Walt Whitman

Lives and Legacies

by David S. Reynolds

From the great events of the day to the patient workings of a spider, few poets responded to the life around them as powerfully as Walt Whitman. Now, in this brief but bountiful volume, David S. Reynolds offers a wealth of insight into the life and work of Whitman, examining the author through the lens of nineteenth-century America.
Reynolds shows how Whitman responded to contemporary theater, music, painting, photography, science, religion, and sex. But perhaps nothing influenced Whitman more than the political events of his lifetime, as the struggle over slavery threatened to rip apart the national fabric. America, he believed, desperately needed a poet to hold together a society that was on the verge of unraveling. He created his powerful, all-absorbing poetic "I" to heal a fragmented nation that, he hoped, would find in his poetry new possibilities for inspiration and togetherness. Reynolds also examines the influence of theater, describing how Whitman's favorite actor, the tragedian Junius Brutus Booth--"one of the grandest revelations of my life"--developed a powerfully emotive stage style that influenced Leaves of Grass, which took passionate poetic expression to new heights. Readers will also discover how from the new medium of photography Whitman learned democratic realism and offered in his poetry "photographs" of common people engaged in everyday activities. Reynolds concludes with an appraisal of Whitman's impact on American letters, an influence that remains strong today.
Solidly grounded in historical and biographical facts, and exceptionally wide-ranging in the themes it treats, Walt Whitman packs a dazzling amount of insight into a compact volume.

Genres: Biography, History, Poetry, Nonfiction, American History, Biography Memoir, American

176 pages, Hardcover

First published March 28, 1995

About the author

David S. Reynolds is a Distinguished Professor of English and American Studies at the City University of New York. His works include the award-winning Waking Giant: America in the Age of Jackson, Walt Whitman's America, and John Brown, Abolitionist. He lives on Long Island in New York.

Reviews

[Jonathan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of the best books of its type that I have ever read. The scholarship that went into the writing of this book is just incredible. It is called a cultural biography, and examines Whitman's life experience and the culture in which he lived as influences on his poetry.
Whitman lived in Brooklyn, N.Y. for most of his life, and, by going to Manhattan had access to all of the great cultural trends of his time. His life is examined through his interfacing with politics, sociology, the arts, economics, religion, education, etc.. Through this careful examination, you get a pretty good idea of what was important in life for Whitman, and also the 19th century American, and what they were experiencing in the years before and after the Civil War. For one example, I had a generic idea, but never realized how much Americans of that time were fascinated by great oration. Henry Ward Beecher, Frederick Douglass, Stephen Douglas, and Abraham Lincoln, to name a few, were known for their dynamic ability in oratory, and were basically put into the same category as entertainers.
There are hundreds of fascinating examples of illuminating information that I could pull from the book. Suffice it to say that I highly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in American History...oh yes, also in Walt Whitman's poetry! No book that I have ever read has put the world of 19th century America into such good perspective for me.

[Uwe Hook · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reynolds shows how Whitman was of his culture and why he is an authentic American voice. Whitman gave the new country a new poetry, a poetry that broke the bounds of format and content. He gave poetry zest, a proud "I" and what we consider today, a healthy view of the body and sex. The cultural biography concept is most appropriate for this poet.

Reynolds draws the picture of the world that shaped Whitman, and then the greatly changed world following the Civil War. Following President Polk, the nation seemed to be drifting. There was economic and political turmoil. The long festering problem of slavery was coming to a boil. It was in this period that Whitman did the work we remember him for.

Reynolds reminds us that in Whitman's time, the continued unification of the states was not a settled issue. Whitman wrote of the unity of all the people and parts of the country. He wrote that he was a poet for slave and master, the man and the woman. The poems, as Reynolds shows, were only one side of Whitman. Many, who know him only as an icon would be surprised by this views on race, on capitalism and how he managed his image.

This book is well researched. The author develops and presents his ideas with clarity. It is not for everyone. It's long and, while it is well written, it might not sustain your interest unless you have an interest in Whitman or the culture of his time(s).

[V Massaglia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Man, I don't know why I stuck with this big, honkin' book. I love Whitman's poetry and was that more interested in this book after reading "Team of Rivals". This work could have been 1/2 the length. Although it does a fairly good job in presenting aspects of "Whitman's America". Reynolds provides way to much of meaningless trivia that one forgets about he or she is reading a biography.

