Walt Whitman writes an ode to America, to life, to Nature, to democratic individualism with impressive vigour, sincerity and health.We follow him throughout a busy life where Nature - and the History of men - and wars, especially the Civil War, and the technical inventions of the industrial age - appear to be equal.I think I understand better now, after having read Leaves of Grass, the American spirit, in its specific and non-European aspects.There is a freshness, energy, a vitality, an optimism...

Unlike many Americans, I was not introduced to Walt Whitman during my school years through English/Literature/Composition classes, but through a magnificent and beautiful film called Dead Poets Society. I fell in love with his poetry then, of course, not all of his poetry is shown, for the film speaks more of literature and its importance to human consciousnesses, rather than the different dead poets, but it did introduce me to "O Captain! My Captain!"(which is not in this collection, and I am

It is mind-blowing to think that he self-published this the same year Longfellow's the Song of Hiawatha came out. The voice is SO modern. If I keep rolling with his lists and moments of merge in his longer poems such as 'Song of Myself" or "I Sing the Body Electric, I am moved if not transported, but they are so hard to analyze. Shorter poems are easier to analyze. It was amazing to read this first draft - many critics say it was his best. I can't say but I love how he just keeps writing it thro...

Another title I'm forever dipping into. There are many editions of LEAVES; the 1892 'deathbed' edition (Whitman was knocking on Heaven's door when he was editing it) is one I've never been able to finish, mainly because it's just so. . .voluminous. Many poems for the ages there, but just as much dead wood, too, which always bogs me down.This first, 1855 edition---this is my favorite. I call it the rock n' roll edition. Here, you'll find the poems---in their unadulterated, original versions---tha...

A child said, What is the grass? fetching it to me with full hands;How could I answer the child?.... I do not know what it is any more than he.I guess it must be the flag of my disposition, out of hopeful green stuff woven.Or I guess it is the handkerchief of the Lord,A scented gift and remembrancer designedly dropped,Bearing the owner's name someway in the corners, that we may see and remark, and say Whose?I'm no expert on Walt Whitman, and given that this poem ('Song of Myself') has been celeb...

Song of MyselfI CELEBRATE myself, And what I assume you shall assume, For every atom belonging to me as good belongs to you.I loafe and invite my soul, I lean and loafe at my ease.... observing a spear of summer grass.An all-inclusive modern gospel—a secular one at that—with American cadence to it to unite the citizenry of the world. Witty and deeply moving poems and at times the whole effort of Whitman may seem anachronistic, one cannot help but realize that these poems are so relevant now....

Leaves of Grass’ original publication spurs many differing feelings in me to such a degree that I really do not know where to begin or where to conclude. First should come the ambition of Walt Whitman as he writes in poorly-written prose for a long preface before his poetry: to be the great American poet; to answer Ralph Waldo Emerson’s essay and finally bring Homer to the United States; to capture the wide-ranging truths of a massive, young country populated by the ruthless and the diverse. Whi...

I am the poet of the Body and I am the poet of the Soul,The pleasures of heaven are with me and the pains of hell are with me,The first I graft and increase upon myself, the latter I translate into new tongue.I am the poet of the woman the same as the man,And I say it is as great to be a woman as to be a man,And I say there is nothing greater than the mother of men.This is the first edition of Leaves of Grass published in 1855, which consists of 12 poems. In his poems Whitman exalts nature and h...

First the pros:Whitman's free verse is years ahead of its time. I kept having to remind myself that he published this work in 1855. Wordsworth had only been dead for five years, Tennyson and Browning were at the height of their powers and Longfellow was still churning them out. Whitman was an important moderniser.His verse has tremendous energy. It crackles off the page and I was often swept giddily along by the blizzard of words. Plus, there are some truly striking images to be found. At its be...

