An American poet, essayist and journalist. A humanist, he was a part of the transition between transcendentalism and realism, incorporating both views in his works. Whitman is among the most influential poets in the American canon, often called the father of free verse. His work was very controversial in its time, particularly his poetry collection Leaves of Grass, which was described as obscene for its overt sexuality.
Contents
Leaves of Grass
The Patriotic Poems of Walt Whitman
Drum Taps
Democratic Vistas
The Letters of Anne Gilchrist and Walt Whitman by Anne Gilchrist and Walt Whitman
The Wound Dresser (1898)
Leaves of Grass -
This book is notable for its delight in and praise of the senses 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 first edition) exalted the body and the material world. Influenced by Ralph Waldo Emerson and the Transcendentalist movement, itself an offshoot of Romanticism, Whitman's poetry praises nature and the individual human's role in it. However, much like Emerson, Whitman does not diminish the role of the mind or the spirit; rather, he elevates the human form and the human mind, deeming both worthy of poetic praise.
