"Children of Adam" is an illustrated edition of the cycle of poems from the American literary masterpiece “Leaves of Grass” by Walt Whitman, the legendary group of poems that caused the book to be banned in Boston at its publication in 1882. Whitman’s theme was the male and female body, entirely naked in every sense—and he steadfastly resisted any suggestion of censorship.

This boldly illustrated new edition of the poems brings together two pioneers of American culture, both coincidentally natives of Brooklyn, New York: Walt Whitman, the beloved American poet who continues to inspire readers worldwide, and the contemporary artist Paul Cava, born more than a century later in 1949.

This book presents the controversial cluster of poems in a totally original and honest way—each of the 16 poems stands alone on its beautifully designed page, leaving space for a complex relationship to develop between the sexual and spiritual nuances of the artwork and poetry.