The book was highly controversial during its time for its explicit sexual imagery, and Whitman was subject to derision by many contemporary critics. Leaves of Grass is also notable for its discussion of delight in sensual pleasures during a time when such candid displays were considered immoral. Whitman chose his idealized self as the subject of the book, created the style in which it was written and worked hard and intelligently to perfect the style over a period of six or seven years, creating the personality of the proletarian bard, the supposed writer of the poems. Leaves of Grass is regarded by many scholars as a completely do-it-yourself project.

Its poems do not rhyme or follow standard rules for meter and line length. Rather than focusing on religious or spiritual matters, Leaves of Grass focuses primarily on the body and the material world. The collection of loosely connected poems represents the celebration of his philosophy of life and humanity and praises nature and the individual human's role in it. The first edition was a small book of twelve poems, and the last was a compilation of over 400. This resulted in vastly different editions over four decades. Six or nine individual editions of Leaves of Grass were produced, depending on how they are distinguished. Though it was first published in 1855, Whitman spent most of his professional life writing, rewriting, and expanding Leaves of Grass until his death in 1892. Leaves of Grass is a poetry collection by American poet Walt Whitman.

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