1 President + 2 authors + 43 Americans = Great book

In 1998, I wrote my first review of a Lincoln book. It was of Harold Holzer’s The Lincoln Mailbag: America Writes to the President, 1861-1865.

When I received the assignment, I didn’t know Holzer from Adam. I didn’t have any idea he’d have more than 30 books under his belt within the next decade and be one of the most recognized names in Lincoln scholarship. If you would have told me then that seven years later I’d meet the man, and four years after that, I’d consider him a mentor and friend, I’d have answered, “Yeah-h-h-h, ri-i-i-i-ght!”

But, he has, I did and he is. It’s funny how this crazy thing called life plays out.

Today, I want to tell you about one of Holzer’s latest books. Not because he asked me to. (He did not.) Not because he answers my questions, no matter how ridiculous they may be. (He does.) Not because he’s the chair of the U.S. Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission. (He is – and he’s one fine spokesperson.)

I want to tell you about In Lincoln’s Hand: His Original Manuscripts because it’s a really neat book. But Holzer didn’t produce this one alone. As he’s done occasionally in the past, the author joined forces with another Lincoln scribe, Joshua Wolf Shenk. If that name is familiar, it’s because Shenk “wrote the book” on Lincoln and depression. It’s titled Lincoln’s Melancholy: How Depression Changed a President and Fueled His Greatness.

A winning combination
The duo combined images of documents in Lincoln’s own handwriting with photographs and supporting artwork, then topped the creation with commentary from 43 Americans. And, these weren’t just any Americans. They included in their ranks all living former Presidents, a past Supreme Court Justice, leading Lincoln scholars, actors who’ve portrayed Lincoln, famous politicians and writers, big name film makers and more.

This diverse group presents an unprecedented look at the Lincoln legacy through a multi-faceted wall of windows. The book is even more unique in that some of the panes have since shattered. We’ll never again have an opportunity to get a fresh perspective on Lincoln from three commentators who recently passed away – the patriarch of Lincoln scholars David Herbert Donald, the great American historian John Hope Franklin and legendary author John Updike.

In Lincoln’s Hand serves not only as a valuable resource for accessing many of Lincoln’s most famous words and seeing them in their original form, complete with the emancipator’s strikeouts and edits. It’s also a very attractive, easy-to-read volume which would make a cherished gift or a great conversation piece on a coffee table. It’s meant to be looked at – often – and read and discussed.

But wait, there’s more
In Lincoln’s Hand is an official publication of the Library of Congress Bicentennial Exhibition, “With Malice Toward None.” Though the celebratory exhibit of original Lincoln documents is no longer on display at the Library of Congress, it’s hitting the road, stopping for a time in museum and libraries across the country. Check to learn the approximate dates the exhibit will be in a venue near you.

You can also learn more on the exhibit website.

© Copyright 2009 Ann Tracy Mueller. All rights reserved.

Happy 200th, Edgar Allan Poe

Did you know 2009 is not only the bicentennial of Lincoln’s birth, but also of the birth of Edgar Allan Poe and Charles Darwin? Today, January 19, 2009, is the 200th anniversary of Poe’s birth.

I went to several of my favorite Lincoln authors – or their books, actually – to see what they had to say about Lincoln and Poe.

Shenk on Lincoln and Poe
I first consulted Joshua Wolf Shenk’s Lincoln’s Melancholy. I heard Shenk speak twice when he was in Peoria ( Ill.) last summer and I thought I’d remembered him mentioning that Lincoln read Poe. If anyone is an authority on Lincoln’s dark side, this is the guy. And as Shenk points out in his book, “Suffering and futility were pervasive themes in American literature of the early nineteenth century.”

I actually expected to find more references to Lincoln and Poe in Shenk’s work. Though he does refer to Poe and his gloomy work several times throughout the book, there is only one reference to Lincoln reading Poe. I’m finding this lack of much information connecting Lincoln to Poe’s work to be the case throughout my research.

Shenk writes of the early 1940s when Lincoln was serving as a lawyer, riding from town to town on the Eighth Judicial Circuit in Illinois. It was during those evenings away from home, according to the Shenk, that Lincoln’s partner John Todd Stuart remembers Lincoln reading Poe’s “The Raven” over and over by candlelight.

Thomas on Lincoln and Poe
I then went to Benjamin Thomas’s 1953 biography, Abraham Lincoln. Though it’s more than half a century old, this succinct volume is still respected by several leading Lincoln scholars and was even recommended by one of them as the text for a high school class on Lincoln. If Thomas’s account is accurate, it may have been Quincy (Ill.) lawyer Andrew Johnston who first introduced Lincoln to Poe’s work.

According to Thomas, Lincoln had sent some of his own poems to Johnston. Johnston, in turn “sent Lincoln a parody of Poe’s ‘Raven,” in which an experience with a polecat replaced Poe’s conversation with his feathered midnight visitor.” Johnston apparently not only gave Lincoln “several hearty laughs” but also prompted him to seek out Poe’s poem just a year after it was written.

