November Boughs

"e;I loved this book. It's an inexpensive collection of Walt Whitman poems, letters, and essays that is well worth your time … this book is worth purchasing and perusing due to its historical value of ruminations on American life."e; — Old Musty BooksCompiled when the great poet was 70 years old, November Boughs offers verse and prose reminiscences of a singular American life. Walt Whitman's reflections begin with the essay "e;A Backward Glance O'er Travel'd Roads,"e; in which he discusses the genesis of his most famous and controversial book, Leaves of Grass. A selection of poetry titled "e;Sands at Seventy"e; is followed by a series of essays and recollections that include "e;Slang in America,"e; "e;What Lurks Behind Shakespeare's Historical Plays,"e; "e;The Old Bowery,"e; and notes on the life of the Quaker abolitionist Elias Hicks, whose body — it was rumored — he and a youthful group of friends once attempted to exhume.This affordable, high-quality edition of a rare book of poetry and prose provides a greater context for the interpretation of Whitman's other works. Essential reading for Whitman scholars, this volume is also of interest to historians of the Civil War, abolitionism, and nineteenth-century America.