Leaves of Grass: The Original 1855 Edition: Bold-faced Thoughts on the Power and Pleasure of Self-expression (Bold-Faced Wisdom) - Softcover

Whitman, Walt

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9781402770661: Leaves of Grass: The Original 1855 Edition: Bold-faced Thoughts on the Power and Pleasure of Self-expression (Bold-Faced Wisdom)

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1402770669 ISBN 13: 9781402770661

Publisher: Union Square & Co., 2010

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“Of Life immense in passion, pulse, and power,
Cheerful, for freest action form'd under the laws divine,
The Modern Man I sing.”

-- from Leaves of Grass

The newest in our series of bold-faced thoughts on classic works! This pocket-size, volume offers an innovative take on a beloved American masterpiece: the first (1855) edition of Leaves of Grass, which consisted of an introduction by Whitman and merely twelve untitled poems. Though it has now passed its 155th anniversary, Walt Whitman’s powerful poetry continues to inspire with its rich language, all-embracing populism, and boundless spirit.

Whitman took it upon himself to establish a bold, sensual, new literary tradition that was distinctly American—and consciously set out to be at once the quintessential American poet and the voice of the common man. Leaves of Grass remains an enduring touchstone for writers everywhere, and for anyone who wants to get in touch with his or her own creative spirit.

In addition to the text, this compact volume features highlighted passages, an introduction that relates the poems to today's perspective, and reflective writing exercises (with lined pages to write on).

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From the Publisher:

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. Leaves Of Grass is his one book. First published in 1855 with only twelve poems, it was greeted by Ralph Waldo Emerson as "the wonderful gift . . . the most extraordinary piece of wit and wisdom that America has yet contributed." Over the course of Whitman's life, the book reappeared in many versions, expanded and transformed as the author's experiences and the nation's history changed and grew. Whitman's ambition was to creates something uniquely American. In that he succeeded. His poems have been woven into the very fabric of the American character. From his solemn masterpieces "When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom'd" and "Out of the Cradle Endlessly Rocking" to the joyous freedom of "Song of Myself," "I Sing the Body Electric," and "Song of the Open Road," Whitman's work lives on, an inspiration to the poets of later generations.

From the Inside Flap:

In 1855, the first edition of Leaves of Grass appeared, consisting of twelve untitled poems and a preface outlining the author's poetics. An initial commercial failure, this volume was the first stage of a massive, lifelong enterprise. Six editions and some thirty-seven years later, Leaves of Grass would become one of the central works m the history of world poetry. This Vintage Books/The Library of America edition includes both the 1855 first edition in its exact, original form and the magnificent final edition of 1891-1892.

For the first time, the authoritative editions of works by major American novelists, poets, scholars, and essayists collected in the hardcover volumes of The Library of America are being published singly in a series of handsome paperback books. A distinguished writer has contributed an introduction for each volume, which also includes a chronology of the author's life and career, an essay on the text, and notes.

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