From Noon to Starry Night: A Life of Walt Whitman

In an interesting and well-written biography, Callow ( Vincent Van Gogh ) attempts to illuminate Walt Whitman's life (1819-1892) by focusing primarily on the poet's experiences before the Civil War. Drawing heavily on earlier works by Gay Wilson Allen and Justin Kaplan, Callow adds a historical sketch of early-19th-century America to show how the nation Whitman celebrated so eloquently in Leaves of Grass formed his complex personality. The poet loved crowds but was by nature solitary; highly cultured, he identified with the unlettered; and he concealed in his daily life the buoyant sexuality expressed in his work. Only in his poetry, the author contends, could Whitman resolve these contradictions. Laced throughout with ample quotations that reveal Whitman's poetic genius, this admiring but objective portrait will interest both scholars and general readers. ( Sept. )