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. His main collection, Leaves of Grass, was first published in 1855 but was continually augmented and republished throughout his life. On the occasion of its first publication it was greeted by Ralph Waldo Emerson as "the wonderful gift…the most extraordinary piece of wit and wisdom that America has yet contributed."
Whitman's poetry presents the physical body and the transcendent spiritual experience as innately interlinked. His exuberance and passion for all forms of life communicate his conviction that every sphere of existence is valuable, and every experience extends into endless possibility. Whitman was a uniquely American poet who celebrated the importance and strength of American democracy as the ideal society where individualism is paramount and yet all individuals must care for each other.
The Toby Edition brings together the earliest and last editions of Leaves of Grass, together with other major works of the writer, including such seminal works as Song of Myself, I Sing the Body Electric, and Democratic Vistas. It includes a chronology and an introduction by the editor, Shira Wolosky, Professor of English and American Literature at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
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