I also really dislike Reynold's academic ego. He constantly criticizes previous biographies (which would have been okay), but does it in an arrogant, snobbish way.

I do like how he wrote about each edition of "Leaves of Grass" and how Whitman and the population received it. Also, his approach to how Whitman felt and wrote about Lincoln.

I saw a bio of Whitman via YouTube and Reynolds makes an appearance - I was impressed by his contribution.

Loved this Whitman quote: "It pleases me to think also that if any of my works shall survive it will be the fellowship in it -- comradeship -- friendship is the good old word -- the love of my fellow men."

I'd recommend this book only to diehard Whitman fans and/or scholars of civil war times.

V

[AC · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good, quick introduction. The author’s scholarship seems to be impeccable and his larger books are probably well worth reading for those interested in the topics.

[John Larrabee · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good biography of a complex American poet.

I tried reading Whitman's signature "Leaves of Grass" a while ago and couldn't get through it. Now I think I know why. He's a terrible poet who spent his entire life trying to convince the American public that his poetry represented the essence of America in the 1800's and that he wrote for and about the "average American."

Although Whitman's poetry was widely read by European elites, it never caught on with the "average American." He struggled to convince publishers to accept his work and relied on a few influential friends to promote his poetry to the upper class. He was an unabashed self-promoter, which worked well with a small segment of the upper class but failed miserably with the masses.

In fairness, poetry is an extremely subjective medium so I am reluctant to be too critical. I am sure his work is appealing to a certain segment of average Americans, but I am not one of them! In my opinion, he is over-hyped by the few supporters of his work who are trying to fulfill his self-proclaimed legacy of becoming "America's Poet."

[Jonathon Crump · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a really comprehensive look at Whitman and 19th-century American culture. I learned A Lot. Could have used more of Whitman’s actual day-to-day life. I think the idea of a cultural biography is interesting and mostly works for a figure like Whitman who was consciously absorbing his culture. There were moments where the cultural biography approach confused me via timeline (i.e. material from 1850 and 1880 was presented in the same chapter kinda throwing any sense of a linear timeline/progession). This also led to certain periods of Whitman’s life (namely the 1850s) to receive an almost too thorough treatment while other periods felt lacking by comparison. I’m eager to read more Reynolds and glad I finally got around to reading this.

[Paul O'Leary · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve gotten out of the habit of writing reviews. I’ve always enjoyed writing them. Often they would help me sort out how I felt about something I’d read and what I’d gathered from the experience. In many ways, regardless whether anyone reads them or not, they were dividends I earned from my attentive reading. I stopped writing review for reasons personal, as well as extra-personal. This has been unfortunate for me, not just creatively, or for the loss of “earnings”, but also because so many of the books I’ve read since my hiatus deserve any and all the accolades that their readers can bestow.

One of my longer outstanding debts has been to author David S Reynolds for his excellent Walt Whitman’s America: A Cultural Biography. This might have been the best book I read in 2017. That I’m only getting around to saying so in 2019 is unforgivable. Reynolds gives the reader a thorough and impressive biography of the Body Electric poet. His command of the facts surrounding Whitman’s life humbled this reader. Too often biographies are linear one dimensional affairs. These can be serviceable when serviceable is enough. Whitman obviously deserves more; Reynolds obliges him. But Reynolds also offers an enchanting portrait of life lived on Long Island when Whitman was young, as well as New York City during Whitman’s journalist days. The details of Whitman’s life are attached with great care to the communities and their cares which Whitman lived in. In short, Reynolds makes more than good on his subtitle. Sure, there’s a touch of the romantic in Reynold’s etching of the Bowery Boys and Whitman. One might come away with the impression that the debate of quality between the American versus British Shakespearean thespians vibrated every ruffian’s larynx in every pool hall around the Lower East Side. Or at least while Whitman rested his hat there. Reynolds also delivers the goods in his vast knowledge of Whitman’s unique and challenging oeuvre. Leaves of Grass alone underwent numerous changes in content. Reynolds ably chronicles how that sprawling beast was birthed, continuously fed, and then preserved into the iconic American poem we all know(at least, in passing) today. The account of Whitman’s Civil War days spent as a volunteer in DC war hospitals is particularly touching. His bonhomie colored his personality at every stage of his life, but his practical tender care of and for the human in its frailty awed this reader. Unfortunately, as Whitman passed out of the civil war years and became in essence Whitman Inc, the biography becomes a little downbeat. Whitman, living in New Jersey during his last years, feels rather truncated when removed from the bustle, and seems more concerned with finance and fame. The poet in old age seems to contract, if not shrivel somewhat. For such a creative and caring spirit, this is tragic; albeit a natural tragedy of age. Reynolds has given us an outstanding, three-dimensional biography of the highest caliber. He’s paid his debt to his complex subject admirably and I’m glad I’ve finally gotten around to giving him my well-deserved thanks.

