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

From one of America's best loved and most important poets comes a masterpiece. Leaves of Grass is considered by many to be the greatest collection of poetry ever produced by an American. And this, the 1855 First Edition Text, is considered the strongest and most important of the many editions produced throughout Whitman's life. Here Whitman is at the height of his writing prowess, and no other edition would match it for strength and impact. "The most extraordinary piece of wit and wisdom that America has yet contributed." - Ralph Waldo Emerson

Walt Whitman's Leaves of Grass is a clarion call to his country's people to join together in the "crowning growth of the United States". Its patriotic zeal made him a symbol of democracy in his country long before he achieved fame there as a poet.The intense emotion of Whitman's verse celebrates the regenerative power of nature and the immortal divinity of the human soul. His passionate beliefs are evident throughout this volume - in the radical "I Sing the Body Electric"; the patriotic "I Hear America Singing"; and the romantic "As if a Phantom Caress'd Me".This collection (the so-called "deathbed" edition of 1892) represents the culmination of Whitman's life's work and contains more than 400 poems.

First published in 1855 with Whitman’s own money, Leaves of Grass is a highly sensual collection of verses that became a monument to American poetry. The journalist, philosopher, clerk, and Civil War nurse spent the following four decades revising and expanding the work from twelve poems to a massive four-hundred-poem compilation. Celebrating nature and human sexuality with explicit imagery, his poetry was controversial but also drew high praise from the likes of Alfred Tennyson and D. H. Lawrence, who called him the “greatest modern poet.” With its sensuous and highly imaginative free-form verses, Walt Whitman’s greatest masterpiece is now available in an elegantly designed clothbound edition with an elastic closure and a new introduction.

“Of Life immense in passion, pulse, and power,Cheerful, for freest action form'd under the laws divine,The Modern Man I sing.” -- from Leaves of Grass The newest in our series of bold-faced thoughts on classic works! This pocket-size, volume offers an innovative take on a beloved American masterpiece: the first (1855) edition of Leaves of Grass, which consisted of an introduction by Whitman and merely twelve untitled poems. Though it has now passed its 155th anniversary, Walt Whitman’s powerful poetry continues to inspire with its rich language, all-embracing populism, and boundless spirit. Whitman took it upon himself to establish a bold, sensual, new literary tradition that was distinctly American—and consciously set out to be at once the quintessential American poet and the voice of the common man. Leaves of Grass remains an enduring touchstone for writers everywhere, and for anyone who wants to get in touch with his or her own creative spirit. In addition to the text, this compact volume features highlighted passages, an introduction that relates the poems to today's perspective, and reflective writing exercises (with lined pages to write on).

Leaves of Grass is a poetry collection by the American poet Walt Whitman (1819–1892). Though 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.

Leaves of Grass is a poetry collection by the American poet Walt Whitman (1819–1892). Though 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.

Leaves of Grass, a collection of poems written and re-published by Walt Whitman from 1855 to 1891 celebrates the triumph of America. Writing in a unique literary style, the poet depicts a land that is vast and sweeping in its grandeur, with scenes of epic proportions : majestic skies, billowing waves, fields of grain extending to the horizon. He sings of a free nation confident in the pursuit of its destiny. He captures the essence of the American spirit – proud in its accomplishments, having tamed the wilderness of the great frontier and survived a bloody civil war, confident in its newfound powers. One is apt to become spell-bound by the poems’ robust cadence, the trace of sensuality, the lofty symbols, the rich imagery, the vigorous rhyme. It seems that nature perpetually calls attention unto itself, but man ordinarily ignores it or is not sensitive enough to perceive its charms. Thus, the poet continually exhorts the onlooker to behold the beauty unfolding before his eyes. As in theatre, the poet conjures images to create moods as would suit his purpose. Whitman’s poems overflow with vivacity and energy as he writes about the pioneers of a new nation leaving the sanctuary of their homes to tame the great outdoors. In the process he is overwhelmed by the magnificence of nature as well as the great cities and industries built by man’s labor. If his medium were a film screen, Whitman would come up with glorious takes of canyons and sunsets and deserts in Cinemascope, of buffalo herds grazing the plains, interspersed with the creaking wheels of industry. When Whitman hears America singing, the songs he hears are those of vigorous workmen as they go about their daily tasks. For him, America is one vast theatre with the American common man as hero.

Influenced by Ralph Waldo Emerson and the transcendentalist movement, Walt Whitman’s groundbreaking collection of poetry broke from the meditative traditions of the symbolic, the allegorical, and the religious. Instead, Whitman celebrated the natural world—and humanity’s individual connection with it.In elevating the human mind, and daring to embrace the human body and its pleasures, Whitman, often called the father of free verse, composed one of the most influential and controversial works of American literature.Revised edition: Previously published as Leaves of Grass, this edition of Leaves of Grass (AmazonClassics Edition) includes editorial revisions.

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). Though 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.