Other editions of book Leaves of Grass: The Original 1855 Edition

As featured in AMC's Breaking Bad, given by Gale Boetticher to Walter White and discovered by Hank Schrader."I 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."So begins Leaves of Grass, the first great American poem and indeed, to this day, the greatest and most essentially American poem in all our national literature. The publication of Leaves of Grass in July 1855 was a landmark event in literary history. Ralph Waldo Emerson judged the book "the most extraordinary piece of wit and wisdom America has yet contributed." Nothing like the volume had ever appeared before. Everything about it--the unusual jacket and title page, the exuberant preface, the twelve free-flowing, untitled poems embracing every realm of experience--was new. The 1855 edition broke new ground in its relaxed style, which prefigured free verse; in its sexual candor; in its images of racial bonding and democratic togetherness; and in the intensity of its affirmation of the sanctity of the physical world.This Anniversary Edition captures the typeface, design and layout of the original edition supervised by Whitman himself. Today's readers get a sense of the "ur-text" of Leaves of Grass, the first version of this historic volume, before Whitman made many revisions of both format and style. The volume also boasts an afterword by Whitman authority David Reynolds, in which he discusses the 1855 edition in its social and cultural contexts: its background, its reception, and its contributions to literary history. There is also an appendix containing the early responses to the volume, including Emerson's letter, Whitman's three self-reviews, and the twenty other known reviews published in various newspapers and magazines.This special volume will be a must-have keepsake for fans of Whitman and lovers of American poetry.

In 1855, Walt Whitman published — at his own expense — the first edition of Leaves of Grass, a visionary volume of twelve poems. Showing the influence of a uniquely American form of mysticism known as Transcendentalism, which eschewed the general society and culture of the time, the writing is distinguished by an explosively innovative free verse style and previously unmentionable subject matter. Exalting nature, celebrating the human body, and praising the senses and sexual love, the monumental work was condemned as "immoral." Whitman continued evolving Leaves of Grass despite the controversy, growing his influential work decades after its first appearance by adding new poems with each new printing.

Leaves of Grass is a poetry collection by the American poet Walt Whitman (1819–1892). Although the first edition was published in 1855, Whitman spent most of his professional life writing and re-writing Leaves of Grass, revising it multiple times until his death. This resulted in vastly different editions over four decades—the first, a small book of twelve poems and the last, a compilation of over 400.The poems of Leaves of Grass are loosely connected, with each representing Whitman's celebration of his philosophy of life and humanity. This book is notable for its discussion of delight in sensual pleasures during a time when such candid displays were considered immoral.

2017 Reprint of 1855 First Edition. Exact facsimile of the original edition, not reproduced with Optical Recognition Software. “Leaves of Grass” was highly controversial during its time for its explicit sexual imagery, and Whitman was subject to derision by many contemporary critics. Over time, the collection has infiltrated popular culture and been recognized as one of the central works of American poetry. Though the first edition was published in 1855, Whitman spent most of his professional life writing and re-writing it, revising it multiple times until his death. This resulted in vastly different editions over four decades—the first a small book of twelve poems and the last a compilation of over 400. This facsimile reproduces the typography and page layout of the original edition of 1855, and is in comparable size. It is hoped that the spirit of the poetry is better communicated in the type and format in which the poet originally expressed his craft.

In 1855, Walt Whitman published — at his own expense — the first edition of Leaves of Grass, a visionary volume of twelve poems. Showing the influence of a uniquely American form of mysticism known as Transcendentalism, which eschewed the general society and culture of the time, the writing is distinguished by an explosively innovative free verse style and previously unmentionable subject matter. Exalting nature, celebrating the human body, and praising the senses and sexual love, the monumental work was condemned as "immoral." Whitman continued evolving Leaves of Grass despite the controversy, growing his influential work decades after its first appearance by adding new poems with each new printing. This edition presents the original twelve poems from Whitman's premier 1855 publication of Leaves of Grass. Included are some of the greatest poems of modern times: "Song of Myself," "I Sing the Body Electric," and "There Was a Child Went Forth" (which in the first editions of Leaves of Grass were still nameless), works that continue to upset conventional notions of beauty and originality even today.