[Randy Wambold · Rating 3 out of 5]

What has to be said right up front is that this is an impressive, almost inconceivable work of scholarship. That Reynolds is in full command of every scrap of source material pertaining to Whitman's life is undeniable. The word encyclopedic definitely comes to mind.

But then that's the problem. Encyclopedias are not engaging reads. While the shear amount of information presented in this biography is incredibly impressive, it often feels more like a reference work than a biography with a narrative.

Reynolds is at his best presenting this information straightforwardly. I found myself at times feeling like Reynolds honestly knows more about Whitman's day to day, hour to hour life than I could remember about my own.

But when he does try to veer into narrative themes, the work is less convincing. For example - Reynolds seems to be at *great* pains to downplay the idea that Whitman was a homosexual. Over and over again, with all the subtlety of a hammer going after a nail, he labors to show that same sex love and affection had a very different context during Whitman's time than our own.

After a while I found myself thinking - who cares? The poet pretty clearly seemed to be on a spectrum that in 2019 I think we've accepted can be complicated and hard to nail down. Why is it so important to tangle with the false dichotomy of whether he was gay - or not.

Likewise the narrative theme of Whitman's commercialization of his works and his often false claims that he was underappreciated and underpublished. At some point I wanted to yell to Reynolds, No mas! I get it! Point made!

Finally, as another review on Goodreads notes, Reynolds' fairly frequent claims to original scholarship feel ham handed and arrogant. Maybe in the rarefied academic world it's important to explicitly stake out original contributions, but I would guess that for more most readers like myself this is far less important. And for me it just distracted me and made me think of the author as a snobby academician.

And yet for all that, I picked up this book because I felt I knew little of Whitman's poetry and life. But after reading this book, I feel hugely well-informed on both.

I particularly like the approach Reynolds takes of writing a "cultural biography." One of the theses that I felt Reynolds presented more effectively is that Whitman was somewhat uniquely a poet of his time. His explicit literary mission was to assimilate every aspect of the rapidly changing world in which he lived, to unify that into art.

And so I feel that while I learned a tremendous amount about this one's poet life, I likewise learned a tremendous amount about the time in which Whitman lived - in all aspects, including politics, business, art, the Civil War. To my mind, this is by far the most convincing thesis of the biography, and by far its biggest accomplishment.

So I guess in summary I would say, in reading this biography I hoped to learn more about Whitman and his times. If I could go back and talk to myself before beginning this biography I would tell myself: be careful what you wish for...

[Brian Willis · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fascinating biography of Whitman, integrating all of the various cultural influences that impacted and at times illuminate his writing for a reader today.

Whitman, intellectually, was a curious confluence of socio-political thought. He abhorred racial prejudice and the denigration of blacks, but hated abolitionism and protected states rights. He was a Jacksonian Democrat, firmly believing in the sovereignty of the individual, but also loved Lincoln, whom he met several times and famously eulogized in "O Captain". Ultimately, and this is where Reynolds goes off the rails a bit, Whitman was obviously non-heteronormative, but Reynolds insists that Whitman's homoeroticism wasn't abnormal at all and would not fit into our modern view of sexuality. Nonsense. Whitman was either quietly homosexual (boasting to cover himself about his hetero exploits from time to time unconvincingly) or bisexual or "pansexual", which seems much more likely to me. After all, far too many witnesses protest that Whitman was effeminate and delicate in all the ways that, from a distance, and alongside the poetry, indicate that his sexuality would not have been seen "normally" in his ow age.

But who cares? Other than that, this book definitely gets into what made Whitman tick (other than sexually) and is a worthwhile document for those seeking a full biography. Impeccably researched, it also serves as a cultural companion to the 1830s-1890s America, particularly in the areas of social justice, the book trade, theaters, publishing, and the literary trade and ideology. What a fascinating and unusual life.

