Selected Poems 1855-1892

by Walt Whitman, Gary Schmidgall (Editor)

A century after his death, Whitman is still celebrated as America's greatest poet. In this startling new edition of his work, Whitman biographer Gary Schmidgall presents over two hundred poems in their original pristine form, in the chronological order in which they were written, with Whitman's original line breaks and punctuation. Included in this volume are facsimilies of Whitman's original manuscripts, contemporary-- and generally blistering-- reviews of Whitman's poetry (not surprisingly Henry James hated it), and early pre- Leaves of Grass poems that return us to the physical Whitman, rejoicing-- sometimes graphically-- in homoerotic love.

Unlike the many other available editions, all drawn from the final authorized or "deathbed" Leaves of Grass , this collection focuses on the exuberant poems Whitman wrote during the creative and sexual prime of his life, roughly between 1853 and 1860. These poems are faithfully presented as Whitman first gave them to the world-- fearless, explicit, and uncompromised-- before he transformed himself into America's respectable, mainstream Good Gray Poet through thirty years of revision, self-censorship, and suppression.

Whitman admitted that his later poetry lacked the "ecstasy of statement" of his early verse. Revealing that ecstasy for the first time, this edition makes possible a major reappraisal of our nation's first great poet.

Genres: Poetry, Classics, Nonfiction

560 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 1980

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

[Justin Jaeger · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wow, what an undertaking this was. The thing that impresses me most about Whitman is that the boundaries that he so controversially broke through are now almost forgotten. He was as literally "ahead of his time" as one can be in the world of literature and I find it a beautiful thing that he knew it. It was difficult for me to really understand the profundity of much of his work because his style has permeated American poetry and literature. In my feel, his challenge to the rules and norms of art is such an American concept that it is tough for me to imagine anything different.

This book is a textbook in essence. I really could have benefitted from a class to give me perspective as I read through the bulk of Whitman's work, but I feel very satisfied to have trudged through my own ignorance to connect with Whitman in the limited way that I was able. Strangely enough, it seems like what he would have wanted.

Most valuable to me personally here was reading the chronology of Whitman reviews. What I gathered most from them was that few people of his time really took the patience to get into what he wrote, but those that did were able to say, "I don't quite understand this, but I know it is remarkable." After reading this book, I feel like that.

The particular poem that connected with me most was "Sun Down Poem" of the 1856 version of Leaves Grass.

[CX Dillhunt · Rating 5 out of 5]

...the Whitman of choice if you only read one...takes you back to the original ecstasy with Whitman's quirkiness and love of language which he couldn't separate from his joie de vivre...magnificent presentation of the man who loved everyone & everything...as if he'd handed you the original manuscript and said, "Here, dear friend!"

[Tiffiny Corbett · Rating 1 out of 5]

not my thing

[Janea · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Do I contradict myself? Very well, then I contradict myself, I am large, I contain multitudes."

[James]

A century after his death, Whitman is still celebrated as America's greatest poet. In this startling new edition of his work, Whitman biographer Gary Schmidgall presents over two hundred poems in their original pristine form, in the chronological order in which they were written, with Whitman's original line breaks and punctuation. Included in this volume are facsimilies of Whitman's original manuscripts, contemporary-- and generally blistering-- reviews of Whitman's poetry (not surprisingly Henry James hated it), and early pre-Leaves of Grass poems that return us to the physical Whitman, rejoicing-- sometimes graphically-- in homoerotic love.Unlike the many other available editions, all drawn from the final authorized or "deathbed" Leaves of Grass, this collection focuses on the exuberant poems Whitman wrote during the creative and sexual prime of his life, roughly between 1853 and 1860. These poems are faithfully presented as Whitman first gave them to the world-- fearless, explicit, and uncompromised-- before he transformed himself into America's respectable, mainstream Good Gray Poet through thirty years of revision, self-censorship, and suppression.Whitman admitted that his later poetry lacked the "ecstasy of statement" of his early verse. Revealing that ecstasy for the first time, this edition makes possible a major reappraisal of our nation's first great poet.

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Even more than the later poems, I enjoyed reading reviews of Walt Whitman’s work from his time. Most critics hated him and wrote scathing reviews they thought were funny. One of the few positive reviews was by Oscar Wilde. It’s strange to think of these writers living at the same time. (Wilde was much younger, and her refers to Whitman as "the old man" in his review.)

[Shadow Man]

I was trying to find the meth recipe

[Mackenzie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I could not get enough of this captivating book filled with dozens of poems that blew my mins. Whitman uses such descriptive words and puts them in a way that feel as if you could be standing right next to him when he was writing it. Or even where he was when he felt or saw the things he did. Each line of each poem in the book you could picture what it is like, to some extent, of what what was happening and you could really sympathize with him when he felt happy or sad. I would recommend this book to every one who likes the classics but i must admit that it is filled with his more longer poems but it is well worth it in the end.

[Jenni · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lots of versions of Whitman (he revised excessively) but this version, edited by Gary Schmidgall, is closet to the original poems and there's also some of his essays and poetics. I love this edition.

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

Extensive collection of Whitman's work. Shows his evolution as a poet and his drive to self-edit and, later in life, self-censor. Exuberant free verse full of love of self and country, and love of love itself. His early work shows a man with no guilt or shame, pleased to be who he is.

[Matthew · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best edition on Whitman I've ever seen.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

This isn't the edition I own or have read, but I have read Song of Myself. The copy I have was a gift from Eirene.