Re-scripting Walt Whitman

"This is no book, / Who touches this touches a man," Walt Whitman famously said. Taking account of Whitman's identification of himself with his books, this introductory guide weaves together the writer's life with an examination of his works, especially his evolving masterpiece Leaves of Grass. Authors Ed Folsom and Kenneth Price examine the material conditions and products of Whitman's "scripted life," including the long-overlooked original manuscripts that illuminate his motives, ideas, and writing processes. They also investigate Whitman's "life in print," the ways that his training and experience as a printer and typesetter led him to believe that he could literally transfer his identity to the printed page and embody himself in his books. The result is an innovative introduction to Walt Whitman that focuses on those places where the writer's life and work most thoroughly meld. Ed Folsom and Kenneth Price are co-directors of the Walt Whitman Archive, and the electronic edition at www whitmanarchive.org offers readers further opportunities for study.