In response to Ralph Waldo Emerson’s call for the United States to have its own unique poetic voice, Walt Whitman rose to the challenge to create what would ultimately be his most profound work. Taking its title from the colloquial term “grass”, meaning a work of minor value, Whitman’s “Leaves of Grass” is anything but that. Over his lifetime Whitman would continue to expand and revise his most famous work up until his death in 1892. The first edition, which is reproduced here, contained just twelve poems compared to the final “deathbed” edition which included over 400. “Leaves of Grass” is unique for its celebration of the sensual pleasures of life in a time when such an attitude was considered immoral. A departure from a poetic tradition which relied on symbolism, allegory, and meditation on the religious and spiritual, “Leaves of Grass” instead focused on nature and the individual’s role in it. Initial reception of the work was quite controversial, but over time this collection of poetry has come to be acknowledged as one of the truly great American works of literature. This edition is printed on premium acid-free paper.

An unabridged collection of classic verse speaking profoundly into the lives of readers today. Leaves of Grass, featuring beloved poems such as “Oh Captain! My Captain!” and “Song of Myself,” was met with both scathing criticism and glowing praise when it was originally published in 1855. Arguably the best historical commentator of the nineteenth century, Walt Whitman continues to inspire readers today. The most inclusive writer one might ever come across, Whitman wrote of laborers, mechanics, soldiers, mothers, carpenters, and prostitutes; this inclusivity stirred up controversy and earned bans, but also gained the attention of other literary greats like Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau. At a time when conversations concerning politics, race, class, and sexuality are at an all time high, Leaves of Grass which addresses the experience of multitudes, will resonate with readers today perhaps even more profoundly than in Whitman’s own time. Born in 1819, Walt Whitman became one of America’s best-known poets before his death in 1892. Often called the “father of free verse,” Whitman spent much of his life revising and augmenting his “special and entire self-chosen poetic utterance,” Leaves of Grass.

This carefully crafted ebook: "Leaves Of Grass: The First Edition of 1855 + The Death Bed Edition of 1892" is formatted for your eReader with a functional and detailed table of contents. Leaves of Grass is a poetry collection by Walt Whitman. Though the first edition was published in 1855, Whitman spent his entire life writing Leaves of Grass, revising it in several editions until his death. Whitman was intentional in not organizing the book in any chronological way. Instead, he was concerned with the journey of the poetry. He desired that the reader would see a self formed through the words and themes of the book. He writes poems of a political, social, personal, and sexual nature, all ideas that he will elaborate on in later sections. Walt Whitman published and designed The First Edition of Leaves of Grass in 1855. The edition included twelve untitled poems, which were named in later editions. He included no mention of the author, only his name on the copyright and in one line of the first poem, which is later titled "Song of Myself". Whitman's final edition, the 1891-92 edition, also known as "The Deathbed Edition," is simply grammatical corrections of the 1881 edition, and the addition of "November Boughs" as a supplement, "Good-Bye my Fancy" as a second supplement, and "A Backward Glance O'er Travell'd Roads" as the closing essay. Walter "Walt" Whitman (1819 – 1892) was an American poet, essayist and journalist. His work was very controversial in its time, particularly his poetry collection Leaves of Grass, which was described as obscene for its overt sexuality.

Ralph Waldo Emerson issued a call for a great poet to capture and immortalize the unique American experience. In 1855, an answer came with Walt Whitman’s Leaves of Grass. Today, this masterful collection remains not only a seminal event in American literature but also the incomparable achievement of one of America’s greatest poets—an exuberant, passionate man who loved his country and wrote of it as no other has ever done. Walt Whitman was a singer, thinker, visionary, and citizen extraordinaire. Thoreau called Whitman “probably the greatest democrat that ever lived,” and Emerson judged Leaves of Grass as “the most extraordinary piece of wit and wisdom America has yet contributed.” The text presented here is that of the “Deathbed” or ninth edition of Leaves of Grass, published in 1892. The content and grouping of poems is the version authorized by Whitman himself for the final and complete edition of his masterpiece.