Essential Whitman: Transcendent American Poetry with Introduction by Galway Kinnell

by Walt Whitman, Galway Kinnell (Introduction)

From the introduction by Galway The poems of Walt Whitman meant little to me when I read them in high school and college. Luckily, when I was teaching at the University of Grenoble in my late twenties, I was required to give a course on Whitman. My experience of Leaves of Grass then was intense. . . . Soon I understood that poetry could be transcendent, hymn-like, a cosmic song, and yet remain idolatrously attached to the creatures and things of our world. . . . Once again, as when I first began writing, it seemed it might be possible to say everything in poetry.

Genres: Poetry, Classics

179 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1999

About the author

Walter Whitman Jr. was an American poet, essayist, and journalist. He is considered one of the most influential poets in American literature. Whitman incorporated both transcendentalism and realism in his writings and is often called the father of free verse. His work was controversial in his time, particularly his 1855 poetry collection Leaves of Grass, which was described by some as obscene for its overt sensuality.
Whitman was born in Huntington on Long Island, and lived in Brooklyn as a child and through much of his career. At the age of 11, he left formal schooling to go to work. He worked as a journalist, a teacher, and a government clerk. Whitman's major poetry collection, Leaves of Grass, first published in 1855, was financed with his own money and became well known. The work was an attempt to reach out to the common person with an American epic. Whitman continued expanding and revising Leaves of Grass until his death in 1892.
During the American Civil War, he went to Washington, D.C., and worked in hospitals caring for the wounded. His poetry often focused on both loss and healing. On the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, whom Whitman greatly admired, he authored two poems, "O Captain! My Captain!" and "When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom'd", and gave a series of lectures on Lincoln. After suffering a stroke towards the end of his life, Whitman moved to Camden, New Jersey, where his health further declined. When he died at the age of 72, his funeral was a public event.
Whitman's influence on poetry remains strong. Art historian Mary Berenson wrote, "You cannot really understand America without Walt Whitman, without Leaves of Grass... He has expressed that civilization, 'up to date,' as he would say, and no student of the philosophy of history can do without him." Modernist poet Ezra Pound called Whitman "America's poet... He is America."

Reviews

[Liisaan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Whitman’s poetry hits different as an adult. I enjoyed it when I first encountered it as a teenager, but something about life’s experiences made me appreciate it so much more at this different stage of my life.

[Becky · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful collection of Walt Whitman, especially interesting for the poet-editor's selection of the versions of poems. Leaves of Grass was published many times over the decades of Whitman's adulthood, with Whitman making sometimes drastic changes to the poems from edition to edition. In Essential Whitman, within some of the longer poems, he picks and chooses the best parts from editions ranging forty years apart -- to some this may seem like heresy, but the editor makes a good case for it in his lengthy and interesting introduction. More importantly, the poems shine in these versions. I'm no Whitman scholar, but for the casual reader, this is a major success.

[J.C. · Rating 4 out of 5]

They should have called this the "Whitman sampler Pack", there's more that could be included in order to be "Essential". Overall its a good selection, and Whitman's optimism really put me in a good mood before I clocked in for work each day i had it playing in my car. The reading does the work justice. i think this is a good entryway into the work of Whitman.

[Susan]

Read selections for Weekend Classics 2/24-2/26/23

[Di Taylor · Rating 4 out of 5]

I can't wait to delve further into this book. I have loathed poetry and was reintroduced to it in an English 101 Composition class. The first thing I did was look for the word 'poetry' on the syllabus and was relieved when it was absent. Tricky, tricky — the last week of class the professor introduced a fun poetry exercise and quirky poems which he read in character voice. I was hooked! A subsequent lit class I was introduced to Walt Whitman and Leaves of Grass, and initially I found it difficult to get through, but then found myself frustrated because EVERYONE else appeared to understand it. While others expressed their condolences about having to read anything Whitman. I find his poems to be rich and deep with life, compassion and realism. Somehow if I hadn't had the opportunity to read Whitman, I'd genuinely felt cheated. This book is on the list of next fall's poetry class that I'm hoping to take – ;-) I couldn't wait....

[J.R. Spiegel · Rating 3 out of 5]

The introduction argues that through a life long process of self-editing and revision Whitman lost the passion and intent of his best works. This reader attempts to edit his best moments from the various editions of each poem creating new hybrid or mutant (depending on your puritanical leanings)versions. This collection is much like a greatest hits album that washes over the grit and mental of prolonged artistic development and degradation.
But it works nicely to introduce readers to the works of Whitman. The majority of the poems are short and can be read through with ease on the subway. For the longer pieces the editor added in stanza lines to guide the readers place.

[Evie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is more of an introductory collection, featuring his more popular works, rather than something that might provide in-depth understanding of it. But, still very enjoyable.

[Jessica]

Absolutely beautiful. Studied this in college, polished it off tonight.