Leaves of Grass

As Malcolm Cowley says in his introduction, the first edition of Leaves of Grass `might be called the buried masterpiece of American writing`, for it exhibits `Whitman at his best, Whitman at his freshest in vision and boldest in language, Whitman transformed by a new experience.` Mr Cowley has taken the first edition from its narrow circulation among scholars, faithfully edited it, added his own introduction and Whitman`s original introduction (which never appeared in any other edition during Whitman`s life), and returned it to the common readership to whom the great poet really speaks.