If you haven't watched a Virtual Book Signing from the Abraham Lincoln Book Shop, you don't know what you're missing. Daniel Weinberg and Bjorn Skaptason always stimulate thought and interest as they interview authors live online during these book signing events.
Today, Saturday, March 6, at noon Central Time, they'll welcome authors Michael Perman and Julia Stern into the store. Perman will discuss his book, Pursuit of Unity: A Political History of the American South, and Stern will offer insight into her critical analysis, Mary Chestnut's Civil War Epic.
If you can't watch it live online - or make it to the store to see it in person - you can always view the signing later on the website. Earlier book signings with many notable Lincoln and Civil War authors are archived on the Virtual Book Signing website, so you can watch them when it is convenient for you. This one will be, too, in a couple weeks or so. Be sure to check it out.
Political history, the Civil War and me
Until just a few years ago, I was one who never wanted to read about the Civil War - or any war, for that matter. That may seem odd, considering my interest in Lincoln, and how interrelated his story is with the story of our country's conflict. But, it was the popular Lincoln who drew me in as a child, the Lincoln with ties to my native state and my hometown who tugged at my heartstrings, and the self-made man Lincoln who motivated me, like Galesburg poet Carl Sandburg, to pursue the study of the sixteenth president. Those ugly things - politics, slavery, war? I left them for others.
Yet, as I became more than just a casual Lincoln enthusiast and instead a student in earnest of his life and legacy, I realized that those things I'd avoided were necessary evils. Without understanding the political Lincoln, the injustice of slavery, the dynamics and logistics of the Civil War, I couldn't truly know the man whose story inspired me.
A Civil War book club at the McLean County Museum of History a few years ago helped to set me on a path toward greater understanding of the War Between the States. One of the books we read was The Private Mary Chesnut: The Unpublished Civil War Diaries. Suddenly, the conflict was more than the names of battles and generals which it had been in my high school and undergrad history classes. It was the stories of real people and the impact all this had on their lives.
It will be interesting to learn of Stern's critical work on Chestnut's piece - a project, that will surely move me ,as a regional literary critic, to take a second look at Chestnut's work. As for that political history stuff, thank goodness for people like Perman, who understand those things and, through their gifts as writers, work to make it more understandable for those of us who are political illiterates.
Saturday, March 6, 2010
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Happy 201st Birthday, Abraham Lincoln!
Here in Illinois, it's now Abraham Lincoln's 201st birthday. Please join me in wishing him a happy one.
It's been quite a year, hasn't it? Those of you who are Lincoln buffs like me are well aware of many of the Lincoln events across the country and, yes, even around the world in celebration of the bicentennial over the past year or so.
This Lincoln buff just about wore herself out celebrating.
My bicentennial tribute began in the fall of 2008, when my community college offered a course on the life and times of Abraham Lincoln. My blog began in October of that year.
Since then, I've been to both coasts seeing Lincoln sites and attending Lincoln events and I've made it to as many as possible here in Illinois. I've made Lincoln buff friends across the country and around the world - with new-found friends in England, Ireland, Australia and Brazil, as well as many states across the country.
To those of you who've followed my blog or offered comments, encouragement, information or advice, thank you. You made it all worthwhile.
To those who hosted me at Lincoln sites and answered my questions or welcomed me into your homes, your hospitality was such a gift. I appreciate it so.
To my family, I love you. You've been along for the ride and often had to make sacrifices so that I could attend events or write about Lincoln. Thanks for sharing me.
To all who kept coming back to see if there was anything new to read, thanks for your loyalty. You've surely noticed my invisibility from the blog for the last couple months. As my travels wound down last year, the holidays arrived. It was time to stop blogging and devote time to my family. My husband and I really enjoyed our time with our daughters, sons-in-law and grandchildren, and were thankful we were all together.
In the midst of the holidays, I learned I'd had my first paper accepted for a scholarly symposium. I revived another favorite subject of mine, the literary legacy of a late Peoria Journal Star columnist, Rick Baker, who wrote in a style similar to Mike Royko. I've spent several weeks making sure my first paper is worthy of the esteem of other Illinois history and literature buffs. In the process, there was no time for the railsplitter. (I'm sorry, Abe!)
The paper is now done, though, and it's time to get back to Lincoln. My posts in 2010 will be less frequent that in the first year of the blog, but more often than in the last two months. I'll write about some of the places I visited, some of the Lincoln scholars I've met and some of the Lincoln books I added to my library in the past couple years. I'll get back to my mission of keeping the legacy of Lincoln alive.
If you're planning to attend the 30th Annual Illinois History Symposium in Wheaton on March 7-9, you'll have to come hear my Baker paper. It's a dry run for the Lincoln papers I hope to present at future symposiums and conferences, but don't worry. I didn't cut corners. I intend to prove this old granny can research, write and present with the best of them.
Happy Lincoln's birthday 2010, everyone. Thanks for visiting my blog. Ann
It's been quite a year, hasn't it? Those of you who are Lincoln buffs like me are well aware of many of the Lincoln events across the country and, yes, even around the world in celebration of the bicentennial over the past year or so.
This Lincoln buff just about wore herself out celebrating.
My bicentennial tribute began in the fall of 2008, when my community college offered a course on the life and times of Abraham Lincoln. My blog began in October of that year.
Since then, I've been to both coasts seeing Lincoln sites and attending Lincoln events and I've made it to as many as possible here in Illinois. I've made Lincoln buff friends across the country and around the world - with new-found friends in England, Ireland, Australia and Brazil, as well as many states across the country.
To those of you who've followed my blog or offered comments, encouragement, information or advice, thank you. You made it all worthwhile.
To those who hosted me at Lincoln sites and answered my questions or welcomed me into your homes, your hospitality was such a gift. I appreciate it so.
To my family, I love you. You've been along for the ride and often had to make sacrifices so that I could attend events or write about Lincoln. Thanks for sharing me.
To all who kept coming back to see if there was anything new to read, thanks for your loyalty. You've surely noticed my invisibility from the blog for the last couple months. As my travels wound down last year, the holidays arrived. It was time to stop blogging and devote time to my family. My husband and I really enjoyed our time with our daughters, sons-in-law and grandchildren, and were thankful we were all together.
In the midst of the holidays, I learned I'd had my first paper accepted for a scholarly symposium. I revived another favorite subject of mine, the literary legacy of a late Peoria Journal Star columnist, Rick Baker, who wrote in a style similar to Mike Royko. I've spent several weeks making sure my first paper is worthy of the esteem of other Illinois history and literature buffs. In the process, there was no time for the railsplitter. (I'm sorry, Abe!)
The paper is now done, though, and it's time to get back to Lincoln. My posts in 2010 will be less frequent that in the first year of the blog, but more often than in the last two months. I'll write about some of the places I visited, some of the Lincoln scholars I've met and some of the Lincoln books I added to my library in the past couple years. I'll get back to my mission of keeping the legacy of Lincoln alive.
If you're planning to attend the 30th Annual Illinois History Symposium in Wheaton on March 7-9, you'll have to come hear my Baker paper. It's a dry run for the Lincoln papers I hope to present at future symposiums and conferences, but don't worry. I didn't cut corners. I intend to prove this old granny can research, write and present with the best of them.
Happy Lincoln's birthday 2010, everyone. Thanks for visiting my blog. Ann
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
