Leaves of Grass (Bantam Classics)
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One of the great innovative figures in American letters, Walt Whitman created a daringly new kind of poetry that became a major force in world literature. Leaves Of Grass is his one book. First published in 1855 with only twelve poems, it was greeted by Ralph Waldo Emerson as "the wonderful gift . . . the most extraordinary piece of wit and wisdom that America has yet contributed." Over the course of Whitman's life, the book reappeared in many versions, expanded and transformed as the author's experiences and the nation's history changed and grew. Whitman's ambition was to creates something uniquely American. In that he succeeded. His poems have been woven into the very fabric of the American character. From his solemn masterpieces "When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom'd" and "Out of the Cradle Endlessly Rocking" to the joyous freedom of "Song of Myself," "I Sing the Body Electric," and "Song of the Open Road," Whitman's work lives on, an inspiration to the poets of later generations.
Introduction and CelebrationviiSuggestions for Further ReadingxxxixFacsimile Frontispiece2Facsimile Title Page3Whitman's Preface5Song of Myself28A Song for Occupations97To Think of Time109The Sleepers117I Sing the Body Electric129Faces137Song of the Answerer142Europe: The 72d and 73d Years of These States146A Boston Ballad148There Was a Child Went Forth151Who Learns My Lesson Complete?154Great Are the Myths156
