In a strikingly original and rich portrait of the uses of verse in America, Rubin shows how the sites and practices of reciting poetry influenced readers' lives and helped them to find meaning in a poet's words. By blurring the boundaries between "high" and "popular" poetry as well as between modern and traditional, it creates a fuller, more democratic way of studying our poetic language and ourselves.

This series contains poetry and prose anthologies composed of writers from across the English-speaking world.

Songs of Ourselves: the University of Cambridge International Examinations Anthology of Poetry in English contains work by more than 100 poets from all parts of the English speaking world.

This series contains poetry and prose anthologies composed of writers from across the English-speaking world. Parts of Songs of Ourselves Volume 1 are set for study in Cambridge IGCSE®, O Level and Cambridge International AS & A Level Literature in English syllabuses. The anthology includes work from over 100 poets, combining famous names - such as William Wordsworth, Maya Angelou and Seamus Heaney - with lesser-known voices. This helps students create fresh and interesting contrasts as they explore themes that range from love to death.

This series contains poetry and prose anthologies composed of writers from across the English-speaking world. Parts of Songs of Ourselves Volume 2 are set for study in Cambridge IGCSE®, O Level and Cambridge International AS & A Level Literature in English syllabuses. Following on from the popular Songs of Ourselves 1, the anthology includes work from over 100 poets, combining famous names - such as William Blake, Emily Dickinson and Les Murray - with lesser-known voices. This helps students to create fresh and interesting contrasts as they explore themes that range from nature to war.

Recommended by Cosmopolitan, USA Today, Shondaland, & Book Riot “It’s not often that fat women feel such thorough representation of themselves not only in poetry but in any media and not only in the beautiful moments but in the sorrowful ones, ranging throughout life. James does a brilliant job of portraying this and all her themes brilliantly; highly recommended.” —Starred review by Library Journal The raw poems inside Song of My Softening studies the ever-changing relationship with oneself, while also investigating the relationship that the world and nation has with Black queerness. Poems open wide the questioning of how we express both love and pain, and how we view our bodies in society, offering themselves wholly, with sharpness and compassion.

One of the Greatest Poems in American Literature Walt Whitman (1819-1892) was considered by many to be one of the most important American poets of all time. He had a profound influence on all those who came after him. “Song of Myself”, a portion of Whitman’s monumental poetry collection “Leaves of Grass”, is one of his most beloved poems. It was through this moving piece that Whitman first made himself known to the world. One of the most acclaimed of all American poems, it is written in Whitman’s signature free verse style, without a regular form, meter, or rhythm. His lines have a mesmerizing chant-like quality, as he sought to make poetry more appealing. Few poems are as fun to read aloud as this one. Considered to be the core of his poetic vision, this poem is an optimistic and inspirational look at the world in 1855. It is exhilarating, epic, and fresh in its brilliant and fascinating diction and wordplay as it tries to capture the unique meaning of words of the day, while also embracing the rapidly evolving vocabularies of the sciences and the streets. Far ahead of its time, it was considered by many social conservatives to be scandalous and obscene for its depiction of sexuality and desire, while at the same time, critics hailed the poem as a modern masterpiece. This first version of “Song of Myself” is far superior to the later versions and will delight readers with the playfulness of its diction as it glorifies the self, body, and soul. “I am large, I contain multitudes,”