Leaves of Grass（草叶集）

When Walt Whitman self-published his Leaves of Grass in July 1855, he altered the course of literary history. One of the greatest masterpieces of American literature, it redefined the rules of poetry while describing the soul of the American character.

Throughout his great career, Whitman continuously revised, expanded, and republished Leaves of Grass, but as Harold Bloom reminds us, the book that matters most is the 1855 original. In celebration of the poem's 150th anniversary, Penguin Classics proudly presents the 1855 text in its original and complete form, with a specially commissioned introductory essay by Harold Bloom.

I celebrate myself, and sing myself,

And what I assume you shall assume,

For every atom belonging to me as good belongs to you.

"Whitman, the great poet, has meant so much to me. Whitman the one man breaking a way ahead. Whitman the one pioneer . . . Ahead of Whitman, nothing. Ahead of all poets, pioneering into the wilderness of unopened life, Whitman. Beyond him, none." D. H. Lawrence

This is a public domain book converted by anonymous volunteers and you may find it for free on the web.This work is respectfully inscribed by the author.

瓦尔特·惠特曼（1919～1892）美国著名的民主诗人。生于长岛一个海滨小村庄，当过邮差、排字工、乡村教师、编辑和报纸主笔。《草叶集》是他惟一的一部诗集，几度增删修订，成为美国诗歌史上最伟大的一部诗歌经典。