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Read the preface that Whitman wrote for the 1855 edition of his epic poem Leaves of Grass, celebrating the American nation and its people. He praises the American landscape, culture, democracy, and spirit, and claims that America is the race of races and the ideal of man.
Whitman introduces his epic poem as a celebration of America's poetical nature and its diverse people. He praises the common people, the democracy, the freedom, and the beauty of the nation, and challenges the poet to capture its spirit in unrhymed poetry.
As a believer in phrenology, Whitman, in the 1855 preface to Leaves of Grass, includes the phrenologist among those he describes as "the lawgivers of poets." Borrowing from the discipline, Whitman uses the phrenological concept of adhesiveness in reference to one's propensity for friendship and camaraderie.
- Walt Whitman, Malcolm Cowley
- 1855
Whitman began writing poetry that seemed to record everything Emerson called for, and his preface to the 1855 Leaves paraphrases Emerson: “The United States themselves are essentially the greatest poem.” He sent a copy of his unsigned but registered book to Emerson and received in return the letter that launched his career as America's ...
To Think Through". "I Wander All Night in My Vision," "The Bodies of Men and Women Engirth". "Sauntering the Pavement or Riding the Country". "A Young Man Came to Me With". "Suddenly Out of Its Stale and Drowsy". "Clear the Way There Jonathan!" "There Was a Child Went Forth Every". "Who Learns My Lesson Complete?"
Read Full Text and Annotations on Leaves of Grass Preface at Owl Eyes.
