Provides readings, interpretations, and explorations of Whitman in the many contexts through which he charted his life and wrote his texts.

Part I. Locations: 1. Long Island William T. Walter; 2. Brooklyn and Manhattan Karen Karbiener; 3. Camden and Philadelphia William Pannapacker; 4. Washington, DC Kenneth M. Price; 5. The American South Matt Cohen; Part II. Literary and Artistic Contexts: 6. Verse forms Michael C. Cohen; 7. Periodical poetry Ingrid I. Satelmajer; 8. Periodical fiction Stephanie Blalock; 9. Journalism Jason Stacy; 10. Oratory Leslie Eckel; 11. Opera Carmen Trammell Skaggs; 12. Performance and celebrity David Haven Blake; 13. Visual arts and photography Ruth Bohan; 14. Erotica Paul Erickson; 15. Notebooks and manuscripts Matt Miller; 16. Bookmaking Nicole Gray; 17. The literary marketplace David Dowling; 18. Transatlantic book distribution Jessica DeSpain; Part III. Cultural and Political Contexts: 19. Transcendentalism Regina Schober; 20. Philosophy Stephen John Mack; 21. Bohemianism Joanna Levin and Edward Whitley; 22. Gender Maire Mullins; 23. Sexuality Jay Grossman; 24. Politics Kerry Larson; 25. Imperialism and globalization Walter Grünzweig; 26. Nineteenth-century religion Brian Yothers; 27. Civil War Peter Coviello; 28. Reconstruction Martin Buinicki; 29. Death and mourning Adam Bradford; 30. Slavery and abolition Ivy G. Wilson; 31. Native American and immigrant cultures Rachel Rubinstein; 32. The rank and file Jerome Loving; 33. Romanticism Edward S. Cutler; 34. The natural world Christine Gerhardt; 35. Science and medicine Lindsay Tuggle; Part IV. Reception and Legacy: 36. Disciples Michael Robertson; 37. Influence in the United States Sascha Pöhlmann; 38. Impact on the World Ed Folsom.