I decided to read through the entire collection in Leaves of Grass. I definitely recommend reading all of Walt Whitman, as opposed to just picking out what others suggest to read. You'll find what you like and dislike, and I found that I appreciated more than what Susan Wise-Bauer provided. Granted, she is only saying, "Don't skip these," and she does encourage readers to sample his poetry.
If one wants to get a sense of a time period or a place or ideas, Walt Whitman is a great example of late 19th c America, particularly post-Civil War America. I bet he may seem too patriotic for Western audiences today, but the liberating reward of literature/poetry is that it is a "snapshot" of time and place and period that we get to visit. Contemporary readers should have an open mind. Whitman held great appreciation for the liberty and freedom he enjoyed.
That is not all that he wrote about; he wrote about himself (a lot), as well as nature and politics and people. He wrote about the superior American states, almost as if he were in awe of each and every one of them. As a reader, I couldn't help but feel his joy.
Leaves of Grass was a pleasure to read through. 4/5 stars, only bc I am not a poetry person, but by far Whitman is going to be a favorite poet for me.
If one wants to get a sense of a time period or a place or ideas, Walt Whitman is a great example of late 19th c America, particularly post-Civil War America. I bet he may seem too patriotic for Western audiences today, but the liberating reward of literature/poetry is that it is a "snapshot" of time and place and period that we get to visit. Contemporary readers should have an open mind. Whitman held great appreciation for the liberty and freedom he enjoyed.
That is not all that he wrote about; he wrote about himself (a lot), as well as nature and politics and people. He wrote about the superior American states, almost as if he were in awe of each and every one of them. As a reader, I couldn't help but feel his joy.
Leaves of Grass was a pleasure to read through. 4/5 stars, only bc I am not a poetry person, but by far Whitman is going to be a favorite poet for me.