* Contains only Whitman's poems exploring masculine beauty and/or same-sex affection.
* Contains an abridged introduction by John Burroughs showing historical context as well as a contemporary preface by Michael Wilson.
Sometimes gay readers and scholars have occasion to seek out the homoerotic passages of Whitman, whether to read for the pure pleasure of the experience or for scholarship. This need has been problematic in the past because Leaves of Grass is a huge volume to read through to find what one is seeking, shorter editions of “selected” Whitman poems are more apt to omit his homoerotic material than to include it (and certainly do not highlight it), and if one turns only to his “Calamus” section, his most homoerotic “chapter,” one misses out on a great deal more. This volume seeks to give readers and scholars a single source to consult when the aim is to read Whitman’s homoerotic verse.
* Contains an abridged introduction by John Burroughs showing historical context as well as a contemporary preface by Michael Wilson.
Sometimes gay readers and scholars have occasion to seek out the homoerotic passages of Whitman, whether to read for the pure pleasure of the experience or for scholarship. This need has been problematic in the past because Leaves of Grass is a huge volume to read through to find what one is seeking, shorter editions of “selected” Whitman poems are more apt to omit his homoerotic material than to include it (and certainly do not highlight it), and if one turns only to his “Calamus” section, his most homoerotic “chapter,” one misses out on a great deal more. This volume seeks to give readers and scholars a single source to consult when the aim is to read Whitman’s homoerotic verse.
