Called by literary critic Mark van Doren "the most original and passionate American poet," Walt Whitman (1819-1892) created a body of verse uniquely his own-unconventional, lacking rhyme or meter, employing chanted lists of names and objects-but also powerful, sensual, oratorical and inspiring.
His most famous work-Leaves of Grass-was a lifelong project Whitman compared to the building of a cathedral or the slow cumulative growth of a tree. During his lifetime the book (actually a series of books) went through nine editions, between 1855 and 1892. Today, it is considered a landmark of American literature.
This volume contains 24 poems from Leaves of Grass, offering readers a generous sampling of Whitman's best and most representative poems. They include such famous works as "I Hear America Singing," "I Sing the Body Electric," "Song of the Open Road," "Out of the Cradle Endlessly Rocking," "When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom'd" and "O Captain! My Captain!"-all reprinted from an authoritative text.