Leaves of Grass – Walt Whitman

Every year I try to tackle a few books that I should’ve read in high school or college, but I’ve been slacking throughout 2021. During Pride Month, Apple Books featured notable queer authors from various decades in history, and I was intrigued to see Walt Whitman made the list.

Most of my knowledge of Whitman stems from “Dead Poets Society,” when Robin Williams’ character famously recites “O Captain! My Captain!” to an enraptured classroom.

But, that film — and every English teacher I’ve ever had — failed to mention that Whitman may have been bisexual, which heighted my interest in tackling some of his work. With a free download, “Leaves of Grass” seemed the logical place to start, but I had zero knowledge of what I was getting myself into.

At more than 600-pages and republished multiple times over 40 years during his lifetime, it’s a behemoth collection of poetry that seemed like a good idea when I started it, but after a few lengthy and repetitive sections I decided to only read the highlights (aka those noted by name on the Wikipedia page — yes, lazy research) and DNF (did not finish) the rest.

All told, I read about 25 percent of “Leaves,” which gave enough of a taste for the works of Whitman, probably to last the rest of my life. There were some lines and turns of phrase that were truly gorgeous, and I mostly enjoyed Books I – IV, before throwing in the towel.

My takeaways: He was an astute observer of a changing America. Frankly discussing slavery, the Civil War, growing religious fanaticism, profits over people and, most commonly, a changing natural landscape. He was also super horny, frequently talking about sex and the bodies of both males and females.

Honestly, I was really confused by a lot of what I read, but I can also appreciate why it has sustained. I couldn’t help but picture the nature in the America he described — its untouched beauty, and the excitement in exploring the different regions.

Of course, I also can’t read his words and not think about the countless people destroyed in the name of the American progress Whitman, sometimes wistfully and sometimes critically, describes — specifically those held in slavery and the genocide of native people.

While I’m glad to have read a small portion of this very American collection, I wouldn’t recommend most readers start with this unabridged version of “Leaves” unless you’re prepared to seek out the must-read poems from the often confusing and repetitive filler.

Unrelated, Whitman comes up frequently during Sarah Winman’s “Tin Man,” so it was interesting to see how she weaved his work into Michael’s narrative, especially since many of the referenced poems were ones I had recently finished. It proved to be a happy coincidence that further aided in my enjoyment of that story.

Rating (story): 3/5 stars

Rating (narration): N/A

Formats: eBook (personal library)

Dates read: July 5 – August 8, 2021

Multi-tasking: N/A