One of the great innovative figures in American letters, Walt Whitman created a daringly new kind of poetry that became a major force in world literature. Leaves Of Grass is his one book. First published in 1855 with only twelve poems, it was greeted by Ralph Waldo Emerson as "the wonderful gift . . . the most extraordinary piece of wit and wisdom that America has yet contributed." Over the course of Whitman's life, the book reappeared in many versions, expanded and transformed as the author's experiences and the nation's history changed and grew. Whitman's ambition was to creates something uniquely American. In that he succeeded. His poems have been woven into the very fabric of the American character. From his solemn masterpieces "When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom'd" and "Out of the Cradle Endlessly Rocking" to the joyous freedom of "Song of Myself," "I Sing the Body Electric," and "Song of the Open Road," Whitman's work lives on, an inspiration to the poets of later generations.

Editor's Introduction vii Facsimile Frontispiece 2 Facsimile Title Page 3 Whitman's Introduction 5 Song of Myself 25 A Song for Occupations 87 To Think of Time 98 The Sleepers 105 I Sing the Body Electric 116 Faces 124 Song of the Answerer 129 Europe: The 72d and 73d Years of These States 133 A Boston Ballad 135 There Was a Child Went Forth 138 Who Learns My Lesson Complete 140 Great Are the Myths 142