[Mariano Cascio · Rating 4 out of 5]

Walt Whitman, uno de mis poetas favoritos, fue criado por un padre taciturno y melancólico que fracasó como constructor de viviendas y por una madre que apenas sabía leer y escribir. Se identificaba con la cultura de la clase trabajadora mientras perseguía una carrera insegura y de salto de trabajo como impresor, maestro de escuela y periodista.

En un apasionante estudio biográfico que arraiga firmemente a Whitman en su tiempo y lo hace más relevante para el nuestro, Reynolds investiga y celebra a un poeta de la rápida urbanización de Estados Unidos, de la igualdad de las mujeres, de la energía sexual y de una espiritualidad física que unía lo mundano y lo místico. Reynolds equilibra la imagen familiar del optimista visionario con el crítico social desilusionado que se volvió cada vez más pesimista sobre una sociedad estadounidense plagada de corrupción, división de clases y vacío espiritual.

Vemos cómo Whitman reconcilió su propia sexualidad con las costumbres sociales contemporáneas y como su enérgico cortejo con el público presagiaba la moda de la publicidad y la celebridad. La América de Walt Whitman, brillantemente investigada y relatada de manera cautivadora, es una obra de erudición triunfante que da nueva vida al género biográfico.
4*5

[Ryan Trauman · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've been reading Whitman's poetry for 35 years. His work has been a substantial influence on my own poetic and prose sensibilities, but I never actually read a biography of his. I chose to read this Reynolds biography before the Kaplan biography, but I'm not sure it matters. My impression is that the Kaplan biography is a relatively straightforward and thorough narrative of Whitman's fascinating life. But I'm less interested in Whitman's life than I am in his work. This Reynold's biography, while starting out with some traditional biographical framework from his early life, soon begins to foreground different contexts of Whitman's life, topic by topic (with a very large section focused on his participation and obsession with the Civil War). I found it to be extremely helpful for creating a context for his poems. I'm not at all a Whitman scholar. I'm an amateurish fanboy. So the level of detail was at times a bit ponderous. But I think the main audience for a book like this is scholars who want a smart, thorough, rangy look at the landscape of his life and work. I would highly recommend this book to anyone ready to invest in really learning out Whitman and his work.

[Carina · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Passionate intimacy between people of the same sex was common in pre-Civil War America. The lack of clear sexual categories (homo-, hetero-, bi-) made same-sex affection unself-conscious and widespread. Although Whitman evidently had one or two affairs with women, he was mainly a romantic comrade who had a series of intense relationships with young men, most of whom went on to get married and have children. Whatever the nature of his physical relationships with them, most of the passages of same-sex love in his poems were not out of keeping with then-current theories and practices that underscored the healthiness of such love.” just a couple of besties hihi

Cheguei a um ponto do livro em que pensei "Quanto mais leio sobre o homem mais gosto dele." Isto foi antes de perceber que as multitudes dele, que fazem, inclusive, com que seja "o poeta mais americano," também compreendem a supremacia branca e o apoio ao andrew johnson... enfim

[Edward Ferrari · Rating 4 out of 5]

Must look for more "cultural biographies." Contextualises Whitman in a way everyone should experience. Find the contextualising of his white supremacist beliefs to be particularly eye opening.

[Louise · Rating 5 out of 5]

I came to this through Waking Giant: America in the Age of Jackson in which David Reynolds showed himself to be a gifted writer. I was not disappointed in reading this earlier work. While I waited for this copy, I read Worshipping Walt: The Whitman Disciples which, I also recommend, but if you read it, read it after this book, not before it as I did.

Reynolds shows how Whitman was of his culture and why he is an authentic American voice. Whitman gave the new country a new poetry, a poetry that broke the bounds of format and content. He gave poetry zest, a proud "I" and what we consider today, a healthy view of the body and sex. The cultural biography concept is most appropriate for this poet.

Reynolds draws the picture of the world that shaped Whitman, and then the greatly changed world following the Civil War. Following President Polk, the nation seemed to be drifting. There was economic and political turmoil. The long festering problem of slavery was coming to a boil. It was in this period that Whitman did the work we remember him for.

Reynolds reminds us that in Whitman's time, the continued unification of the states was not a settled issue. Whitman wrote of the unity of all the people and parts of the country. He wrote that he was a poet for slave and master, the man and the woman. When he wrote that he Heard America Singing and named all the classes and their endeavors, he was extolling the united country. His hope was that he was contributing to unification, not "disunification" a role he saw the abolitionists and the suffragettes and other reformers as playing.

