Leaves of Grass

Self-published in 1855 and revised and expanded across nearly four decades, Leaves of Grass abandoned rhyme and formal meter for a sprawling, democratic free verse that celebrated the human body, American landscapes, ordinary workers, and Whitman's own boundless self with equal reverence. &quote;Song of Myself,&quote; the collection's centerpiece, remains one of the most influential poems in the English language. Leaves of Grass didn't just launch Walt Whitman's career - it fundamentally changed the possibilities of American poetry for every writer who came after him.