"Leaves of Grass" by Walt Whitman - Classic American Poetry Collection

Katie: This is the original edition with a beautifully written preface by Walt Whitman. Whitman continued to add poems to this book until his passing but this one has just the original 12 poems with titles that were added later on. The “deathbed” edition has over 400 poems but not the preface. Definitely a good read for anyone interested in poetry or the transcendentalists.

United States on Oct 10, 2023

BADAL BASUMATARY: A good companion of my good times, displeasing times!

India on Sep 20, 2023

Radim S: Whether you live in New York, or just visiting, or whether you just like NYC or not, this poetry is super romantic when you put it into the context of life in New York. As a resident, this is the most romantic reading I enjoyed in a long while, yet it's so old - or maybe that's why it is so romantically beautiful?

United States on Jul 12, 2023

Aradhya: I paid 150INR for the book.
Personally i love whitman's work. Try other books if you're not into literature.

India on Apr 14, 2023

Jon RiversJon Rivers: Been buying Canterbury Classics a while now, when i can afford them. Beautiful editions. Never a problem with any yet. Only a few more I want that I don't t already own.

Canada on Mar 16, 2023

Wikeha: This is an excellent edition of Leaves of Grass. I was looking specifically for the poem Song of the Open Road, and was disappointed that it isn't included in this version, but came to learn that Whitman produced several successive editions of the book, with changes and additions in each newer version. So, I'll keep looking for a book that includes that poem.

Sweden on Mar 09, 2023

Amazon Customer: Order your book from your local bookstore. (I used IndieBound to order from mine.) Why? Because Amazon ships books primarily in lightly-padded bags. This is baffling. They shipped this lovely leatherbound book in a bag! And OF COURSE it arrived damaged. This has happened so many times to me with other books, I don't know why I bother anymore. I returned it and did what I should have done and that's order it from the local bookstore. I even told them to only call me to pick it up if the book arrives undamaged. They responded super positively to this request. I received the book from not-Amazon in perfect condition.

The book is beautiful. The pages are a smidgen thin (the letters ghost through the page) but the page color is this gorgeous light yellow and the type and flourishes throughout are just so pretty. The cover is understated and perfect, IMHO. I really like this book.

Five stars for the book. One star for Amazon's inability to ship books properly.

United States on Jan 26, 2023

Mayank: सरदार पूर्ण सिंह का एक निबंध पढा था " अमेरिका का मस्त योगी 'वाल्ट व्हिटमैन ' तबसे ही इस पुस्तक को पढ़ने की इक्छा थी ! इधर कुछ वक्त पहले ये पुस्तक खत्म हुई , सोचा था इसे बस कुछ दिनों में समाप्त कर दूंगा मगर आरंभिक कुछ पन्ने पढ़ते पढ़ते ही समझ आ गया कि आप व्हिटमैन को ऐसे नहीं पढ़ सकते , ये जल्दीबाजी उनके काव्य और सौंदर्य के प्रति किया गया अन्याय होगा ...
व्हिटमैन इतनी सुंदरता से इतनी मामूली और गैरजरूरी बातों को उतार लेते हैं कि मन आश्चर्य में गोते लगाता रह जाता है !
एक...

India on Jul 30, 2022

uni aum Entertainment: Walt Whitman Leaves of Grass poetry collection are loosely connected and each represents a celebration of his philosophy of life and humanity. This books discussion of delight in sensual pleasures during a time when such candid displays were considered immoral. Where much previous poetry, especially English, relied on symbolism, allegory, and meditation on the religious and spiritual, Leaves of Grass (particularly the original edition) exalted the body and the material world. Whitman's poetry praises nature and the individual human's role in it. Whitman does not diminish the role of the mind or the spirit; he elevates the human form and mind, deeming both worthy of poetic praise.

With one exception, the poems do not rhyme or follow standard rules for meter and line length. Among the poems in the collection are "Song of Myself", "I Sing the Body Electric", "Out of the Cradle Endlessly Rocking".

On May 15, 1855, Whitman registered the title Leaves of Grass with the clerk of the United States District Court, Southern District of New Jersey, and received its copyright. The first edition was published in Brooklyn at the Fulton Street printing shop on July 4, 1855. Whitman...

United States on Nov 30, 2013

F.Hoffman: Like listening to a very good friend who drones on and on, but you listen because you know he is going to say something really worth waiting for.

I knew little about Whitman or Leaves of Grass. I had read or heard some quotes which I liked, so I started reading. At first it was very annoying! He used exclamation points at the end of every sentence! (Or if not an exclamation, he put it all in parentheses.) Again and again with the exclamation points! (Again and again with the parentheses.) And the subjects I did not find that interesting, or the wording very well formed.

The first 3rd of the book is a collection of random thoughts, mostly about how great America is. On and on about things he might just have read about in the newspaper, with very little evidence of personal experience. List after list. And when he was not writing about America, he was writing about being gay. Now I don't know if he was or was not, I only know what I read; and it sure seemed gay to me. I just did not see what was so great about this book. What I did not realize at the time was that I was being introduced to his voice, his individual way of expressing himself.

The middle 3rd of...

United States on Jun 12, 2013