Edward Carpenter (1844 ¿ 1929) was an English philosopher, poet, anthologist, and pioneer of gay rights. He had many famous friends including Mahatma Gandhi, the Bengali polymath Rabindranath Tagore, and Walt Whitman. It is with his relationship with Whitman that this particular volume concerns itself, offering the reader an account of Carpenter's personal experiences with Whitman as well as insightful information on his life and work. Walter Whitman (1819 ¿ 1892) was an American essayist, poet, and journalist who was pivotal to the transition from transcendentalism to realism. His work was notably divisive and claimed by many to be obscene when first published, but he is now considered to be one of the most influential people in the American poetic canon and the ¿father of free verse¿. Contents include: ¿A Visit to Walt Whitman in 1877¿, ¿Walt Whitman in 1884¿, ¿Notes and Appreciations¿, ¿Whitman as a Prophet¿, ¿The Poetic Form of 'Leaves of Grass¿, ¿Walt Whitman's Children¿, ¿Whitman and Emerson¿, etc. Many vintage books such as this are becoming increasingly scarce and expensive. We are republishing this volume now in an affordable, modern, high-quality edition complete with a specially commissioned new biography of the author.