Walt Whitman produces his first book of…

Walt Whitman produces his first book of poetry, the autobiographical Leaves of Grass, on July 4, 1855.

Self-published and poorly received, several of the book’s poems feature graphic depictions of the human body, enumerated in Whitman's innovative "cataloging" style, which contrasts with the reserved Victorian ethic of the era. (There is no definitive edition of Leaves of Grass—Whitman continually revised his masterwork, adding and occasionally removing poems. Despite its revolutionary content and structure, subsequent editions of the book will evoke critical indifference in the U.S. literary establishment, but outside the U.S., the book will become a worldwide sensation, especially in France, where Whitman's intense humanism will influence the naturalist revolution in French letters,)