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Leaves of Grass, by Walt Whitman (Poetry)
Leaves of Grass, by Walt Whitman (Poetry) | Walt Whitman
Leaves of Grass is a poetry collection by the American poet Walt Whitman (1819-1892). Though the first edition was published in 1855, Whitman spent most of his professional life writing and re-writing Leaves of Grass, revising it multiple times until his death. This resulted in vastly different editions over four decades-the first a small book of twelve poems and the last a compilation of over 400.The poems of Leaves of Grass are loosely connected, with each representing Whitman's celebration of his philosophy of life and humanity. This book is notable for its discussion of delight in sensual pleasures during a time when such candid displays were considered immoral. Where much previous poetry, especially English, relied on symbolism, allegory, and meditation on the religious and spiritual, Leaves of Grass (particularly the first edition) exalted the body and the material world. Influenced by Ralph Waldo Emerson and the Transcendentalist movement, itself an offshoot of Romanticism, Whitman's poetry praises nature and the individual human's role in it. However, much like Emerson, Whitman does not diminish the role of the mind or the spirit; rather, he elevates the human form and the human mind, deeming both worthy of poetic praise.With one exception, the poems do not rhyme or follow standard rules for meter and line length. Among the poems in the collection are "Song of Myself," "I Sing the Body Electric," "Out of the Cradle Endlessly Rocking." Later editions included Whitman's elegy to the assassinated President Abraham Lincoln, "When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom'd." Leaves of Grass was highly controversial during its time for its explicit sexual imagery, and Whitman was subject to derision by many contemporary critics. Over time, the collection has infiltrated popular culture and been recognized as one of the central works of American poetry. Walter "Walt" Whitman ( May 31, 1819 - March 26, 1892) was an American poet, essayist, and journalist. A humanist, he was a part of the transition between transcendentalism and realism, incorporating both views in his works. Whitman is among the most influential poets in the American canon, often called the father of free verse. His work was very controversial in its time, particularly his poetry collection Leaves of Grass, which was described as obscene for its overt sexuality.Born in Huntington on Long Island, Whitman worked as a journalist, a teacher, a government clerk, and-in addition to publishing his poetry-was a volunteer nurse during the American Civil War. Early in his career, he also produced a temperance novel, Franklin Evans (1842). Whitman's major work, Leaves of Grass, was first published in 1855 with his own money. The work was an attempt at reaching out to the common person with an American epic. He continued expanding and revising it until his death in 1892. After a stroke towards the end of his life, he moved to Camden, New Jersey, where his health further declined. When he died at age 72, his funeral became a public spectacle....
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dabbe
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39 likes1 stack add
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lil1inblue
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Perhaps my favorite book of poetry. I love this edition. #aboutabook #ofpoetry

IndoorDame Love! ❤️ 3mo
Eggs Exquisite 👏🏻👏🏻 3mo
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IndoorDame
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lil1inblue Whitman is one of my favorites! 😍 8mo
TheSpineView Love! ❤️❤️❤️ 8mo
dabbe 💚💙💚 8mo
IndoorDame @lil1inblue mine too! ❤️ 8mo
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IndoorDame
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TheBookHippie 💚💚💚💚💚 8mo
TheSpineView Another great poem!💚 8mo
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Doppoetry
Bailedbailed

I can't seem to get over the naive world view and the more I try to read it the more irritated I become. I tend to even finish books I dislike but I just can't complete this.

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dabbe
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IndoorDame Love ❤️❤️❤️ 2y
TheBookHippie Favorite 💚💚💚 2y
TheSpineView A fabulous poem! I loved reading it again. 💗💗💗 2y
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Robotswithpersonality
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Mehso-so

Well that was A LOT.
Nature poems feel like a hyperverbose Mary Oliver, not my preferred format.
Preferred shorter, quieter moments of description in between grand proclamations, where it only takes a few sentences instead of a great list, i.e. 'Sparkles From the Wheel'. 1/?

