Chapter 1 - Whitman’s “Deathbed” Radicalism and Its Modernist Effects

Summary

The 1891–92, final issue of Leaves of Grass (commonly called the “deathbed” edition) has declined in the opinion of critics who see it as a negative benchmark within Whitman’s production for its heightened conservative poetics, both thematically and stylistically. The first three editions of Leaves of Grass have instead been championed, beginning in the 1950s and continuing to today. Our chapter investigates the question of what is still radical, experimental, and inspiring in the final edition, especially considering that it remains the most widely read version across the world, and that it was the one with which American and international modernist writers were most familiar. Particular attention is given to the edition’s juxtaposition of traditional and innovative poems, shifting styles, obsession with sound, and with what remains unutterable, especially as seen in the annexes to the edition.