Walt Whitman: Selected Poems 1855-1892
The cosmic embrace, energy, and soulfulness of Whitman's poems are as fresh, boundless, and heated now as they were in 1855, when the first edition ofLeaves of Grasswas published. Numerous editions have subsequently been released, but this one is unique in its structure and emphasis. Schmidgall, the author of a biography of Whitman with the subtitleA Gay Life, presents the great poet's works in chronological order as they were first published. A notorious reviser and self-censor, Whitman reworkedLeaves of Grassover the years in a process that Schmidgall describes as a "devolution rather than an evolution." Believing that Whitman was best at "first inspiration," Schmidgall highlights the gloriously operatic voice and ebullient eroticism of Whitman's most fertile period, 1853^-1860. He also restores the "richly autobiographical"Calamussequence, thus deepening our appreciation of this ecstatic seer and poet.Donna Seaman--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.