First published in 1855 and expanded by the author over more than thirty years, Leaves of Grass embodies Walt Whitman's pursuit to create a new voice that could capture the spirit and vitality of the young American nation, while celebrating "nature without restraint with primal energy."

Famously written in free verse and full of sensuous imagery and an unbridled love for nature and life in all its forms, it includes iconic poems such as the explosive "Song of Myself" — described by Jay Parini as the greatest American poem ever written — and the elegy "When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom'd." Leaves of Grass is not only the crowning achievement of an extraordinarily unique poet but also a foundational text for American literature and modern poetry.

Considered one of the most influential poets in American literature and a pioneer of free verse, Walt Whitman (1819–92) was also a prolific writer of essays and articles. Controversial for its time, the extensive collection Leaves of Grass is regarded as his major work.