come
Poets to come! orators, singers, musicians to come!
Not to-day is to justify me and answer what I am for,
But you, a new brood, native, athletic, continental, greater than
before known,
Arouse! for you must justify me.
Here lands female and male,
Here the heir-ship and heiress-ship of the world, here the flame of materials,
Here spirituality the translatress, the openly-avow'd,
The ever-tending, the finale of visible forms,
The satisfier, after due long-waiting now advancing,
Yes here comes my mistress the soul.
from I Sing the Body Electric
This is the female form,
A divine nimbus exhales from it head to foot,
It attracts with fierce undeniable attraction.
Hair, bosom, hips, bend of legs, negligent falling hands
all diffused, mine too diffused,
Be not ashamed women, You are the gates of the body,
and you are the gates of the soul.
from Song of Myself
I believe a leaf of grass is no less than the journey-work of the
stars
from Poets to Come
Poets to come! orators, singers, musicians to come!
Not to-day is to justify me and answer what I am for,
But you, a new brood, native, athletic, continental, greater than
before known,
Arouse! for you must justify me.
July 6, 2010
Holy crap! It's a huge book, very intimidating when you first pick it up - mostly because you know the vast majority of it is poetry and it's something everyone should have read before you got to it. I kind of forgot I had it for a while, which took the shine off my panic. It should be required reading in schools. The first edition, I wondered why he's such an ego-maniac but by the time I got to the death-bed edition I realized it's the difference between third-person storytelling and 1st. He wants nothing to separate him from his audience and who better to tell you what Walt Whitman thinks than Walt Whitman. I'm surprised more advertisers and American tourism don't go straight to his text, singing in praise of much that still applies (like those Levi's Jeans commercials) - also it's great reading before you come on the 4th of July. Still palpable, still sexy, still tear-inducing after all these years. Saying I loved it doesn't seem like I go far enough in telling you how I feel about it.
August 8, 2015
Whitman is known as the great American poet and before reading Leaves of Grass, I had not idea just how much that title was self-imposed. Whitman's poems are uniquely American - at once both expansive and intimate. He has a very egalitarian viewpoint, sometimes putting prostitutes and the President on the same human level. Parts of his work still feel very fresh and revolutionary. This edition features both the original edition and the "Death Bed" edition. The original is manifesto-like, while the "Death Bed" poems are more concentrated and, for me, powerful. He was definitely not only a man of his time, writing eloquently about the Civil War and Abraham Lincoln, but also a man who had a clear vision of what America should mean. In "To Foreign Lands" he writes:
"I heard that you ask'd for something to prove this puzzle the New World,
And to define America, her athletic Democracy,
Therefore I send you my poems that you behold in them what you wanted."
"I heard that you ask'd for something to prove this puzzle the New World,
And to define America, her athletic Democracy,
Therefore I send you my poems that you behold in them what you wanted."
March 30, 2014
This is such a good book, Walt Whitman is one of my favourite poets. Albeit he was a little full of himself, his poems move me in so many ways. Last summer I walked outback in my yard in a field and read and read this book. I really recommend this book to those ages 15-17 and up because of sexual lines(in a beautiful romantic way). The first edition of LOG is smaller, the "Death-Bed" edition is larger.
The way he writes is so real, like it's a train of thought. Very good book.
The way he writes is so real, like it's a train of thought. Very good book.
March 4, 2016
Walt Whitman is our national bard, whose overwhelming poetic vision of America is so powerfully transcendent that one suspects he is our national bodhisattva as well. Pure, deep, gregarious, filled with love and intimacy…his verse has an uncanny knack for summoning up the best part of ourselves. His is a voice and a spirit one wishes to live up to.
March 26, 2015
I am convinced Walt Whitman is the original Dr. Who. I'm not sure anything I say can do his genius justice but I will simply say that to read Whitman is to, not only live a multitude of lives, but to live them vicariously. I'm no poet but my goodness does reading Leaves of Grass make me want to be one.
November 23, 2007
Buy this, and not just because my professor was the editor, and not just because she gave me an A in her Walt Whitman class. That Walt was something else.
"Failing to fetch me at first keep encouraged,
Missing me one place search another,
I stop some where waiting for you"
"Failing to fetch me at first keep encouraged,
Missing me one place search another,
I stop some where waiting for you"
Want to read
April 20, 2012Hmmm, looks like I have 2 ebook editions, this one http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/76... and the Death Bed edition. Hate it when I do that, but perhaps one will have a few titles the other one doesn't.
September 10, 2016
A classic collection of poetry by arguably the most famous American poet. Whitman's poetry is free verse and some selections are a bit tedious to read, but his style is totally American and well worth reading.
September 22, 2014
My five-star rating is probably more of a result of the fact that the editor was my professor and she was absolutely fantastic. I don't think I have ever met someone so genuinely passionate about a writer before.
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