Some of the dimmest years in Walt Whitman鈥檚 life precede the advent of Leaves of Grass in 1855, when he was working as a jour颅nalist and fiction writer. Starting around 1850, what he鈥檇 begun writing in his personal notebooks was far more enigmatic than anything he鈥檇 done before.
One of Whitman鈥檚 most secretive projects during this timeframe was a novel, Life and Adventures of Jack Engle; serialized anonymously in the spring of 1852, and rediscovered and properly published in 2017. The key to the novel鈥檚 later discovery were plot notes Whit颅man had made in one of his private notebooks.
Whitman鈥檚 invaluable notebooks have been virtually inacces颅sible to the public, until now. Maintaining the early notebooks鈥 wild, syncretic feel and sample illustrations of Whitman鈥檚 beauti颅ful and unkempt pages, scholars Zachary Turpin and Matt Miller鈥檚 thorough transcriptions have made these notebooks available to all; sharing Whitman鈥檚 secret space for developing his poetry, his writing, his philosophy, and himself.
鈥淚t is one of the mysteries, maybe the mystery of American litera颅ture, that Walt Whitman, a carpenter鈥檚 son, a journalist laboring with no special distinction at his trade, produced in the middle of his thirties, one of the most original鈥攁nd originary鈥攚orks of American literature in 鈥楽ong of Myself鈥 and Leaves of Grass. So it is thrilling that Zack Turpin and Matt Miller have given us this endlessly fascinating glimpse into the young poet鈥檚 imagination when he is, as he would say later, 鈥榮immering鈥 and on the edge of a miracle.鈥濃擱obert Hass, former Poet Laureate of the United States, author, Summer Snow
鈥淭he publication of Walt Whitman鈥檚 very early poetry, Every Hour, Every Atom: Walt Whitman鈥檚 Early Notebooks and Fragments, is nothing short of a miracle. Here, made generally available for the first time, are the initial tremblings and rumblings of what would become Leaves of Grass. If I compare it to seeing a planet in its early stages of formation, I don鈥檛 consider that an exaggeration.鈥濃擬ichael Cunningham, Pulitzer鈥揚rize winner, The Hours
鈥淭his collection of Walt Whitman鈥檚 early notebooks and fragments, expertly col颅lated and edited by Zachary Turpin and Matt Miller, is an indispensable contribu颅tion to the Whitman canon. In it, we see Whitman over the years scribbling down thoughts, impressions, and poetic pas颅sages that would appear in finished form in Leaves of Grass, his landmark contribu颅tion to world literature. Thanks to Turpin and Miller, we now have an accessible, affordable volume that shows Whitman鈥檚 spontaneous effusions bubbling to the surface.鈥濃擠avid S. Reynolds, author, Walt Whitman鈥檚 America
鈥淚t is wonderful to have so many of Whitman鈥檚 early notebooks readily available in this handy volume. Editors Turpin and Miller are to be saluted for this truly 鈥榬eader friendly鈥 edition of Whitman鈥檚 notes and drafts from the seed-time of his extraordinary poetry.鈥濃擬ichael Moon, author, Disseminating Whitman
