Lincoln goings on here and there

It’s now been more than 200 years (201, actually) since Abraham Lincoln’s birth on Feb. 12, 1809, but events celebrating his life and legacy are far from over. Whether they’re billed as Lincoln Bicentennial events or just Lincoln-related happenings, you can find a bit of the sixteenth President here, there and everywhere.

I’m afraid I’ve let many of my loyal Lincoln Buff 2 blog followers down in recent months as I tried to catch my breath from more than a year of Lincoln events, blogging and Twitter - and attempted to get back to a more normal semblance of life. I’ve had nearly a non-presence in the blogosphere, but have attempted to flutter around in the twittersphere.

I’ve caught my breath a bit now, so it’s time to catch you up on some upcoming Lincoln-related events.

Here are some of the things you won’t want to miss in April 2010. Be sure to click on the hyperlinks (where available) to learn more about the events. The best thing about them? These three are all free!

April 7, Illinois College, Jacksonville, Ill.

White House correspondent Helen Thomas will make a trek to the same college on the prairie where Lincoln delivered his “Discoveries and Inventions” speech 151 years ago. Thomas will deliver the Phi Alpha Lecture, speaking on the American presidency at 7 p.m. in Rammelkamp Chapel. She’ll also be inducted as an honorary member of Phi Alpha Literary Society, which named Lincoln an honorary member in 1859. The event, open to the public, is free.

April 11 – Decatur Public Library, Decatur, Ill.

Dan Guillory, professor emeritus at Millikin University, and author of “The Lincoln Poems,” will present “Housepoems,” original poetry in honor of National Poetry Month at 2 p.m. in the Madden Auditorium of the Decatur Public Library on Sunday, April 11. The reading is free and open to the public.

The collection includes humorous and meditative poems on subjects as diverse as food, cats, birds, wild animals, death, weather, gardening, marriage, cars, friendship and the general passage of time. The poems are the product of a “poetry diary” project.

Guillory has won awards or grants from the Illinois Arts Council, the Academy of American Poets, and the American Library Association. He is the author of seven books and one audio book. His newest work, “People and Places in the Land of Lincoln,” will be released in May.

April 13 – Appalachian State University, Boone, N.C.

Harold Holzer, co-chair of the United States Lincoln Bicentennial Commission, and author of more than 30 books on Lincoln, will speak about “Why Lincoln Matters—To History, To Our Presidents, and Us.” I can tell you from experience, this is an interesting presentation. You’ll hear how Lincoln’s appeal and legacy, which have provided inspiration for more than a century and a half, continue to move and guide yet today. And best of all, this event is free, too!

Among my first book reviews in the late 1990s was a piece about one of Holzer’s early Lincoln books. When the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum opened in 2005, I got to meet him and a number of other Lincoln scholars. I’m still in awe at the support I get from this fantastic group of men and women, as many of them have stepped up to mentor me over the last few years. And I continue to be thankful for Harold Holzer’s encouragement and support.

More to come
I’ve got news of other Lincoln-related events coming down the pike, so come back in a few days. I won’t stay away so long next time. Ann

Guillory to read Lincoln Poems in Decatur April 19

My Lincoln friend, Dan Guillory, is still hard at work sharing his poems. This weekend you can hear him at the Decatur Public Library. He asked me to let you know.

Even if you've seen Guillory read his Lincoln poems before you won't want to miss this one. I've heard him three times now and he always keeps his presentations fresh and new. Here's what he asked me to share.

Read all about it

Dr. Dan Guillory, Professor Emeritus of English at Millikin University, will present another reading from his recent book, The Lincoln Poems, at 2:00 PM in the Madden Auditorium of the Decatur Public Library on Sunday April 19, 2009. April is National Poetry Month, and Professor Guillory will focus on poems that have not been previously performed at the Library. Copies of his book will be offered for sale after the reading.

