The Columbia Book of Civil War Poetry: From Whitman to Walcott ANNOTATION
Beautifully assembled by Richard Marius, the poetry here includes classic works by well-known poets, rare period pieces by African-Americans and women, and northern and southern patriotic verse and songs. An eloquent commemoration of the American Civil War. 53 photographs.
FROM THE PUBLISHER
From the time of the conflict to the present day, the Civil War has been engraved in the collective memory of Americans, inspiring a legion of poetic sentiments from Union and Confederate soldiers, as well as from America's finest men and women poets both black and white. Nineteenth-century poets such as Walt Whitman and Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote notable works on a subject all too close to their hearts and minds; but so too have such formidable recent writers as John Updike and Derek Walcott. Yet this rich tradition of Civil War poetry - spanning more than a century and a half - has never before been chronicled in one comprehensive volume. Collected here are the horrors of the war, the common nobility of the soldiers taking part, the moral fervor of abolition, the eerie stillness of the field after battle, and Lincoln's legacy - all recorded in verse and dramatically illustrated by photographs from the Matthew Brady Collection of the National Archives. Artfully assembled by Richard Marius, noted novelist and historian, The Columbia Book of Civil War Poetry includes the classics of the genre as well as rare period pieces by African Americans and women, and northern and southern patriotic verse and songs. Marius paints the background of the conflict and its literature in his lively introduction, and prefaces each poem with a compelling vignette. What emerges from these pages is a deep sense of the anger of the war's participants, their yearning for peace, and overall an unparalleled pageant of the war in all its power and sentimentality. The Columbia Book of Civil War Poetry is a unique anthology that collectors, gift-givers, and general readers fascinated by American lore will all appreciate. It is an eloquent, original commemoration of the American Civil War, captured in meter and light.
SYNOPSIS
From Walt Whitman to John Updike, American poets have found inspiration in the tragic events, towering figures, & monumental themes of the Civil War. This unique anthology collects poems from the time of the conflict to the present day. B&W photos.
FROM THE CRITICS
Louis P. Masur
This eye-opening collection illuminates the literary meanings and memory of the Civil War as well as key aspects of the place in poetry in American popular culture. The Columbia Book of Civil War Poetry is a volume to be dipped into time and again by anyone who cherishes language and history.
Library Journal
Mingling the verse of the Civil War period with poems written since, this hefty commemorative volume displays the fervor, romanticism, horror, and sentimentality of an era when poets assumed the role of public intellectuals, when moral passion (James Madison Bell's "The pleasing duty still remains/To sing a people from their chains") and sad skepticism (Melville's "All wars are boyish, and are fought by boys") divided the national consciousness. Alongside generous amounts of Whitman, Melville, Whittier, and Dunbar are bombastic anthems, popular songs, and profiles of the famous. Of the modern pieces included, those by Muriel Rukeyser and Jane Kenyon are especially moving. The 53 photographs rarely upstage the poetry, and the editorial notes are informative, if opinionated ("this wretched poem must have been only slightly less painful than the battle itself"). In all, a broad, engaging portrait of a cataclysmic time that continues to haunt the American literacy psyche.-Fred Muratori, Cornell Univ. Lib.
School Library Journal
YA-A thematic compilation of poetry on the Civil War that includes period pieces, selections from modern poets, works by African Americans, and by men and women from both sides of the conflict. Marius sets the stage in an outstanding introduction with background information on the war, its aftermath, and its literature. He also prefaces each poem with a brief introduction that sets it in its historical perspective. This fascinating study of the Civil War through poetry will be useful for class projects in American history and American literature as well as general browsing.-Carol Clark, R.E. Lee High School, Springfield, VA
BookList - Ray Olson
It was not his intention, principal editor Marius states, to put only certified masterpieces in this big, impressive anthology of verse inspired by the passions that led up to and the reflections that followed as well as the actual events and personages of the Civil War. Accordingly, popular songs ("Dixie," "Marching through Georgia," "My Maryland," etc.), several strictly occasional poems of less than sterling quality, and semi-anonymous newspaper verses appear alongside genuinely excellent poems. Both poems written at the time of the events they mark and others written long afterward, including quite recent ones (e.g., several of Andrew Hudgins' written in the voice of Confederate veteran and poet Sidney Lanier, whose own work is also represented) appear, and each poem is introduced by an informative and often piquantly opinionated note. Historic photographs illustrate, and Marius' general introduction very well explains the place of poetry in nineteenth-century America and highlights noteworthy themes and attitudes in Civil War verse. In all, a fine addition for American history as well as American literature collections.
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