Through his poetic “I” Walt Whitman brings the reader along through Leaves of Grass as he details what the author sees, so the reader may experience it, as well. Whitman creates an interiority in his text that the reader discovers contains multitudes. The reader, through the experience of reading the book, is changed by the adventure presented by the author, so meaning is created in that exchange. Whitman’s Leaves of Grass was a risky text for the poet. He endured backlash for self-publishing it and it was only after years had transpired that others (in addition to Emerson) began to realize its merits.
Larry Sawyer - Poet 