I wish I had access to this book when I was struggling through "Leaves of Grass" as a teen. Having had little understanding of Walt Whitman's life in the 1800s, I struggled to connect with his rambling thoughts. This book fills in all the blank spots. Each poem or excerpt from a poem is accompanied by a biographic text that provides background, historic photos, engravings, or sketches, and full color images of various leaves. All together, these pieces create a whole understanding of the man, his words, and his message. I took pleasure in savoring each word of his poems and considering how the images and prose helped imbue them with meaning. Instead of nodding off over a poem, I was intrigued and engaged. This is definitely a picture book for a more sophisticated teen reader or a great lover of poetry. I don't think it would enjoy a wide middle school audience; nonetheless, it is a valuable text for those who are ready.

I do love this series. Illustrations include primary historical materials (I was esp. charmed by the engraving of Winter in Brooklyn) and original art designed to enhance the text. Text includes concise biography interspersed with passages by the subject that relate to that stage in the subject's life.

For example, in this I expected 'O Captain! My Captain' at the point in Whitman's bio where Lincoln was assassinated, but Loewen chose instead 'When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom'd.'

And I believe it's terrific that the creators of this series make those kinds of choices. These 'Voices in Poetry' are not dumbed-down, not dull standards, but are creative, refreshing, and still accessible for auto-didacts and school-children and all.other interested readers.

“This is what you shall do; Love the earth and sun and the animals, despise riches, give alms to every one that asks, stand up for the stupid and crazy, devote your income and labor to others, hate tyrants, argue not concerning God, have patience and indulgence toward the people, take off your hat to nothing known or unknown or to any man or number of men, go freely with powerful uneducated persons and with the young and with the mothers of families, read these leaves in the open air every season of every year of your life, re-examine all you have been told at school or church or in any book, dismiss whatever insults your own soul, and your very flesh shall be a great poem and have the richest fluency not only in its words but in the silent lines of its lips and face and between the lashes of your eyes and in every motion and joint of your body.â€? ( )