Project Gutenberg 2016-01-26 Public domain in the USA. 130 O'Connor, William Douglas 1832 1889 The Good Gray Poet, A Vindication Produced by Mardi Desjardins & the online Distributed Proofreaders Canada team (http://www.pgdpcanada.net) from page images generously made available by the Internet Archive American Libraries (https://archive.org/details/goodgraypoetvind00ocon) "The Good Gray Poet: A Vindication" by William Douglas O'Connor is a literary essay written in the mid-19th century. The work serves as a defense of the American poet Walt Whitman, particularly in light of his controversial dismissal from a government position due to the perceived indecency of his poetry, specifically his collection "Leaves of Grass". O'Connor passionately argues for Whitman's character and the artistic merit of his work, asserting the profound impact of Whitman's voice on American literature. At the start of the essay, O'Connor discusses Whitman's physical presence and the admiration he elicits, depicting him as a figure of heroism and gravitas, likening him to historical literary giants and emphasizing his role as a champion for both humanity and democracy. He then delves into the events surrounding Whitman's removal from his clerkship, highlighting the baselessness of the accusations against him and the righteousness of his literary contributions. O’Connor underscores how Whitman’s work celebrates all aspects of human experience—spiritual and physical alike—while defending his integrity against accusations made by critics and governmental authorities. The beginning firmly establishes the reverence with which O'Connor holds Whitman and sets the stage for a broader discourse on art, morality, and freedom of expression. (This is an automatically generated summary.) Reading ease score: 52.9 (10th to 12th grade). Somewhat difficult to read. en Whitman, Walt, 1819-1892 Poets, American -- 19th century -- Biography PS Text Category: Essays, Letters & Speeches Category: American Literature 146734 2025-07-20T12:12:31.481874 text/html 122786 2024-10-22T23:47:35 text/html 142179 2025-07-20T12:12:34.598841 application/epub+zip 142771 2025-07-20T12:12:32.339847 application/epub+zip 124033 2025-07-20T12:12:31.915847 application/epub+zip 186599 2025-07-20T12:12:36.381838 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 176127 2025-07-20T12:12:34.131863 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 158060 2022-09-23T08:26:36.056885 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 125652 2025-07-20T12:12:31.263884 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 105711 2024-10-22T23:47:35 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 17219 2025-07-20T12:12:36.503820 application/rdf+xml 11878 2025-07-20T12:12:32.002856 image/jpeg 2378 2025-07-20T12:12:31.957845 image/jpeg 151177 2025-07-20T12:12:31.495861 application/octet-stream application/zip Archives containing the RDF files for *all* our books can be downloaded at https://book.klll.cc/wiki/Gutenberg:Feeds#The_Complete_Project_Gutenberg_Catalog en.wikipedia