Bloomington area: Come hear a Lincoln poet

Those of us who are history buffs usually have people, places or organizations which nuture and inspire our love of the past and the people who left their marks. For me, one of these places is the McLean County Museum of History and many of those people serve on The Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission of McLean County.

These two groups have joined forces once again, as they have several times in the past year or so, to bring us another program dedicated to honoring the Lincoln legacy.

An evening with Dan Guillory
The museum and commission are hosting an evening with Dr. Dan Guillory, who will be reading his new poetry inspired by Abraham Lincoln. A book signing will follow the program.

Who: Dr. Dan Guillory, emeritus professor of English, Millikin University, Decatur
What: The Lincoln Poems poetry reading and book signing
When: Thursday, Jan. 29, 2009 at 7 p.m.
Where: McLean County Museum of History, 200 North Main Street, Bloomington (Ill.)

All about Guillory
Guillory's new book, "The Lincoln Poems," was written in the form of 61 poems told in the imagined voice of Lincoln himself. Lincoln was a lover of poetry, and for most of his adult life he regaled his friends and companions with impromptu recitations of his favorite poetry.

Dr. Guillory is an Emeritus Professor of English at Millikin University in Decatur (Ill.) He has won awards or grants from the Academy of American Poets, the American Library Association, the Illinois Arts Council, and the National Endowment for the Humanities. He has published over 500 articles, poems, and book reviews, as well as chapters of books.

More McLean County Lincoln at mclincoln.org
This event is sponsored free of charge as part of the McLean County celebration of the Lincoln Bicentennial. For more information on local events, please visit www.mclincoln.org.

Thanks to the folks at the McLean County Museum of History for their email message with many of the details I’ve shared with you here.