Selected Poems - (Dover Thrift Editions: Poetry) by Walt Whitman (Paperback)

About the Book

Generous sampling from Leaves of Grass, including "I Hear America Singing," "Song of the Open Road," "I Sing the Body Electric," "When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom'd," "O Captain! My Captain!" and 19 more.

Book Synopsis

In his unconventional verse, Walt Whitman spoke in a powerful, sensual, oratorical, and inspiring voice. His most famous work, Leaves of Grass, was a long-term project that the poet compared to the building of a cathedral or the slow growth of a tree. During his lifetime, from 1819 to 1892, it went through nine editions. Today it is regarded as a landmark of American literature.
This volume contains 24 poems from Leaves of Grass, offering a generous sampling of Whitman's best and most representative verses. Featured works include "I Hear America Singing," "I Sing the Body Electric," "Song of the Open Road," "Out of Cradle Endlessly Rocking," "When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom'd," and "O Captain! My Captain!" -- all reprinted from an authoritative text.

From the Back Cover

Walt Whitman was born in 1819. He worked as a journalist and newspaper editor for many years before the appearance of his Leaves of Grass in 1855. This is a collection of his work aimed at the general reader rather than the specialist and carries no explanatory or critical apparatus.

About the Author

One of America's most influential and innovative poets, Walt Whitman (1819-92) worked as a teacher, journalist, and volunteer nurse during the Civil War. Proclaimed as the nation's first "poet of democracy," Whitman reached out to common readers and opposed censorship with his overt celebrations of sexuality