The Lincoln Poems was one of only 21 books from across the country chosen for presentation at the National Lincoln Bicentennial Celebration in Springfield on February 12, 2009. Before the poetry reading, Dr. Guillory will share his impressions of that special day, including the Bicentennial Banquet, where President Obama spoke briefly. Dr. Guillory will also have on display some of the artifacts he collected on the Bicentennial day, including Lincoln “First Day of Issue” stamps and envelopes, a Lincoln coffee mug, the Bicentennial Banquet menu, and other items of interest.

In partnership with Melody Arnold and Brent Wielt of the Macon County Conservation District, Dr. Guillory presented an all-day Lincoln workshop for Macon County schoolteachers on March 21, 2009. The day was very successful, according to the evaluations. The teachers went in three vans on a tour of Lincoln sites in and around Decatur. The workshop will be repeated on Wednesday June 10, 2009.

Dr. Guillory will also be recording The Lincoln Poems during the week of April 13th, and the finished audiobook will be released as a CD by Mayhaven Publishing. Finally, Dr. Guillory has signed another contract with Mayhaven for a new book entitled People and Places in the Land of Lincoln.

Continuing coverage of Jacksonville 2009 - Poets extraordinaire

In recent weeks as I’ve had time, I’ve shared my continuing chronicle of the events of the Illinois State Historical Society’s 2009 Illinois History Symposium, “Abraham Lincoln in Ante-bellum Illinois, 1830-1861.”

When I last wrote, I shared my recollections of the Friday luncheon program featuring Michael Burlingame. Let’s pick up where we left off – but first we need to step back a few decades for the intro, then few weeks earlier for part of the story and a day earlier for the rest.

A poet and you don’t know it
My maternal grandmother was a tiny little lady, never five feet tall and increasingly shorter the older she got. Yet, her small stature held great wisdom. Though she had but an eighth-grade education, she was one of the smartest people I’ve ever known – and I’m hard-pressed to find someone who could remember as many birthdays as well as she could.

Grandma was also known for reaching somewhere deep – maybe into a big pocket on one of the home-sewn calico aprons she always wore – and pulling out witty sayings or pieces of verse. She drew upon one of her favorites whenever someone accidentally said something that rhymed. Grandma would say, without fail, “You’re a poet and don’t know it, but your feet sure show it.”

Now, as wise as Grandma was, that never seemed to make much sense to me. I’d look down at my toes, thinking perhaps the short big toe and longer second one were the mark of a poet. That was the one thing that seemed to differentiate me from all of my friends. Alas, though, my feet let me down. I never was very good at verse. Narrative seemed to be my gift.

Poets and we all know it
On the other hand, the presenters at the afternoon session I attended were poets – no doubt about it.

I first met Dan Guillory a few months earlier at a poetry reading in Bloomington, and again at Springfield he week of the bicentennial. Once again, at Jacksonville, Guillory read from his Lincoln Poems, and once again, he wowed the crowd.

Oh, my goodness, I can hear you, Grandma. I wasn’t trying to rhyme, really I wasn’t!

Please be sure to read my earlier accounts to hear about Guillory’s readings at the McLean County Museum of History and the Vachel Lindsay Home. It will paint a clear picture of the palate of poems we heard at the symposium presentation.

The other poet presenting was someone I’d just met at lunch the day before, when we gravitated to each other around a round banquet table. At first there was a seat between us, but as we strained to talk across the empty seat, it made sense to sit next to each other. I knew immediately this college professor from Washington, D.C., by way of Chicago, was a delightful tablemate, but it would be quite some time before I’d realize what a gifted person she was.

You know how sometimes you meet someone and there’s no “getting acquainted” period? You just feel as if you’ve known the person forever, and you share a friendship – almost magically - from the moment you meet? Martha Vertreace-Doody is that kind of person. We enjoyed each other’s company at lunch, walked to my car to get a notebook and walked across campus to the next event.

Vertreace-Doody even convinced me that I should attend the Thursday evening event at the Duncan Mansion, where she would be dressed in 19th century period costume. What I didn’t realize was that the mansion event would set the stage for her poetry reading on Friday afternoon.

