This sourcebook investigates the historical, cultural, and literary origins of Walt Whitman’s seminal poem, 'Song of Myself,' to determine its foundational role in American verse. Ezra Greenspan, a distinguished scholar of nineteenth-century American literature, compiles a comprehensive array of primary documents and critical essays to contextualize the poem's composition. By examining the evolution of the text through its various editions, the volume provides a rigorous framework for understanding Whitman's stylistic innovations and his departure from traditional poetic structures. The work serves as an essential resource for analyzing how the poem reflects the social and political climate of the mid-nineteenth century.

Scholars and students of American literature frequently cite this sourcebook as a foundational text for the study of Whitman’s work. The volume is noted for its academic rigor and the clarity with which it presents complex textual variations for classroom and research use.