Leaves of GrassResist much, obey little The Complete Poems A work in progress through over four decades, Leaves of Grass contains poetry that spans the human element from the perspective of both the mind and the body. Many 19th century critics derided Whitman's poetry and during this time Leaves of Grass was considered controversial. From the year of its first publication in 1855 where only 12 poems were included, Whitman added more poetry to his collection until he