William Michael Rossetti’s selection opens with his prefatory notice and Whitman’s own preface to Leaves of Grass, then groups the poems under headings such as Chants Democratic, from Starting from Paumanok to Song of the Broad-Axe and To Working Men. Rossetti left out the poems he feared British readers would find indecent, so the songs of democracy and labour take centre stage.
A revealing record of how Whitman first reached English readers, and a generous introduction to his work. Download the free EPUB.