The poems, as Reynolds shows, were only one side of Whitman. Many, who know him only as an icon would be surprised by this views on race, on capitalism and how he managed his image.

This book is well researched. The author develops and presents his ideas with clarity. It is not for everyone. It's long and, while it is well written, it might not sustain your interest unless you have an interest in Whitman or the culture of his time(s). Reynolds' more recent book, mentioned earlier, which profiles the country in the early part of the 19th century, should have broader appeal.

[NOLaBookish aka blue-collared mind · Rating 3 out of 5]

Although I have read Leaves of Grass a few times, I knew little of Whitman past his life in Brooklyn and his early abolitionism. That gap of knowledge and the current political divide in the U.S. which seems to parallel his time made me want to check this out of the newly impressive New Orleans Public Library.
It's a handful but very readable. The author does an excellent job detailing the times Walt lived in and how this led to his belief that poetry was to be the way to unite a dividing country. The tension over slavery, modernization, suffragism, political changes and more that made Whitman's family and work life so challenged also gifted the world with one hell of a free verse collection. He updated LOG nine times throughout his life to attempt to realize his ambition for his poetry to reach the multitudes, designing many of the editions himself, and updating his reach and language to match the times and his own evolution as a citizen. I can only imagine what a great blogger Whitman would have been.
"This is what you shall do; Love the earth and sun and the animals, despise riches, give alms to every one that asks, stand up for the stupid and crazy, devote your income and labor to others, hate tyrants, argue not concerning God, have patience and indulgence toward the people, take off your hat to nothing known or unknown or to any man or number of men, go freely with powerful uneducated persons and with the young and with the mothers of families, read these leaves in the open air every season of every year of your life, re-examine all you have been told at school or church or in any book, dismiss whatever insults your own soul, and your very flesh shall be a great poem and have the richest fluency not only in its words but in the silent lines of its lips and face and between the lashes of your eyes and in every motion and joint of your body."

[Peter · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you like Whitman’s poetry, and think the poet is like his work, you may want to hold on to your illusions and not read this book. This history explores the racist, reactionary, egotistical underbelly of the old poet, how he broke hearts with his unexpected prudery and spun a fake tale of woe in order to drum up his sales numbers. It is also an eye-opening look into the popular culture and politics of pre-war-of-secession America, when there were no moral police, free love, drug use and political corruption abounded, and no one believed anyone else was actually equal. In an early echo of today’s America, Whitman joined the crowd to pound on elitists and corrupt and entrenched politicians and stuck up for the down-home folks. Abolitionists were bad news, and phrenology was legitimate science; homosexuality didn’t exist and male bonding was perfectly natural. For those of you who dream of a cleaner, more moral historical America, you won’t find it here, but you might find some gritty reality, which just might make you feel better about the soup America is in now. It’s very similar to the old soup, but, because of the immediacy, spicier.

[Lucile Barker · Rating 2 out of 5]

167. Walt Whitman by David Reynolds.
I was taking a MOOC (on-line course) about Whitman from the University of Iowa, a writing school. The course was quite boring and very male centric which is sad, because Whitman himself was so interesting and ahead of his time. He was actually my grandparents’ favorite poet. This biography is short and I think a lot of things have been skimmed over. There are some interesting pictures, but some of the most interesting parts are the quotations from his work. There are wonderful contrasts of Whitman’s life in Washington, working as a clerk for the government, and his visits to wounded and dying Civil War wounded in hospitals every night. I think that I would like to read a more in-depth biography now that ties in more of his writing with his life. This one seemed to be a near Coles notes overview.

[Tom · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is such a breath of fresh air to read such an informative book written by such an intelligent writer. This isn’t just a biography on Walt Whitman. It taps into Whitman’s heart and soul. The research that went into this book absolutely astounds me. Being raised in the city where Whitman spent his last two decades, Camden, I always felt a kinship to Whitman. Now, the kinship extends to his thought-provoking poetry and spirit. Whitman broke all the rules. He was a renegade, and he marched to the beat of his own drum. As far as the author is concerned, he was the ideal biographer. He exposed Whitman’s faults, and he had many, but he also celebrated Whitman’s genius. What a wonderful book. I am enlightened. I am a wiser man because of this book. The way every book should be, but most are not. I love this book.

