” In 1856 the second edition of Leaves of Grass was published, with thirty-three poems, a complimentary letter from Ralph Waldo Emerson published without Emerson’s permission, and a long letter by Whitman himself. In writing, Whitman adapted the form of the epic, constructing it by connecting lyric poems the long, narrative lines in “Song of Myself” are characteristic of his poetry, as was his belief that the poem and the poet were one: “This is no book, / Who touches this touches a man.

On the 4th of July in 1855, Whitman self-published his first edition of Leaves of Grass, a volume of twelve poems and a preface. Back in Brooklyn, Whitman founded the Brooklyn Freeman newspaper and wrote poetry. Whitman’s work in newspapers took him from Long Island to Brooklyn, and from Brooklyn to New Orleans, where he learned firsthand the horrors of the slave trade. He became a teacher seventeen, and later he turned to journalism. It was then that he fell in love with the written word.

His family included nine children, and Whitman began to learn a printer’s trade at twelve.

Walt Whitman’s personal copy of the 1860 Leaves, known as the 'Blue Book,' with hundreds of Whitman’s manuscript annotations, revisions, additions, and deletions.Walt Whitman was born on Long Island in 1819.

Copy from the collection of Kenneth M.

Copy from the Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library, University of Virginia.

Variorum of Leaves of Grass (1855), documenting the manuscript origins of the first edition of Leaves of Grass and highlighting the differences among copies.

Copy from the University of Iowa Libraries, Special Collections & University Archives.

Permission to reuse any of the page images should be sought from the owner of the physical volume. Written, and Whitman Making Books/Books Making Whitman discusses these new In mind, however, that there have been numerous discoveries since these articles were Several excellent introductory articles from Walt Whitman: AnĮncyclopedia, edited by J. That work is done Ed Folsom's Whitman Making Books/Books Making Whitman can serve as an introduction to Whitman as both a writer and a producer of books as Textual histories for the various American editions of Leaves of Grass, but until To present additional printings of Leaves of Grass. Technically speaking, this is not a distinctĮdition but is a reprinting of the 1881-82 edition with 'annexes.') As time allows, we plan The so-called deathbed edition of 1891-92. Editions of Leaves of Grass published in Whitman's lifetime.

Leaves of grass by walt whitman