Maybe more of a 2.5? Idk. I can definitely see why this is an important, ground-breaking collection in 19th century American poetry and I can also appreciate Whitman's craft to a certain extent, but honestly? I didn't love it. Whitman, while a clear-eyed observer, definitely goes in for quantity over quality (the endless lists get really tiring really quickly), and it is sometimes hard to follow the jumpy, otherworldly thoughts the poems present. A certain visionary zeal is amiable, but half of

oh my god. this was transcendent, incredible, breathtaking etc etc. ive never read poetry like this before. you can literally FEEL whitmans excitement anf love for the world around him and its so beautiful and ur completely pulled into his world. so very gorgeous and amazing ‼️‼️‼️

'Walt in love with the world' would have been a better title.The verses in this little book are certainly world affirming in a cosmopolitan sense. All people are connected by the same body and all are blessed by the same (divine) soul. Walt makes this clear by (sometimes annoyingly long lists) of people and their occupations. a bit like walking in a busy street and sucking everything in.This broad empathy for, basically the whole universe, is addicitive. I felt my heart glowing while reading. Ho...

If you had browsed an American library or bookstand in the summer of 1855, there’s a small chance you might’ve come across an obscure and mysterious volume titled Leaves of Grass. You would not have found the author’s name on the cover or title page; your only impression of him would’ve come from an engraving on the opposite page depicting a handsome man in his mid-thirties, with a rumpled, unbuttoned shirt tucked into a loose pair of slacks, one hand buried in a pocket with the other balled and...

It is becoming increasingly trendy to chalk up success to practice and hard work. We have the famous 10,000 hours from Malcolm Gladwell’s Outliers, and a similar theme from Joshua Foer’s Moonwalking with Einstein, just to name two examples. But it seems to me that some people were just born to do what they did, that no amount of practice could ever have produced something so fresh, original, new, and revolutionary. Take Montaigne. He invented a new genre (the essay), pioneered a free and easy p...

self-love ✨ diversity 🌈 equality ✊ ; oh, how I love Whitman!! his preface to the first edition was particularly enlightening, but let me just say Song of Myself has got to be one of the best poems I’ve ever come across. I can’t give this book 5 stars because there were times when I found Whitman to be a bit tiring and ~over the top~, but consider this a 4,5.allow me to bless you with some of my favourite lines:The female contains all qualities and tempers them... she is in her place... she moves...

Literary rapture. I don't know how else I could describe my first experience reading Leaves of Grass. It was pure literary rapture. I highly recommend Leaves of Grass to everyone - especially those who still believe, or want to believe, in the basic goodness of the American Experiment. Pick up the slim first edition (Whitman revised and expanded Leaves of Grass throughout his life. The final product, which is what is most often seen on bookshelves, is a bloated, redundant beast. Read the whole t...

This is what I thought the Bible would be like before I read the Bible: overflowing with characters and stories, all told at a sprint, with a shout and such good will that a sour sport as myself could hardly relate. Maximist, generous to a fault, a word-drunk prophet -- the god of this bible is Walt Whitman, and he could care a whit if you find that absurd or egotistical. I haven't felt the rush, pull and command of an energetic poetry like this outside of "Follow the Leader" by Eric B. and Raki...

Book: "Oh, sun, oh moon, oh stars, oh earth, oh water, oh plants, oh animals, oh humans, oh houses, oh cars, oh strollers, oh tin cans, oh frypans-"Reader: "Hey, book. What're you doing?"Book: "I am listing all that is wonderful in the world! Oh frypans, oh water bottles, oh hawaii shirts, oh ukuleles-"Reader: "Ukuleles? Really?"Book: "Oh Ukuleles, oh banana boats, oh swimming pools, oh whiskey, oh cucumber, oh tomato, oh carrot, oh potato, oh soybean, oh bread, oh snow shoes, oh ug-boots-"Reade...

Simply beautiful. Loved this edition as much as I loved the others I’ve read.

Another of my Craigslist $5 a box treasures. Alongside it on my shelf is the much larger complete collection of Whitman's writings that goes back to a college course (back in the days of the dinosaurs). But the original edition has 12 of his poems as he originally published them, including the astonishing Song of Myself, which is longer than all the rest put together. It also has a very informative introductory essay by Malcolm Cowley.Reading these poems, I kept thinking of Woody Guthrie -- anot...