Leaves of Grass: The Original 1855 Edition: Amazon.ca: Walt Whitman: Books

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Product Description

From School Library Journal

Grade 6 Up-By Walt Whitman. Narrated by Flo Gibson.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Audio Cassette edition.

Review

"Whitman's best poems have that permanent quality of being freshly painted, of not being dulled by the varnish of the years."
--Malcolm Cowley --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover

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Customer Reviews

46 Reviews

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4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(2)
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1 star:		(5)

Average Customer Review

4.3 out of 5 stars (46 customer reviews)

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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Give the 1855 version a try, Aug 19 2001

By

Michael J. Mazza - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER) (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Leaves of Grass: The First (1855) Edition (Paperback)

What more can be said about Walt Whitman's "Leaves of Grass"? This 19th century work is more than just a poetic masterpiece; it is a pivotal landmark in the history of world literature. Read "Leaves" and you will understand why Whitman is hailed as a poetic ancestor by poets, both male and female, of many different ethnic and national backgrounds. His is truly a universal voice.

Whitman published the first edition of "Leaves" in 1855, and continued to revise and expand the book until it had grown into the monumental final version. While the "deathbed" edition is an essential text, I'd like to put in a plug for the much smaller 1855 edition, which has been reprinted with an introduction by Malcolm Cowley. The "deathbed" edition may be too large and intimidating a literary tapestry for Whitman "virgins"; the reprinted 1855 edition may thus be a good way to begin exploring the bounteous poetic talent and vision of this giant.

The Cowley-introduced edition also includes Whitman's original prose introduction, which is itself a remarkable piece of literature. While the 1855 "Leaves" is missing vast sections of the deathbed version, it is still a stunning work of art that succeeds as a self-sufficient piece of literature and philosophy. In this "embryonic" version of the soon-to-evolve masterpiece, we already discover Whitman's pungent eroticism, his embrace of paradox, and his playful theological exploration. His language is sensuous, outrageous, tender, and amazing, and is full of compassion for all living beings.

Whitman is more than just a great poet; his work is a sort of prophecy for both the secular and multifaith worlds. So read "Leaves" in either the embryonic version or the ultimate version, and embark on an unforgettable poetic journey.

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5.0 out of 5 stars a classic of American poetry, May 25 2004

By

I ain't no porn writer (author, "Crippled Dreams") - See all my reviews

This review is from: Leaves of Grass (Mass Market Paperback)

No doubt influenced by the free verse of ancient Greek poetry, Walt Whitman wrote about 19th c. America in the same way that the ancient Greek and Roman poets wrote about their own time and world. Much praised and criticized when it was first published, "Leaves of Grass" remains a wonderfully innovative, original, observant, wise, sensually unashamed, and heroic portrait of American identity, and a eulogy in praise of American people, places, ideas and things.

David Rehak
author of "Poems From My Bleeding Heart"

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5.0 out of 5 stars Outstanding Poems here, Feb 20 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Leaves of Grass (Mass Market Paperback)

This is one of the first books of poetry that I ever read. My Great Grand Father had this book, and it was very old looking to me when I first seen it 25 years ago, I was young then and didn't know that the book held a value. I don't know where it is now but I know the poems were really good and I enjoyed them immensely. Walt Whitman is a great writer, and I enjoy is poems.

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Most recent customer reviews

3.0 out of 5 stars the American's American
Several reviewers state that Whitman is a "real American." Fair enough. But when his "bravado and self-love" are defended in the name of some sort of humility... Read more

Published on Dec 23 2003

1.0 out of 5 stars Clinton spoiled this for me
I will never read this now. But I might give a copy to some gal so I can get laid. Ummmm, y-e-e-e-s!

Published on Aug 16 2003 by EgusHdus