The Greatest Success Stories in Self-Publishing

What does self-publishing have to do with the great literature of Walt Whitman and William Blake?

When you encounter the names Walt Whitman and William Blake the terms "poet" and "visionary" may come to mind. Fierce and true independence might also come to mind. Given the highly individual nature of the work of these poets, it's not a huge surprise to discover that Walt Whitman and William Blake were both self-published authors.

If it weren't for a DIY mentality in these two men, none of us would have encountered "O Captain, My Captain!" in high-school or "When Lilacs in the Dooryard Last Bloom'd" in college. The lines "Tyger, tyger burning bright/in the forests of the night" wouldn't be engraved in our memories like an unforgettable dream.

Just imagine.

The world would be a different place.

Walt Whitman & the Original Leaves of Grass

Walt Whitman was 37 years old when he decided to dedicate his life to poetry. His first collection of poems included the groundbreaking long work "Song of Myself" and was entitled Leaves of Grass.

In 1855, Walt Whitman self-published a collection of twelve poems that would seed the development of a tome under the same title which would continue to grow for the next 37 years.

Leaves of Grass was a life's work for Walt Whitman going to nine progressive editions. It brought the poet acclaim without wealth and spread his complex poetical message of identity and philosophical self-satisfaction across America and across the Atlantic.

Contentment was a metaphysical subject for Whitman, yet a drive to publish, to work, and to embrace the world coexisted with his contentment. His energies were great. Self-publishing was the first step in sharing those energies as they took shape in his poetry.

William Blake & The Songs of Innocence and Experience & The Marriage of Heaven and Hell

An engraver, a brilliant and tempestuous mind, an artist exceeding arbitrary and religious definitions: William Blake self-published his way to a rebellious legacy.

The Songs of Innocence was self-published first in 1789 in a small batch using engraved copper plates with each finished copy hand-colored by William Blake.* Though William Blake's vision was not immediately trendy (and never became trendy) it was powerful enough to become important despite it's contrarian point of view.

Even more anti-establishment in perspective, The Marriage of Heaven and Hell was a masterpiece of inspiration. Many of Blake's most iconic images, both drawn and written, come from this collection of works about the life force, Satan, Jesus, and how the church of his day had gotten the whole mess backwards and upside down.*

If you have yet to read William Blake, look him up today. His books are short and many texts (with images) are available online.

William Blake has been an inspiration to many great writers from Henry Miller to Allen Ginsberg.

Self-Publishing Now: The Next Walt Whitman and the Next William Blake...

We live in an age where the DIY mentality has been facilitated by printing technology enabling many, many people to become published writers via self-publishing. Certain associations cling to the hyphenated phrase. To put it mildly, self-publishing is not closely linked to ideas of high literature.

However, when we consider the examples of Walt Whitman and William Blake, two very prominent and respected poets of the 18^th and 19^th centuries, we might want to tweak our expectations about self-publishing and wonder if a book of genius is about to roll off the presses of Lulu or Xlibri.

Maybe the "next Walt Whitman" already has his or her poetry for sale online or in a local book store. Maybe the "next William Blake" has gone from illustrated blog to illustrated print and is just waiting to be discovered.

More from this Contributor:
Walt Whitman's Influence on Allen Ginsberg
T.S. Eliot - British or American Poet?
What Happened to American Poetry

Sources

Poets.Org (Blake - Whitman)

William Blake Image Gallery
History.Com
Levity.com