You see, a few years ago, this 21st century big-city woman became the voice of a 19th century prairie governor’s wife – the one who lived in that mansion. From diaries and letters, Martha Vertreace-Doody began to craft poems chronicling the life of Elizabeth Duncan, the 4’5” tall (or should it be short) wife of the sixth governor of Illinois, Joseph Duncan. (Grandma would have been tall next to Mrs. Duncan!)

Vertreace-Doody is no novice poet. Quite the contrary. She’s got more than a dozen volumes of poetry under her belt. And, though the Duncan poems are not yet in print - in fact not even all written, I’m sure - there’s no doubt they’re bound to make the grade as another brilliant volume by a talented Illinois author. If the various university presses here in Illinois haven’t got this Chicago poet who writes prairie verse on their radar, they should have!

In retrospect, I wish I’d written down a few lines of this beautiful work to share with you, but I can’t recreate specific poems for you. What I can share is that this poet has found the heart and soul of her subject, a woman much different than herself, and she’s pouring it out in verse so moving it draws listeners in and takes them back to that same time and place. Sure, the poet had Duncan’s own words to draw the stories from, but she weaves a fresh tapestry of verse so intricate the readers can't help but get caught up in it, savoring every detail of each magnificent creation.

That Thursday afternoon, I had to choose between three symposium offerings, all great programs, I’m sure. I’m glad I selected the one I did, not only because the presenters were two people I’ve grown to count among my friends, but also because they’ve created their own legacy of Illinois literature, and I was there to hear them share it. Can’t get much more fortunate than that!

© Copyright 2009 Ann Tracy Mueller. All rights reserved.

No, Sacha. We thank YOU!

Every once in a while, you have the opportunity to meet someone whose creative work leaves a lasting impression. Far less frequently, you’re even more fortunate when that same person leaves an even stronger imprint themselves.

The event I expected
I had the blessing to meet just such an individual the week of the Abraham Lincoln bicentennial. I attended a poetry reading at the Vachel Lindsay Home. Though I’d heard the poet, Dan Guillory, read some of his poems just a short time before, it was important to me that I attend the event at the Lindsay home.

Before I began my studies of Lincoln in earnest, I spent a great deal of time studying and writing about Illinois literature. My special area of concentration was the work of Carl Sandburg, but you can’t study Sandburg without studying the other Prairie Poets, Lindsay and Edgar Lee Masters. I wanted to see the home where he lived, wrote and died. And, I knew I’d enjoy the event.

As I expected, I really enjoyed hearing Guillory read his Lincoln poems again. I also enjoyed hearing a retired school teacher, Marge Deffenbaugh, read Lindsay’s poems. Unexpected surprises were a monologue by Kathey Reed, who portrayed Mary Todd Lincoln’s younger sister, Ann Todd Smith, who lived in the home before the Lindsay family, and period music by the Prairie Chickens.

The surprise ending
After the event, which spilled from the front to the back parlor of the large 19th century home, we moved to the dining room for refreshments. I lingered longer than most when I found people to visit with. As the crowd dwindled, I saw a man sitting in a corner of the back parlor, with dashing good looks and curly dark hair. The man, who appeared to be in his 30s or so (they all look young the older I get), was surrounded by women several years older than I am.

I walked over to Deffenbaugh and said, “I bet this is someone I need to meet. Do you know who it is?” She didn’t, but like any good school teacher, she knew who to ask to get the answer.

The answer? The man whom this bevy of sixty-something, former sixties girls had cornered was none other than the artist Sacha Newley, son of actress Joan Collins and the late actor Anthony Newley. My assumption was that they were excited by his fame. After all, this gent has been the subject of paparazzi since he left the hospital as a baby. For me, the excitement of meeting the son of famous movie stars – any movie stars - was also a high.

I found something to have Newley autograph, acted as giddy as my older counterparts for a while, then learned more about Newley himself. He was in Springfield because of his own work – his Lincoln work. Newley is an artist, and his portrait of Lincoln graced some of the bicentennial commemorative envelopes. The original of the portrait resides at Lincoln College in Lincoln, Ill.

