Leaves of Grass

Leaves of Grass is Walt Whitman's great collection of poetry which he revised and expanded throughout his lifetime. This new collection of his poetry, edited and introduced by Professor Bridget Bennett, is taken from the final version, the `death-bed edition', published 1891-2. It includes all his most famous poems such as `Song of Myself' and `I Sing the Body Electric'. First published in 1855, Leaves of Grass was groundbreaking in its subject matter and in its direct and unembellished style. Whitman wrote about the United States and its people, its revolutionary spirit and about democracy. He wrote openly about the body and desire in a way that completely broke with convention. Truly radical, Leaves of Grass paved the way for a completely new kind of poetry.