Robotswithpersonality Long tracts on 'war's human cost is awful' which OF COURSE, but not a sentiment I want to read on repeat. Also long tracts on 'America, yay!' which seems to vacillate between entreating and proclaiming America to be great - suffice to say they didn't work for me. 2/? 2y
Robotswithpersonality Whitman seems to be optimistic and open minded to the point of naivete which doesn't mean he's immune to the missteps of how society viewed minorities at the time; I THINK he was pushing for equality, he SAID it a lot, but he kept describing black people and women in specific terms and exalting the able-bodied which, yeah, no. 3/? 2y
Robotswithpersonality Then there's all the sex and death which makes me think that a) the scholars suggesting bisexual/pansexual poet hypothesis are correct and b) like probably everybody who lives through a time of conflict, Whitman had unresolved trauma/obsession with what he witnessed (volunteering at hospital during American Civil War).

Estimate that given barriers (epic poetic structure and historical time of writing), I got 75% reading comprehension, 10% wincing as a modern reader.
2y
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Robotswithpersonality
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This book only has 488 pages. 🤔
Lesson for publishing: When formatting a new edition, always check the footnotes! 🤭

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Robotswithpersonality
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🌞🎨

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Robotswithpersonality
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Sounds a bit more like the arsonist's joy than the fireman's joy to me, Walt! 😬

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Robotswithpersonality
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Here for any work that makes me want to get outside for a walk (not that it takes much for me to want to do that ☺️).

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Robotswithpersonality
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🌳My favourite part of reading poetry: when a thought/feeling you've had a million times but never articulated is set out so clearly on the page.

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Robotswithpersonality
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When he sticks to the Nature worship, I'm on board.

Karisa Amen 💗 Have you read Specimen Days? I‘m thinking I need a reread of that ode to Whitman soon… (edited) 2y
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Robotswithpersonality
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I bet trees are less prone to anxiety and overthinking.

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IndoorDame
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Pickpick

Is there anything better than reading an essential piece of the canon and discovering that it contains exactly what all the cultural references to it promise, but also multitudes more? ❤️ I‘ve been reading this slowly over several months and will miss having it as a constant companion, but am already planning a reread because this is one of those books you could read your whole life and it will always have more there.

CloakNQuill I love this edition 😍 2y
TEArificbooks Beautiful edition 2y
marleed Oh so pretty. I came across an edition while thrifting a while back. You‘ve inspired me to pick it up and start reading! 2y
See All 9 Comments
IndoorDame @marleed ooh, enjoy! ❤️ 2y
IndoorDame @TEArificbooks @CloakNQuill It‘s my first WordCloud edition, but definitely not my last. I was super happy with it! 2y
batsy Yes! I loved Walt Whitman and was reading a Dover edition I had of selected poems. Didn't want it to end. That's a beautiful edition. 2y
IndoorDame @batsy I didn‘t want it to end either! Not my usual reaction to 500 pages of anything. 2y
SamAnne I have yet to read this and I must. 2y
IndoorDame @SamAnne it stayed on my amorphous TBR forever too, but I couldn‘t be happier I finally got to it! 2y
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IndoorDame
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Somewhere, under this little purring ball of fur, is my book. She‘s really not feeling Whitman this morning. Every time I try to sneak it out she demands more pets. Guess it‘s kitten time. #catsoflitsy

WorldsOkayestStepMom 😻😻😻 2y
AnnR Maybe a book about “Stems of Catnap“ would be more to her liking, lol! 😺😻😼 2y
IndoorDame @Ann_Reads haha! Yes! I‘m gonna compose a little catnip rhyme for her 😂 2y
RaeLovesToRead Awww!! 🥰 You're not getting that book back! 2y
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IndoorDame
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TheSpineView
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Eggs Perfect 🌾 2y
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IndoorDame
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On next month‘s TBR. I have this on kindle, but I‘m thinking about getting a physical copy if anyone has suggestions on editions they like. #leaves #OminousOctober #Scarathlon2022 #TeamMonsterMash @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks @Eggs @StayCurious

Eggs Perfection 👏🏻👏🏻 2y
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CoffeeNBooks
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Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks Perfect 🤎🍂 3y
Eggs You and I chose the same one 🙌🏻 3y
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Eggs
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This classic is famous for representing Whitman's celebration of his philosophy of life, and his humanity.