[Wendy G · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love Walt Whitman's poetry and I think he's a very interesting historical figure. This book, of course, played down his sexuality but really focused on the political background to his inspiration. It turns out that, according to Renynolds, Whitman was a political conservative at a time of political radicalism, particularly during the 1850s-1870s. Whitman sadly following the racial rule of the day, which doesn't reconcile very well with his democratic philosophy as it comes through "Leaves of Grass." However, Whitman appears to have been a feminist and an advocate of the nineteenth century version of free love. Ultimately, he was most concerned with his own image and promoting that to the end of his life.

[Gary Bruff · Rating 5 out of 5]

O what is it in me that makes me tremble so at voices?
Surely whoever speaks to me in the right voice, him or her I shall follow,
As the water follows the moon, silently, with fluid steps, anywhere around the globe.
--Whitman, from 'Vocalism'

Walt Whitman had many friends and acquaintances, and now I guess I am one of them. I live a mile and a half from Whitman’s tomb, and today I decided to make the trip. It’s a beautiful early Spring day, replete with daffodils, crocuses, and soon, tulips, rhododendrons, dandelions. I come here every few years, as do a lot of people in the orbit of Camden New Jersey. Whitman always felt under-rated and neglected, even later in life when he was neither of these things. So standing here beside the great gray stones which encase and confine the Good Gray Poet, I’ve come to pay my respects and express a little gratitude.

Or am I merely furthering the sort of cult of personality which was blossoming in Whitman's machine age America? Perhaps. Whitman bought into and amplified the American dream along with the best of them. He wanted more than anything to be famous and respected, and this he largely achieved in his lifetime, even more after. He wanted to be the poet of the people, all people—rich and poor, men and women, queer or not, bohemians and philanthropists, abolitionists and slaveholders. To a sadly lesser extent, Whitman was a poet of all peoples black and white. Ironically, Whitman’s ascendancy to stardom as the poet of the common folk was advanced and promoted by some stellar icons of the nineteenth century elite liberal intelligentsia, to name a small sample: Emerson, Thoreau, Wilde, Twain. Whitman even accepted some financial support from steel magnate Andrew Carnegie, just for being “America’s Poet”.

But how did Whitman get to be "America's poet"? First off, Whitman's poems were dressed in an American cultural fabric. They were composed amidst a bustling print capitalism and a spectacular but wild age of live theater. And Whitman's circa 1850's America was, like Whitman, surprisingly diverse, about as ideologically protean as one could imagine: spiritists, phrenologists, amateur physiologists, free lovers, new puritans, feminists, temperance tee-totalers, believers in Darwinian evolution, believers in social Darwinism, imperialists, abolitionists, free-soilers, back to nature folks, rhetorical sermonizers, political orators, socialists, theosophists, sexologists, communists in communes, anarchists, copperheads, slaves, suffragettes, dramatists, melodramatists, minstrels, prostitutes, capitalism, capitalism, capitalism, war. The last two were the most significant, for capitalism and war tended to feed into each other with often lethal results. But Whitman was, despite this cultural fragmentation, optimistic about the future of the land he loved, and he somehow witnessed the Civil War as a purifying and unifying force. It was also a divine force, at least for the Yankee northerners. Whitman was very high on capitalism, even as the new industrial machines were destroying the livelihood of the plain folks which he so often claimed to cherish. And even after the Republican party showed the world that their political machines were at least as corrupt as those of their Democratic predecessors, Whitman never wavered in his support for the martyred Lincoln and his party's legacy of reconstructed Union. It seems that the suffering humanity of all those Civil War injured or dying whom Whitman cared for as nurse solidified and sanctified his personal faith in the Union. Otherwise, these lives, these souls, which Whitman frequently saw come to their conclusion, were tragically lost for no worthy purpose.

Whitman was remarkable not just as a poet but as a literary genius who lacked any formal education, and who nevertheless went on to earn his keep off the printed and spoken word. Whitman managed to be a school teacher, news reporter, printer, editor of newspapers and periodicals, nurse, Democratic party hack, Republican government bureaucrat, house carpenter, novelist and story writer, paid lecturer, author of Leaves of Grass, writer of numerous magazine articles, publisher of reviews. He ghost wrote reviews of his own poetry. But it was the war that made a name for Whitman (and for Walt's brother George, a great hero as a infantry soldier and then officer for the Union side). In his day, Whitman and his poetry became associated with American patriotism through Whitman's optimistic take on the Civil War and its economic aftermath. Today, Whitman is often portrayed as a queer prophet or as a harbinger of sexual liberation. And for good reason. But the truth about Whitman is that he let his poems be expurgated just to make sure they got published and disseminated. He was willing to trade some freedom for fame, in other words.

