The Poetry of Walt Whitman

This Readers’ Guide assembles some of the most important critical writings about Walt Whitman in order to demonstrate how critical debate about him has reflected changing perceptions of America itself. Starting with early reviews, the guide moves through essays that elevate Whitman to America’s spokesman, its good gray poet , and closes with essays that discuss Whitman in the light of postmodern, cultural materialist, and queer reading practices. Nick Selby offers an overview of how the poet’s critics have dealt with his work and its cultural legacy.