Walt Whitman and the Incident in Boston: The Banning of Leaves of Grass

Walt Whitman's great literary work, Leaves of Grass, was published in nine editions during his lifetime. The book of poems was released in a societal environment where there was a greater divide between the elite and working class and the book was attacked by critics, religion affiliated organizations and government officials throughout its publication history in the 19^th century. This exhibit focuses on the 2nd edition which was attacked by the Christian Examiner upon it’s publication in 1856 and the 6th edition which was attacked by the District Attorney of Boston in 1882.

This exhibit gives insight into how societal self-censorship of literary works existed within the United States during the 19^th century and continues to exist to this day it the form of book challenges initiated by schools, public libraries, religious organization and parents to this day with a greater prevalence in the South Eastern states (ALA 2013).