Hojas de hierba

by Walt Whitman

Paperback, 352 pages

Published June 4, 2010 by Austral.

ISBN:: 978-84-670-3767-8

(27 reviews)

«Camarada, esto no es un libro; quien toca esto toca a un hombre». Así define Walt Whitman (1819-1892) una obra que construyó a lo largo de casi cuarenta años. Fruto de una época y de un lugar -la Norteamérica del siglo XIX-, este gran poema épico nace y crece con la intención de definir al hombre y a la nación americana frente al dominio cultural anglosajón. Su polémica ruptura, formal y conceptual, con el canon poético tradicional fue tal, que se dice que toda la poesía norteamericana posterior es un continuo diálogo con Whitman; incluso buena parte de la poesía occidental, desde el español García Lorca hasta el caribeño Walcott, bebe de esta fuente de inspiración. Este volumen ofrece por primera vez íntegra la mítica Primera edición de 1855, y una selección de los mejores poemas que engrosaron las sucesivas ediciones.

128 editions

arkadione reviewed Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman

Review of 'Leaves of Grass' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

blog.arkadi.one/leaves-of-grass-by-walt-whitman

protomattr reviewed Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman

Review of 'Leaves of Grass' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

Earlier this summer I happened upon a Walt Whitman exhibit at the New York Public Library. The space was pretty small, but smartly arranged to pack a lot of information. This encounter inspired me to read Leaves of Grass, and provided me with a metaphor for the experience. Leaves of Grass unfolds like a vast, labyrinthine art gallery, with the reader pausing in front of each work, its masterful employment of language depicting scenes ranging from grand vistas to diminutive vignettes. One might not always understand everything that's being conveyed, or perhaps one comes away with a unique interpretation, but appreciation of the work, its musicality, happens regardless.

Leaves of Grass is deeply personal, sort of an autobiography put to verse, revealing Whitman's character (or how he viewed himself) in all its dimensions. Essentially arranged chronologically, the poems begin with a youthful, full-of-vigor (and so horny!) Whitman singing of himself, with a touch of arrogance that is not off-putting, but rather inspirational for one's own affirmations. Here was a man whose lust for life knew no bounds, exploring the world before him and always striving to make real human connections wherever he went. In his middle years he cared for the wounded (on both sides) in the Civil War, an experience which deepened his humanism, and as he says later, made his work have any meaning. And finally, as the sweet bird-songs of sunset, he warbles his elder years, reflecting on the life he lived.

If there's a constant thread running through his poems, aside from himself, it's America. Whitman sings of the common man (and woman), busy at building a new nation from the ground up. He writes of farmers, mechanics, laborers of all kinds, folk bustling the streets of Manhattan. Here's a nation with its best years ahead of it, now that we've achieved a more perfect rebirth via the Civil War, and begun industrialization, and left the feudalism of our ancestors behind for the aspirations of democracy.

It may not always make sense to read books of poetry cover-to-cover, but in this case I believe it is essential, for grasping Whitman as a human, for grasping his view of the world as it rapidly evolved, for letting his musical verse flow through you.

DaveNash3 reviewed Leaves of grass by Walt Whitman (Literary classics)

Review of 'Leaves of grass' on 'Storygraph'

5 stars

I've read excerpts from Song of Myself many times. But this was the first time I could read all 52 stanzas. Whitman contains the multitudes. There's probably on line in each one of the 52 that you could discuss for hours.

It's also helpful to see all his other poems and understand that Song of Myself didn't come out of no where.

stale cooper reviewed Walt Whitman's Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman

Review of "Walt Whitman's Leaves of Grass" on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

Finished while drinking a Walt Wit in Lost Bar; wouldn't have it any other way.

Rupert Owen reviewed Walt Whitman Leaves of Grass (1855 Edition) by Walt Whitman

Review of 'Walt Whitman Leaves of Grass (1855 Edition)' on 'GoodReads'

5 stars

Rambling Charter towards inner freedoms and a diary of sorts in prose. There is much that Whitman explores about sexuality and as a radical, his enduring take on the world, as much an outsider as an insider, it was a shame it took so long for his work to be recognised. "Song of the Open Road", a particular favourite section, and "By the Roadside", some incredibly rich sexually explicit desires thrust forward as I imagine Walt like D.H.Lawrence exuding all that natural naked strength in spirit and in mind.