A THEMATIC ANTHOLOGY

149 pages of poetry and prose, all created out of Whitman’s own verses and sentences, each page devoted to a prominent theme in the writings of America’s greatest poet.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

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TRUTH
    KNOWING TRUTH
    TRUTH IS SUBJECTIVE
    THE POET’S TRUTH
    THE TRUTH OF BOOKS
    THE POET, SCHOLARS, AND SCHOOLS

THE UNIVERSE
    THE INFINITE
    TIME AND CHANGE
         The Past
         The Future
         The Eternal Present
    MATTER AND SPIRIT
    GOOD AND EVIL
    MIRACLES
    PERFECT ORDER 

THE SELF
     IDENTITY
         The Poet’s Identity
         Your Identity
         CONFORMITY AND THE NONCONFORMIST
         THE IDEAL: PERFECT INDIVIDUALS
    THE BODY
         HEALTH
         Training for Health
         The Benefits of Health
         ILLNESS
         RECOVERING HEALTH
    Body and Soul
    FROM CHILDHOOD TO OLD AGE
         Childhood
         Old Age
         APPROACHING DEATH
    DEATH
         The Process of Death and Burial
         Praise of Death
         Immortality

SELF AND UNIVERSE
    BEING THE UNIVERSE
         The Poet Is the Universe
         The Poet Is All Humanity
         The Poet Is Every Evil
    CONNECTING WITH THE UNIVERSE
    THE OPEN ROAD
         The Poet on the Open Road
         You AND THE POET on the Open Road
         you and the poet on the Open sea
    RELIGION
         The Old ReligionS
         The End of the Churches
         THE VALUE OF THE OLD RELIGIONS
         The New Religion
         SCIENCE AND FAITH         
         God
         The Divine Self
         The Practice of the New Religion

EMOTIONS
    LOVE
         Friendship and Loving Touch
         Lovers Around the World
         Loving Strangers in the City
         Love of Women
         Love of Men
         Sexual Love
         The Pleasures of Sex
         Love’s Pain and Healing
    HAPPINESS
         Joy
         ContentED ACCEPTANCE
         Calm Self-Sufficiency
    DOUBT AND DESPAIR
         The Poet’s Doubt and Despair
         Transcending Doubt and Despair

SELF AND SOCIETY
    MORALITY
         Moral Values
         Justice and Equality
         Equality of Women and Men
         JUSTICE FOR BLACK SLAVES AND INDIGENOUS PEOPLE
         MORALITY AND MONEY
         BEYOND MATERIAL WEALTH
    POLITICAL VALUES
         Freedom and Law
         Democracy
         THE POET AS DEMOCRAT
         GLOBAL DEMOCRACY ARISING
    GOVERNMENT AND POLITICAL LIFE
         Political Corruption
         Defiance and Revolt
         Liberty Is Never Defeated
         RADICALISM AND Reform
         The Ultimate Goal of Government
    AMERICA
         Ideals
         Present Evils
         Economic Injustice
         BOTH Evil AND Good
         An Unfinished Experiment
         EVIDENCE OF PROGRESS
         Future Greatness
         Poetry
         The Americans of the Future
         AMERICA BUILDS FOR ALL HUMANITY
    WAR AND PEACE
         The Fantasy of War
         The Reality of War
         THE REALITY OF WARTIME HOSPITALS
         Nursing the Wounded and Dying
         POSTWAR REFLECTIONS
         Peace

NATURE
    NATURE, CONTAINING ALL
    THE POET IN NATURE
    IN THE AIR
         The Daytime Sky
         The Nighttime Sky
         Creatures of the Air
    OF THE WATERS
         The Sea and the Shore
         The Poet and the Sea AND SHORE
         Rivers and Streams
         Creatures of the Waters
    ON THE EARTH
         Mountains
         Trees
         Fields and Plants
         Creatures of the Earth
    TIMES OF THE DAY
         Morning
         Afternoon
         Night
         Midnight to Morning Twilight
    SEASONS OF THE YEAR
         Summer
         Autumn
         Winter
         Spring

    THE ARTS
         BEAUTY AND ART
              The Beauty of Nature and People
         MUSIC
         LANGUAGE
         POETRY AND THE POET
              THE POET’S LIFE
              The Poet’s Purpose
              POETRY, NATURE, AND SCIENCE
              The Great Maker of Poems
              The Great Poet’s Character
              THE GREAT POET’S VOICE
              THE LIMITS OF POETRY 
         THE POET’S CRAFT
              STYLE AND CONTENT
              SIMPLICITY AND CLARITY
              POETRY BEYOND LITERATURE
              Hints, Suggestions, IndirectION
              THE POET AND HIS CRITICS
              WRITING ABOUT SEX
              THE POET AND HIS FRIENDS
         YOU AND THE POET                 
              Your Responsibility             
              You, the Poet, and the Future
              THE POET’S PARTING WORDS 

    ABOUT THIS ANTHOLOGY
         ABOUT QUOTING FROM THIS WEBSITE
         Whitman as a Great Thinker
         Notes on the Text
         The Editor’s Creative Role
         About the Editor: Ira Chernus

The texts in this anthology should NOT be cited as direct quotations from Whitman. If you want to quote from this site for something you are writing or posting, please read this first (click here).

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