#leaves #gratefulharvest @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks

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Readerann
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Pickpick

I didn‘t love (nor ‘get‘) all of these poems, but the ones I DID love made it worth reading all 536 pages!

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melissajayne
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1) Yes. Jane Eyre, Pride and Prejudice, the Harry Potter books.

2) sometimes it factors in, especially when I‘m in a bookstore

MoonWitch94 Thanks for playing 📚🌿☺️ 4y
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Rissa1
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Pickpick

This book brought me joy.
Maybe, it was the smell of an old book held by many hands, and then held in storage for many years. Maybe, it was the flashbacks of memories playing through my minds eye. Maybe, it was the wisdom seeping from the words. Maybe it was contentedness.
Whatever it was,
This book brought me joy.

BookmarkTavern What a lovely review! ❤️ 4y
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GingerAntics
Leaves of Grass | Walt Former Owner Whitman
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So excited to have a physical copy of this. @TheBookHippie I think I got the wrong company‘s “classics” edition, but it‘s still the deathbed edition, so it‘s still the same text. I also have an audio version of this edition, so hopefully between the two, my second time through will be better than the first.

TheBookHippie 🤍🤍🤍👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼🌊🌊🌊 4y
GingerAntics @TheBookHippie 🤣😂🤣 I forgot about the poems of about the ocean. 🌊🌊🌊 4y
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Thndrstd
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Today‘s Writers Almanac is a classic that I always love hearing and rereading

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OriginalCyn620
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I read this in a literature class in school and don‘t remember much of it, except for discussing “Song of Myself” quite a bit.
#grass #bloomingbibliophiles

Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks 📚🙌🏻📚 5y
TheBookHippie 💚my favorite 💚 5y
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wanderinglynn
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#friyayIntro Thanks for the tag @Come-read-with-me ☺️

1. Tagged
2. PEEPS!
3. Tulips 🌷
4. Since I‘m at the office right now, it‘s a yellow legal pad 😂

alisiakae Peeps used to be my favorite! Stale peeps, to be precise. People think I‘m weird, I like to leave the package open and eat them when the outer part hardens a bit. 5y
wanderinglynn @4thhouseontheleft peeps are always awesome. 👍🏻👍🏻 5y
Mollyanna @4thhouseontheleft That is the only way to eat Peeps in my opinion. I have a package open and aging right now. 5y
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KimHM
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The spotted hawk swoops by and accuses me, he complains of my gab and my loitering.

💚📚💚📚💚

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KimHM
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33
Space and Time! now I see it is true, what I guess‘d at,
What I guess‘d when I loaf‘d on the grass,
What I guess‘d while I lay alone in my bed,
And again as I walk‘d the beach under the paling stars of the morning.

💚📚💚📚💚

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KimHM
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I went to my green burlap bound edition of the Leaves only to be reminded by Morley that I am not the first to be grateful that I own it and so “have it available for emergency” (xiii). 💚📚💚📚💚

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CoffeeNBooks
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OriginalCyn620 👌🏻🍂🍁 5y
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TheSpineView
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Mindyrecycles
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vkois88 ❤❤❤ 6y
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KristinaRay
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#poetry #classics

From “These I Singing In Spring.”

PaperbackPirate Thank you for sharing! 6y
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KristinaRay
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KristinaRay
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KristinaRay
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KristinaRay
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KristinaRay
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KristinaRay
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Waking up with Whitman this morning.
#classics #poetry

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KristinaRay
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readordierachel Gosh, you're making me want to read this so bad. 💙 6y
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KristinaRay
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KristinaRay
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I hope no one minds my daily Whitman quotes. I‘ve been reading a few poems each day and there‘s always something I want to share. I‘m not sure if that‘s a morning glory, but of all the photos I‘ve taken it looks the closest.
#classics #poetry

SamanthaMarie Please do share! I'd like to get my poetry in my day. 6y
Quirkybookworm Love me some Walt Whitman ! (edited) 6y
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KristinaRay
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I decided I need to buy my own copy of this book.
❤️❤️❤️