Editing Leaves of Grass (section)

==== 1867–1889 ====
The 1867 edition was intended to be, according to Whitman, "a new & much better edition of ''Leaves of Grass'' complete — that ''unkillable'' work!"{{sfn|Reynolds|1995|p=474}} He assumed it would be the final edition.{{sfn|Loving|1999|p=314}} It included the ''[[Drum-Taps]]'' section, its ''[[Sequel to Drum-Taps|Sequel]]'', and the new ''Songs before Parting''. The book was delayed when the binder went bankrupt and its distributing firm failed. When it was finally printed, it was a simple edition and the first to omit a picture of the poet.{{sfn|Reynolds|1995|p=475}}

In 1879, Richard Worthington purchased the [[electrotyping|electrotype plates]] and began printing and marketing unauthorized copies of ''Leaves of Grass''.

Whitman scholar Dennis Renner has written that the 1881 edition gave the poet "a chance to consolidate and unify his work late in his career. He could achieve 'the consecutiveness and ''ensemble''{{'}} he had always wanted".<ref name=1881_edition>{{cite web |title=Leaves of Grass, 1881–82 edition |last=Renner |first=Dennis K. |editor-last1=Cohen |editor-first1=Matt |editor-last2=Folsom |editor-first2=Ed |editor-last3=Price |editor-first3=Kenneth M. |publisher=The Walt Whitman Archive |url=https://whitmanarchive.org/item/encyclopedia_entry26 |date=1998}}</ref> He spent the summer of 1881 revising the book and oversaw its October publication in Boston by [[James R. Osgood]] and Co. Most modern reissues of ''Leaves of Grass'' treat the 1881 edition as the definitive collection.<ref name=1881_edition/> This edition incorporated poems from his prior collections, ''[[Passage to India (Whitman)|Passage to India]]'' (1871) and ''Two Rivulets'' (1876).{{sfn|Bradley|Blodgett|1973|p=410}} 

The 1889 (eighth) edition was little changed from the 1881 version, but it was more embellished and featured several portraits of Whitman. The biggest change was the addition of an "Annex" of miscellaneous extra poems.{{sfn|Miller|1962|p=55}}