Leaves Of Grass

As Malcolm Cowley says in his introduction, the first edition of Leaves of Grass 'might be called the buried masterpiece of American writing', for it exhibits 'Whitman at his best, Whitman at his freshest in vision and boldest in language, Whitman transformed by a new experience.' Mr Cowley has taken the first edition from its narrow circulation among scholars, faithfully edited it, added his own introduction and Whitman's original introduction (which never appeared in any other edition during Whitman's life), and returned it to the common readership to whom the great poet really speaks. About the Author Walt Whitman (1819-1892) is regarded as one of America's most important nineteenth-century poets. Born in Long Island, Whitman grew up in Brooklyn and received a limited formal education. He adopted many professions in his lifetime including printer, essayist, journalist and school teacher. As early as 1850, Whitman turned his hand to poetry and in 1855 he self-published his greatest work, Leaves of Grass.