Description: This book offers the most comprehensive and detailed reading to date of Song of Myself. One of the most distinguished critics in Whitman Studies, Ed Folsom, and one of the nation's most prominent writers and literary figures, Christopher Merrill, carry on a dialog with Whitman, and with each other, section by section, as they invite readers to enter into the conversation about how the poem develops, moves, improvises, and surprises. Instead of picking and choosing particular passages to support a reading of the poem, Folsom and Merrill take Whitman at his word and interact with "every atom" of his work. The book presents Whitman's final version of the poem, arranged in fifty-two sections; each section is followed by Folsom's detailed critical examination of the passage, and then Merrill offers a poet's perspective, suggesting broader contexts for thinking about both the passage in question and the entire poem.
Review Quotes: "This is a nearly perfect introduction to Song of Myself, with a great Whitman scholar and a terrific poet who love this breathtaking, funny, heartbreaking visionary poem at the center of American literature, talking to each other and to you as they read it. There couldn't be a better guide except perhaps Whitman himself."--Robert Hass, author, Time and Materials, Poems 1997-2005, National Book Award winner