Reynolds' book is a great find. But one caveat: this lengthy volume, while just as verbose as Whitman, is really an ethnography of mid-19th century America, albeit a damn good one. If you are looking for a literary critique of Leaves of Grass, you'd best look elsewhere. The Gutenberg site has the full text of Leaves of Grass for free, but I would check out the highlights from Leaves of Grass on poetry.org.

But I have made enough noise already. Shhh, the old man is sleeping. Or pretending to sleep.

A noiseless patient spider,
I mark’d where on a little promontory it stood isolated,
Mark'd how to explore the vacant vast surrounding,
It launch’d forth filament, filament, filament, out of itself,
Ever unreeling them, ever tirelessly speeding them.

And you O my soul where you stand,
Surrounded, detached, in measureless oceans of space,
Ceaselessly musing, venturing, throwing, seeking the spheres to connect them,
Till the bridge you will need be form’d, till the ductile anchor hold,
Till the gossamer thread you fling catch somewhere, O my soul.
--Walt Whitman

[Nils Montan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an outstanding biography of Whitman and his time. You will learn a great deal about 19th century America from this book and Whitman will come alive as a man of his time and place.

[Andrew · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an outstanding book.

A window into not only Whitman; the man, the author, the poet; but Whitman's America, how it was living in its most tumultuous times, before the Civil War, during the war, and the vast industrial makeover that came when the war ended.

Written in 1995, the author carefully balances modern tendencies to ascribe everything to white racism and sexual preferences to comprehensively explain the raging battles of abolitionists, slavery, race, and the battles between individual autonomy and the urge for social control.

Whitman lived in a time when men freely expressed their love for one another, but it was often seen as a spiritual or fraternal loyalty, not classified as homosexuality as one thinks of it today. Whitman was frequently charged by critics of too graphic writing. Censors worked to cancel him. He battled all of them.

His breakthrough came when he was drawn into the hospitals where sick and dying young soldiers lay. Whitman nursed them, befriended them, gave them his full time, attention and love. He used the war to deepen his humanity and empathy and to further tie his own life and work into the great story of America.

His more egregious traits; arrogance, racism, sexism, self-pity; are also explored. Whitman used his publications to meet prominent people who furthered his prestige as he sought to make his writings better known. He became identified also with the cult of Lincoln, and the martyred president helped to sanctify the legend of Whitman.

Whitman's stagecraft, his public appearances, his licensing of his name and image to sell books and make money, all of it went down with the author's intention to profit far and wide.

In reading this book I was shocked to see that everything that ails America in today's culture wars was happening in the 1840s and 50s. In fact, one opens every chapter to read of events that could be taken out of the headlines of the last 20 years.

[Rob Grady · Rating 4 out of 5]

Impressive account of where Leaves of Grass came from. I had always thought it was due to an encounter with Eastern philosophy and literature, but here, it is more likely a product of grassroots movements, lyceum lectures, and imported ideas about society and psychology from Europe.

A large part of the book involves Whitman's many years of life after the first edition of Leaves of Grass. His feeling that the book had the power to forge a national identity and to heal divisions in society was apparently not just a kind of messiah complex or a marketing strategy. He believed in the vision of American society even as that society was torn by war and made turbulent by rapid industrialization. It is surprising that politicians like Johnson, Grant and even Hayes were beyond reproach for Whitman. Somehow he saw all of these as fit to lead, unlike the majority of presidents between Jackson and Lincoln.

In the book, Whitman's term for the Self, "I" is full of empathy in the 1950s, but gradually declines in his later work. Reynolds suggests this was due to his inability to adapt a world driven by more and more machines - industrial and political. But while his later work fades, his 1850s poetry gains influence late in his life, and continues to grow in critical acclaim in the 20th century.

The argument that Whitman was more inspired by political developments of the age than intellectual ones is well supported. On the other hand, it also seems that when Whitman was inspired looking at a blade of grass he really felt that what he saw in that blade of grass was unique and worthy of being revealed to the rest of America.

