Whitman's prose has a quality no less original and distinctive than his poetry. Whether writing his famiy history, discussing the plays and operas of New York, or keeping a diary while nursing the wounded in the Civil War, the "Good Grey Poet" made a major contribution to American literature. His comments on female nurses (p. 61), the death of Lincoln (p. 68) or his visit to Maurice Bucke and London's Insane Asylum (pp. 161-162) make interesting reading today.
