Walt Whitman's Civil War - by Walter Lowenfels (Paperback)

About the Book

In 1863 Walt Whitman first proposed to the publisher John Redpath a book about his Civil War experiences. It was never published. But in a draft prospectus Whitman described "a new book... with its fr

Book Synopsis

In 1863 Walt Whitman first proposed to the publisher John Redpath a book about his Civil War experiences. It was never published. But in a draft prospectus Whitman described "a new book . . . with its framework jotted down on the battlefield, in the shelter tent, by the wayside amid the rubble of passing artillery trains or the moving cavalry in the streets of Washington . . . a book full of the blood and vitality of the American people." Walter Lowenfels has edited the book Whitman could only envision. From a mosaic of materials--newspaper dispatches, letters, notebooks, published and unpublished works--as well as thirty-six of Whitman's great war poems, Lowenfels has created a thrilling and unique document. Sixteen pages of drawings by Winslow Homer, another distinguished eyewitness, are reproduced here from the artist's field sketches. The result is a book that produces in the reader exactly what Whitman had hoped, one that captures "part of the actual distraction, heat, smoke, and excitement of those times."

From the Back Cover

From a mosiac of materials-newspaper dispatches, letters, notebooks, published and unpublished works-as well as 36 of Whitman's great war poems, Lowenfels has created a thrilling and unique document on the Civil War.

About the Author

Walt Whitman (1819-1892) was an American poet, essayist, and journalist. He is among the most influential poets in the American canon, often called the father of free verse.