Most incredible
What was most incredible was not how famous Newley is or how gifted he is - and believe me, this guy has talent. I’ve never seen an artist whose work can make me feel so much like he’s taking me into the soul of his subject.

No. Though, he’s famous and he’s gifted, and, yes, he’s incredibly good looking, I think the artist’s greatest attributes are his graciousness and his appreciation of the simple kindnesses and prairie hospitality of his newfound friends. Sacha Newley has fallen as deeply for Lincoln as many of the rest of us, and just as much in love with the place Lincoln called home for more than half of his life.

I had the opportunity to wish Newley farewell after the Abraham Lincoln Association banquet and to tell him again how nice it was to meet him. His response: “I’ve had a blast. Please, invite me back.” If it were within my power, he’d be back tomorrow, and he’d have his family in tow.

Sacha says thanks
I’m sure I wasn’t the only Central Illinoisan Newley thanked in person (and I didn’t do anything but talk to him), yet it didn’t surprise me that he wanted to make sure he didn’t miss anyone. He sent a thank you to the Good Deeds column in the State Journal-Register.

But, Sacha, you brightened our week and your beautiful tribute to Lincoln will brighten his prairies for years to come. It is we who thank you! Godspeed.

Long days and short nights pay dividends

There are some days when you go, "Wow! Maybe what I'm doing is worth it." This was one of them.

The Journal is my friend
When I read my favorite newspaper, The State Journal-Register, this morning and visited fellow Lincoln blogger Mike Kienzler's Abraham Lincoln Observer blog on the paper's website, I learned Mike had included mine in a list of blogs and websites in his early morning post today. The day was off to a good start. I was pretty excited to be mentioned in the paper of which Lincoln said in 1864, "The Journal paper was always my friend; and of course its editors the same."

Thanks, Mike. You and the SJ-R are my friends, too. Not as impressive as having Lincoln as a friend, though, huh?

So is 21st Century Abe
Later in the day, I learned Kathy Haas of the Rosenbach Museum and Library in Philadelphia had mentioned my blog in her post on the museum's 21st Century Abe blog. I didn't even know this one existed. Watch the list of blogs I follow (at the bottom of the home page). I'll be adding 21st Century Abe there. Thanks to you, too, Kathy.

Found online
This was plenty of recognition for one day, and more than this blogger felt she deserved. It would have been enough to keep me beaming for weeks, but the day got even better. I went to the McLean County Museum of History to hear Dan Guillory read from his great little book, "Lincoln Poems." I was reminding my friend, Jeff, at the museum to be sure to watch the blog for information about the bicentennial. He asked me to show him the blog on his computer. When I did, he said, "Wait, someone sent us a link to this today. It was Dan."

It was pretty exciting to know that the speaker had found my blog post. That's what it's all about - promoting the legacy of Lincoln, recognizing those who do the same and promoting events and others who share the passion.

Doing what I do - because...
If I've done that, I'm achieving my goal. What does it take to do this blog? It’s late nights, early mornings and Lincoln spinning endlessly through my head. It’s attending lectures, taking classes, reading books and newspapers and online articles. It’s writing research papers in the second half-century of my life. It’s spending the entire week of Lincoln’s birthday in Springfield savoring every event I can attend – and even doing some volunteering. It’s spending nearly all of my vacation time this year attending Lincoln symposiums – and even dragging my husband and best friends along for the ride. It’s driving my family, co-workers and friends nuts as I talk Lincoln incessantly.

And, it’s all worth it. (Except maybe the part about driving all my loved ones nuts . You'll have to ask them about that.) I hope you’re enjoying visiting the blog as much as I’m enjoying writing it. I’m still trying to determine how best to share the excitement of the bicentennial events. I’ve got some ideas, but they’re still percolating. I should have some news for you on that in about a week.

Thanks for reading, and be sure to get to some Lincoln events near you, okay?

Ann

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.