Resumen de Vida de Walt Whitman

Para quién es

This book will delight readers who love American poetry, lives of writers, and the story of how a country finds its voice. It suits anyone curious about Brooklyn, the Civil War hospitals, or the friendships behind a famous book.

De qué trata este libro

What does a Brooklyn carpenter have to do with a book that shocked a nation? In 1855 Walt Whitman, a printer, journalist and house builder, set much of the type for a slim sea-green volume called Leaves of Grass. He paid for it himself, and almost nobody bought it.

Henry Bryan Binns, an Englishman who never met his subject, finished this life in London in 1905. He draws on letters, diaries and the memories of Whitman's friends, and ties each stage of the life to the poems it produced. Start on a Long Island hillside where Dutch, English and Quaker families met.

Questions about Vida de Walt Whitman

What is A Life of Walt Whitman by Henry Bryan Binns about?

It follows Whitman from his birth on Long Island through Brooklyn, New Orleans, the Civil War hospitals and Washington to his last years in Camden. Binns links each stage to the poems it inspired.

When was A Life of Walt Whitman written and by whom?

Henry Bryan Binns, an Englishman, finished it in London in January 1905, about thirteen years after Whitman died. He never met the poet and relied on the memories and papers of Whitman's friends.

Who were the important people in Whitman's life?

Key figures are his mother Louisa, Emerson, Lincoln, William Douglas O'Connor, Peter Doyle, Anne Gilchrist, Dr. Bucke and Horace Traubel. Binns shows how each shaped his work or comforted him.

What does the biography say about Whitman's mysticism?

Binns describes a midsummer morning when Whitman felt the unity of himself and the world. He compares it to the Quaker George Fox and sees it as the root of Leaves of Grass.

Is A Life of Walt Whitman a good way to approach Leaves of Grass?

Yes, it works well as a companion. Binns quotes the poems, explains the scenes behind them and describes each edition, so readers can follow the book as it grew across thirty-seven years.