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Now, nearly forty years after its original translation into English, Roger Asselineau's complete and magisterial biography of Walt Whitman will remind readers of the complex weave of traditions in Whitman scholarship. It is startling to recognize how much of our current understanding of Whitman was already articulated by Asselineau nearly half a century ago. Throughout its eight hundred pages, The Evolution of Walt Whitman speaks with authority on a vast range of topics that define both Whitman the man and Whitman the mythical personage. Remarkably, most of these discussions remain fresh and relevant, and that is in part because they have been so influential.

In particular, The Evolution of Walt Whitman inaugurated the study of Leaves of Grass as a lifelong work in progress, and it marked the end of the habit of talking about Leaves as if it were a single unified book. Asselineau saw Whitman's poetry “not as a body of static data but as a constantly changing continuum whose evolution must be carefully observed.” Throughout Evolution, Asselineau placed himself in the role of the observer, analyzing Whitman's development with a kind of scientific detachment. But behind this objective persona burned the soul of a risk taker who was willing to rewrite Whitman studies by bravely proposing what was then a controversial biographical source for Whitman's art—his homosexual desires.

The Evolution of Walt Whitman is a reminder that extraordinary works of criticism never exist in and of themselves. In this expanded edition, Roger Asselineau has provided a new essay summarizing his own continuing journey with Whitman. A foreword by Ed Folsom, editor of the Walt Whitman Quarterly, regards Evolution as the genesis of contemporary Whitman studies.

Table of Contents

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  1. Cover
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  1. Title Page, Copyright, Dedication
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  1. CONTENTS
  2. p. vii
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  1. FOREWORD
  2. pp. ix-xiv
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  1. INTRODUCTION
  2. pp. 3-15
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  1. FOREWORD to The Creation of a Personality
  2. pp. II-iv-II-vii
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  1. CONTENTS to The Creation of a Personality
  2. pp. II-viii
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  1. THE CREATION OF A PERSONALITY
  2. pp. II-x
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  1. INTRODUCTION
  2. pp. II-1-II-16
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  1. CHAPTER I YOUTH - THE UNSUCCESSFUL QUEST
  2. pp. II-17-II-46
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  1. CHAPTER II THE 1855 EDITION - BIRTH OF A POET
  2. pp. II-47-II-79
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  1. CHAPTER III THE 1856 EDITION
  2. pp. II-80-II-91
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  1. CHAPTER IV NEW UNCERTAINTIES: CONTEMPLATION OR ACTION? JOURNALISM OR POETRY?
  2. pp. II-92-II-114
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  1. CHAPTER V THE 1860 EDITION
  2. pp. II-115-II-136
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  1. CHAPTER VI THE WOUND DRESSER
  2. pp. II-137-II-176
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  1. CHAPTER VII HAPPY BUREAUCRAT AND TORMENTED POET
  2. pp. II-177-II-211
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  1. CHAPTER VIII THE HEROIC INVALID (1873-1876)
  2. pp. II-212-II-227
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  1. CHAPTER IX NEW VICTORIES (1876-1882)
  2. pp. II-228-II-251
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  1. CHAPTER X THE DECLINE (1883-1890)
  2. pp. II-252-II-262
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  1. CHAPTER XI LAST MONTHS AND DEATH (1891-1892)
  2. pp. II-263-II-270
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  1. NOTES
  2. pp. II-271
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  1. ABBREVIATIONS USED IN THE NOTES
  2. pp. II-272
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  1. NOTES
  2. pp. II-273-II-362
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  1. GENERAL INDEX
  2. pp. II-363-II-370
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  1. INDEX OF POEMS AND PROSE-WRITINGS
  2. pp. II-371-II-376
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  1. THE CREATION OF A BOOK
  2. pp. III-i
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  1. FOREWORD
  2. pp. III-iii-III-iv
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  1. CONTENTS
  2. pp. III-v-III-vi
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  1. PART ONE THE MAIN THEMES OF LEAVES OF GRASS
  2. pp. III-1
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  1. CHAPTER I MYSTICISM AND THE POETRY OF THE BODY
  2. pp. III-3-III-20
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  1. CHAPTER II THE IMPLICIT METAPHYSICS
  2. pp. III-21-III-77
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  1. CHAPTER III THE ETHICS
  2. pp. III-78-III-90
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  1. CHAPTER IV THE FUNDAMENTAL AESTHETICS
  2. pp. III-91-III-107
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  1. CHAPTER V SEX LIFE: "The Love that dare not speak its name."
  2. pp. III-108-III-128
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  1. CHAPTER VI "THESE STATES" — EGOCENTRISM AND PATRIOTISM
  2. pp. III-129-III-144
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  1. CHAPTER VII DEMOCRACY — "MYSELF" AND MAN "EN-MASSE"
  2. pp. III-145-III-178
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  1. CHAPTER VIII DEMOCRACY AND RACIALISM — SLAVERY
  2. pp. III-179-III-191
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  1. CHAPTER IX INDUSTRIAL CIVILIZATION
  2. pp. III-192-III-204
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  1. PART TWO THE PROGRESS OF HIS ART
  2. pp. III-205
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  1. CHAPTER X STYLE: FROM MYSTICISM TO ART
  2. pp. III-207-III-224
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  1. CHAPTER XI LANGUAGE: INNOVATIONS AND TRADITIONS
  2. pp. III-225-III-238
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  1. CHAPTER XII PROSODY: ORDER WITHIN DISORDER
  2. pp. III-239-III-252
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  1. CONCLUSION
  2. pp. III-253-III-260
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  1. SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY
  2. pp. III-261-III-271
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  1. ABBREVIATIONS USED IN THE NOTES
  2. pp. III-272
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  1. NOTES
  2. pp. III-273-III-380
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  1. GENERAL INDEX
  2. pp. III-381-III-387
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  1. INDEX OF POEMS AND PROSE-WRITINGS
  2. pp. III-388-III-392
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