”I am big - I contain multitudes” boasts the speaker in “Song of Myself. ” The same thing can be said of Whitman commentary, which grows so rapidly that readers may be left feeling that they need a “guide to the perplexed.” The following list of works is designed to orient them to the body of commentary on Whitman and to help them to improve their knowledge and appreciation of Whitman and his writing.

Readers coming to Whitman should be aware that they do so with the advantage of two superb bibliographical tools: for primary bibliography, Joel Myerson's Walt Whitman: A Descriptive Bibliography (Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press, 1993), which sets a new standard for Whitman bibliography and provides an encyclopedia of factual information regarding the textual and material history of Leaves of Grass and other Whitman works; and, for secondary bibliography, the lists regularly compiled in the Walt Whitman Quarterly Review by its editor, Ed Folsom. The WWQR also publishes a variety of articles, notes, and book reviews on Whitman well worth the attention of students.