walt whitman leaves of grass first edition

You not a reminiscence of the land alone, Then falter not O book, fulfil your destiny,.Lo, I too am come, chanting the chant of battles, (Yet methinks certain, or as good as certain, at the last,) the field the world,įor life and death, for the Body and for the eternal Soul, Waged in my book with varying fortune, with flight, advance and retreat, victory deferr'd and wavering, I too haughty Shade also sing war, and a longer and greater one than any,.I too haughty Shade also sing war, and a longer and greater one than any.

Of Life immense in passion, pulse, and power,Ĭheerful, for freest action form'd under the laws divine, … The Female equally with the Male I sing. Yet utter the word Democratic, the word En-Masse. One's-self I sing, a simple separate person,.INSCRIPTIONS One's- self I sing, a simple separate person… The Female equally with the Male I sing. Prefatory Note to 'Leaves of Grass' in some editions.Signing for Soul and Body, set to them my name, Ever and ever yet the verses owning - as, first, I here and now.13.13 As I Walk These Broad Majestic Days.13.7 Ah Poverties, Wincings, and Sulky Retreats.10.2 To a Foil'd European Revolutionaire (1856 1881).10.1 There Was a Child Went Forth (1855 1871).9.1 When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom'd.8.1 Over the Carnage Rose Prophetic a Voice (1860 1867).3.3 One Hour to Madness and Joy (1860 1861).He spent the rest of his life in Camden, New Jersey, and continued to issue revised editions of Leaves of Grass until shortly before his death in 1892. After the war, Whitman worked for several government departments until 1873, when he suffered a stroke. He spent the rest of the war comforting both Union and Confederate soldiers. In 1862, Whitman’s brother was wounded at the Battle of Fredericksburg, and Whitman went to care for him. Whitman sometimes took long ferry and coach rides as an excuse to talk with people, and was also fond of long walks and cultural events in Manhattan. The second edition, in 1856, included his “Sundown Poem,” later called “Crossing Brooklyn Ferry,” one of his most beloved pieces. He revised the book many times, constantly adding and rewriting poems. In 1855, he self-published Leaves of Grass, which carried his picture but not his name. He left school at the age of 14 to become a journeyman printer and later worked as a teacher, journalist, editor, and carpenter to support his writing. Whitman was born in West Hills, Long Island, and raised in Brooklyn. Walt Whitman’s first edition of the self-published Leaves of Grass is printed, containing a dozen poems.

Walt whitman leaves of grass first edition