Leaves of Grass

By Walt Whitman

First published in 1855, "Leaves of Grass" is a poetry collection by American author and poet Walt Whitman that was rewritten and reissued multiple times during Whitman’s lifetime.

The poems are loosely connected, representing Whitman’s celebration of his philosophy of life and humanity. The book of poems explores the theme of delight in sensual pleasures at a time when candid displays of pleasure were considered immoral. Unlike most poems at the time, which relied on religious symbolism and allegory, "Leaves of Grass" concentrated on exalting the body and the material world. 
Heavily influenced by the Transcendentalist movement and the works of Ralph Waldo Emerson, the poems fuse praise of the human form and the human mind. 
The format of the poems shifts radically, and does not tend to follow standard rules for meter and line length. 

Highly controversial upon its release due to its explicit sexual imagery, the book was panned by most poetry critics during Whitman’s lifetime. However, it has become one of the most enduring works of American poetry, still widely read and studied today as one of Whitman’s defining works.

(Source: supersummary.com)

• Language: English
• Publisher: E-BOOKARAMA
• Release date: Apr 28, 2024
• ISBN: 9788827528082

Walt Whitman

Walt Whitman was born in Long Island on the 31st May 1819 to Walter Whitman, a carpenter and farmer, and Louisa Van Velsor Whitman. Walt was one of eight siblings and was taken out of school at the age of eleven to start work, but he continued to read voraciously and visit museums. He worked first as a printer, then briefly as a teacher before settling on a career in journalism. He self-published the first version of Leaves of Grass, which consisted of only twelve poems, in 1855. By the time he died in 1892, and despite arousing considerable controversy, he enjoyed unprecedented international success and to this day is considered to be one of America’s greatest poets.

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