Selected Poems

In his unconventional verse, Walt Whitman spoke in a powerful, sensual, oratorical, and inspiring voice. His most famous work, Leaves of Grass, was a long-term project that the poet compared to the building of a cathedral or the slow growth of a tree. During his lifetime, from 1819 to 1892, it went through nine editions. Today it is regarded as a landmark of American literature.
This volume contains 24 poems from Leaves of Grass, offering a generous sampling of Whitman’s best and most representative verses. Featured works include ＂I Hear America Singing,＂ ＂I Sing the Body Electric,＂ ＂Song of the Open Road,＂ ＂Out of Cradle Endlessly Rocking,＂ ＂When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom’d,＂ and ＂O Captain! My Captain!＂ -- all reprinted from an authoritative text.

One of America’s most influential and innovative poets, Walt Whitman (1819-92) worked as a teacher, journalist, and volunteer nurse during the Civil War. Proclaimed as the nation’s first ＂poet of democracy,＂ Whitman reached out to common readers and opposed censorship with his overt celebrations of sexuality