Burlingame on Lincoln and Poe
And finally, I consulted Michael Burlingame, whose two volume biography, Abraham Lincoln: A Life, is the largest work on Lincoln since Sandburg’s six-volume set and will likely reign as the definitive Lincoln biography long into the future.

According to Burlingame, Lincoln liked not only “The Raven,” but “also liked Poe’s short stories, notably ‘The Gold Bug’ and ‘The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar.”

Special thanks to my Poe-authority
I’d be remiss, however, if I were not to give credit where credit is due for remembering Poe’s birthday so I could share it with you. A few weeks ago, when I told my friend Dr. Robert T. Rhode that I was doing a Lincoln blog, he reminded me that it was also Poe’s bicentennial. Rhode is one of several authorities on the 19th century who has served as a mentor to me. For his nurturing, sharing of knowledge and encouragement, I will always be grateful.

I know Rhode as an authority on steam powers and the owner of a really neat 1923 65-horsepower Case steam engine, which I’ve had the privilege to ride. Yet, he’s also an authority on Poe - teaching his works, writing about him and acting in more than two hundred productions as the poet. In 1988, Rhode performed as Poe for the Baltimore Poe Society, which named his one-person play the authorized stage version of Poe's life.

According to Rhode, the best Poe biography is Arthur Hobson Quinn’s 1941 Edgar Allan Poe: A Critical Biography, which, unfortunately, doesn’t even mention the Lincolns. Rhode cautions those researching Poe to beware of some online sources. He says the authoritative website is that of the Poe Society of Baltimore’s. Thanks, Dr. Rhode, for pointing me to the information showing:

• Lincoln owned an 1845 copy of the booklet that contained “The Raven.”
• A listing of articles by Poe scholar Burton R. Pollin, including one he wrote on polecat parody in the The University of Mississippi Studies in English in 1989 (#100).
  

After the bicentennial, please watch my blog for more information about Dr. Rhode. Not only is his work on the steam era and Walt Whitman relevant to the study of Lincoln, he’s also the author of some pretty nifty reference books for all students and writers. More on that later …

Excerpts and information taken from:

• Burlingame, Michael, Abraham Lincoln: A Life, Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, 2008.
• Rhode, Robert T., email correspondence, Dec. 2, 2008.
• Shenk, Joshua Wolf, Lincoln’s Melancholy, Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, 2005.
• Thomas, Benjamin, Abraham Lincoln: A Biography, Alfred A. Knopf, New York, 1953.

Shedding light on Lincoln’s darkness

Currently I consider myself an Abraham Lincoln enthusiast, thus the blog name “Lincoln Buff 2.” I hope someday to earn the title “Lincoln scholar.” To do so will take lots of hard work, years of reading and researching, and the mentoring and respect of Lincoln scholars who have come before me.

I’ve had the blessing of hearing a number of Lincoln scholars speak, and have even had a chance to meet a few. One of my hopes in this blog is that I can introduce you to some authors and scholars in the Lincoln community who inspire me - and tell you about their work.

Meet Joshua Wolf Shenk
I’ve already told you about Rodney Davis and Douglas Wilson of the Lincoln Studies Center at Knox College and Harold Holzer of the United States Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission in earlier postings. Today I’d like to introduce you to Joshua Wolf Shenk and his book, Lincoln’s Melancholy: How Depression Challenged a President and Fueled His Greatness.

Lincoln as most know him
I think it’s safe to say that most Americans know the legendary Lincoln – the young boy born in a log cabin in Kentucky, who later lived in some little village somewhere in the middle of Illinois, had little schooling, read by the light of a fireplace, ascended to the presidency, led our nation at its most difficult time and delivered a battlefield address which is probably studied in school more than any other oratorical work.

What the more astute students of Lincoln know, though, as it is covered again and again in varying degrees in his biographies, is that Lincoln had dark moments – very sad and solemn times. In his day, it was known as melancholy or melancholia. Today, we call it depression and we understand it’s a mental health issue faced by many.

A dual discipline approach to Lincoln
Joshua Wolf Shenk had the honor of serving as a Rosalynn Carter Fellow in Mental Health Journalism at the Carter Center in Atlanta. While there, he began his studies on Lincoln’s depression. Lincoln’s Melancholy is unique in the approach it takes to Lincoln’s life. Shenk takes a multi-discipline approach, combining his knowledge of and interest in mental illness with his expertise in the life of Lincoln.

As you read Shenk’s book, you’ll not only learn about Lincoln and how his depression affected his life and presidency, but you’ll also learn about mental illness, a condition which impacts one in five families in America.

I had the opportunity to hear Shenk speak this summer at two appearances in Peoria, Ill. He held us spellbound as he spoke with sincerity and depth about our 16th president and the depression which darkened his life. His book is comprehensive and educational without overwhelming the reader with medical jargon. If I had a chance, I’d see go hear Shenk yet again, and I’d recommend his book to any Lincoln buff.

© Copyright 2008 Ann Tracy Mueller. All rights reserved.