Leaves of Grass (Deathbed Edition) – Walt Whitman

"I contain multitudes."

Whitman spent his life revising and expanding this collection, which celebrates the democratic spirit of America, the beauty of the human body, and the interconnectedness of all life. Using free verse and long, rolling lines, he sings of himself and of every man and woman he meets, embracing the contradictions of a young nation.

Whitman's work is the declaration of independence for American poetry. He broke free from European forms to create a new, expansive style that mirrored the vastness of the American landscape and the freedom of its people.