[Scott · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve never read a book by David S. Reynolds that I haven’t liked. He remains one of my favorite historians and critics of nineteenth century America and its literature. This biography of Walt Whitman expertly unpacks the America that shaped Whitman and his poetry. I came to the book thinking I knew something about Walt Whitman, but really, most of what I thought I knew was either wrong or only partially informed. I was impressed by how thoroughly Reynolds explored the influence of popular music, theater and acting, working class life, antebellum politics, and other aspects of nineteenth-century life on Whitman’s identity and writing.

Like most literary biographies, the book is best when the subject is young and in his creative prime. Reynolds’s descriptions of the rollicking 1840s and 50s are exceptional. The book become less interesting as Whitman ages and begins to rest on his laurels. To his credit, Reynolds sticks with Whitman until the end, doing his best (and doing it well) to keep the biography interesting even when the best material is behind him.

Reynolds’s Whitman is a complex, contradictory man. I appreciated Reynolds’s careful analyses of Whitman’s surprising racism and sympathies for the pre- and post-war South. This book also provides the best overview I’ve seen of Whitman’s male friendships and often ambiguous sexual orientation. In all aspects of Whitman’s life, Reynolds cautiously brings readers back to the nineteenth century, thus making sure that we see Whitman as a man of his time, not ours.

[Justin Barbaree · Rating 4 out of 5]

Finishing this monster was a chore, but well-rewarded. I am not a huge Whitman reader, but I thought I’d pick this up to supplement my reading of “Song of Myself” with my survey students. To that end, this purchase and read were overkill. But, I’ll say, that this is, I think, the only Whitman biography that’s needed for any hobbyists like myself. It gave me a lot of contextual fodder and stories to share with students as we read the poem.

What’s more, the book is a helpful tool to understanding the nation as a whole— politically, culturally— especially in the tumultuous 1850’s leading to the war. Whitman’s desire to both absorb and be absorbed by the nation, to be the National poet, requires Reynolds in telling his story to absorb as much as he could about the events that shaped Whitman’s worldview and his poetry. The amount of research here is incredible.

My only lament is that I didn’t read more of Whitman before reading this. To those who are avid readers of Whitman, this book is indispensable.

[Jared · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a good way to read a biography because many of the early chapters were also explaining artistic and cultural contexts that Whitman was living in. It was disappointing to find out that Whitman is not as as revolutionary as his poetry seems. Turns out he was quite sympathetic to Southern slaveholders and didn't want Black men to have the right to vote. And he ended up being a big supporter of capitalists and bad Presidents of the U.S. I liked that I got a clear sense of the different editions of Leaves of Grass, but Reynold's opinions come through pretty strongly sometimes but are still presented as "objective" like his continually lowering opinion of Leaves of Grass in every edition after the first in 1855.

[Liam · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Easter time was particularly lively. African-Americans flocked from all over Long Island for their annual saturnalia, called Pinkster, in which they drank, danced, and played practical jokes; their laughter rang through the entire village. The whites gathered on the streets for a celebration called Paas, which involved communal cracking of eggs." (33)

"Temperance agitation did effect yearly liquor consumption, which fell from around 4 gallons of absolute alcohol per American in 1830 to just 1.8 gallons by 1845." (92)

"By fully absorbing his time, he became a writer for all times." (590)

[Steve Scott · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a tremendously well researched biography and literary critique that examines the 19th century world of poet Walt Whitman.

While he lauds his literary strengths, Reynolds doesn't spare Whitman or romanticize him. He comes off as a rebel (during his Bohemian days), but also a man of his times who carried common prejudices. In this work we get him warts and all.

I listened to the audiobook version of this work. It's likely the best book I've encountered all year. As I write this a used copy is on the way, and it'll go on my shelf.

[Rufele Agraciada · Rating 4 out of 5]

It took me months to finish this book for the reason that the author sometimes delves too much on trivial matters but over time I get the "why". It's a cultural biography so it makes sense to include the culture during Walt Whitman's time. I sometimes think that the author is harsh when describing Walt Whitman, take for instance his insistence on the poet's sexual orientation. Overall, the book demands your patience 😁 and if you're someone who doesn't like history then don't read this book as it will bore you to tears. I am a bookworm and I take no offense in reading books such as these.

[Liberty · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a cultural biography. It is much broader than just Whitman. The content is good for a fan of Whitman or even a fan of the Civil War era... however, I found the writing style to be dry and a Literature classmate agreed. For anyone who is mildly interested in Whitman, I would recommend the PBS American Experience documentary instead. The author of this book was interviewed for the documentary.