Weekly Writing Challenge: A Manner of Speaking

I’ve decided to take part in the writing challenge offered this week by WordPress. It tasks writers to connect with their “our geographical, generational, and cultural affiliations” and produce a piece of writing. I (kinda) did just that. The poem posted below is from my book Private Hercules McGraw: Poems of the American Civil War. The poem’s speaker, Hercules, is a Confederate soldier. I hope, I think, the poem illustrates a Confederate voice.

Seasons

It’s like a season passed in the blink
of an afternoon. This morning
I smiled at tall shoots of lavender
reaching above the grass and clover.
Bees hummed from bloom to bloom
like politicians knocking on doors,
mustering votes. Breeze carried scents
of earth and honey – sweetest spring day|
that ever filled my lungs. Made me wanna
touch something soft, something special –
maybe the hand of a Tennessee beauty.

But after a day of trading spit and smoke
with a regiment of Billies, this pretty spot
done shed all its pretty. Blood has a queer smell,
like a bog choked with sour fish,
but it don’t mud a patch of ground
like water does. Blood turns dirt
into syrup – walk in it too long
and you’ll get all gummed up.
And the dead are leaking blood all about.
From here it looks like a herd of fellas
decided to nap, but they ain’t waking up
no time soon. You can see their last thought
carved on each of their faces. It’s never fear or anger.
Mostly it seems like sorrow to me, like they know
they just lost memory and hope all at once.

Don’t seem like spring no more.
What season is it? It’s a season for breathing –
at least while you still can.

Broad Street Books

Broad Street Books in Branchville, NJ has agreed to stock copies of my book, Private Hercules McGraw: Poems of the American Civil War.

Broad Street Books is a beautiful store and I’m proud to have my book on its shelves.

From Broad Steet’s website:

“Broad Street Books is an independent used book store specializing in a wide variety of non-fiction books, children & young adult’s literature, and leather-bound classics. Our shop is located right in the center of Branchville NJ in the square at 1 Mill Street.

We carry a wide assortment of books and cds.

Some of our categories are: Art, Architecture, Photography, Painting/Drawing, Design, Cooking, Fashion, Gardening, Pets/Animals/Nature, Children’s Books, Young Adult, History, Religion, Philosophy, Mythology/Occult, Sports, Science, Chess, Music, Transportation (auto, trains, planes, and ships), Sociology, Psychology, plus many others. We also carry a large selection of Classical Cds.”

A Note from One of my Readers

I recently received this note, caps and all, from someone
who read my book, Private Hercules McGraw: Poems of
the American Civil War. “I TOOK MY TIME READING YOUR BOOK
BECAUSE I KNEW THE STORY HAD TO END AND DIDN’T WISH THAT TO HAPPEN.
IT IS A WONDERFUL READ AND MAKES ONE HUNGER FOR MORE OF THE SAME.
NOT THAT I RELISH WAR STORIES, BUT THE HUMAN ELEMENT IS COMPELLING
AND APPLICABLE TO ALL AMERICAN WARS. THANK YOU FROM A NEIGHBOR IN
HASKELL. THANK YOU ALSO FOR BEING A TEACHER.” I am
pleased!!!

Emancipation is Here: A Glorious Anniversary

“On this day in 1863, President Abraham Lincoln signs the final Emancipation Proclamation, which ends slavery in the rebelling states. A preliminary proclamation was issued in September 1862, following the Union victory at the Battle of Antietam in Maryland. The act signaled an important shift in the Union’s Civil War aims, expanding the goal of the war from reunification to include the eradication of slavery” (This Day in History – History Channel).

Here’s a poem from my book Private Hercules McGraw: Poems of the American Civil War. In it, Private McGraw, atop a large tree, sees former slaves fight for the first time.

The Emancipation Proclamation

Shards of Night

Them Feds started pouring through
the wood like a river that run its banks.
My heart started thunking wilder than a cat’s
heart after that cat scampered up a tree
cause a dog done breathed on its tail –

and sure enough, I was up a tree.
But, hell – my jaw almost clanked
the ground when I see that flood
a might closer. I was perched on top
a whole cluster of Yankee darkies.

Shit, I says, Abe sent them damn slaves
to fight. I first guessed they’d be whooping
and shucking like a gaggle of monkeys,
but they clutched their guns like soldiers
and their faces where all chiseled from stone

solid as Zion. Our boys started popping muskets
first and a few of them niggers fell,
but the others paid no mind to that. They ran
straight at those pickets like shards of night,
screaming hell and spitting lead.

I seen one take three bullets before
he toppled. Each time blood puffed
from his belly like a red cloud at sunset.
And the one swinging the flag made certain
them stripes never scraped the ground.

I swear them darkies be men.
By God, they be men.

Related articles

• The Emancipation Proclamation takes effect – History.com This Day in History – 1/1/1863 (civilwarironclads.wordpress.com)
• On This Day In 1863, The Emancipation Proclamation Takes Effect (rememberinghistory.wordpress.com)
• The Emancipation Proclamation (neatorama.com)
• The Emancipation Proclamation paved the way for the politics of self-liberation | Priyamvada Gopal (guardian.co.uk)

I Got Some Fan Mail

I was very happy to receive this note earlier today. It’s from someone who read my book, Private Hercules McGraw: Poems of the American Civil War. Please allow me to share it with you here.

——————————————————————————-

Scott,

I received the book between 4:30 and 5:00 this afternoon. Once I got a few minutes to pause, I read the first 35 pages before I absolutely had to put it down.

Scott, this work is excellent! Have you ever served in combat? I have, and the sensual and emotional nuances you’ve captured here are genuine.

On the other hand, for the very reasons I’ve stated, it’s a gut-wrenching read, and that, my friend, is maybe the highest accolade I can give you.

——————————————————————————-

A nice Christmas gift.

Related articles

• I Wonder as I Wander – Why? (thelintinmypocket.wordpress.com)
• Private Hercules Nominated for a Pushcart Prize (thelintinmypocket.wordpress.com)
• Sunday Poem: Peace (thelintinmypocket.wordpress.com)

“Voices from History” Poetry Tour Visits Franklin Lakes, New Jersey

The “Voices from History” poetry tour visits Franklin Lakes, New Jersey on November 7, 7pm at the Franklin Lakes Public Library

Franklin Lakes Public Library
470 DeKorte Drive
Franklin Lakes, NJ 07417

201-891-2224

http://www.franklinlakeslibrary.org/index.html

In the program “Voices from History,” a study of history through poetry, S. Thomas Summers (Scott) provides a tour of the battlefields and camps of the Civil War through the eyes of Confederate soldier Hercules McGraw, and David Vincenti offers a view of the life of Galileo Galilei that will surprise many who think they already know the famous astronomer. Through their compelling verse and discussion of the times about which their poems speak, Scott and David will entertain fans of poetry and fans of history alike.

David Vincenti (www.davidvincenti.com) is a father, husband, poet, engineer, accordionist, and project manager. His poems have appeared in the Paterson Literary Review, the Edison Literary Review, and The Journal of New Jersey Poets, and have been nominated for the Pushcart Prize. His first chapbook, To The Ones Who Must Be Loved, was published in 2010. David curates the Spoken Word Series at The Theater Company in Hoboken, NJ.

S. Thomas Summers (www.thelintinmypocket.wordpress.com) is a teacher at Wayne Hills High School and an adjunct professor at Passaic County Community College. He is the author of two chapbooks: Death Settled Well (Shadows Ink Publications, 2006) and Rather, It Should Shine (Pudding House Press, 2007). Scott’s book, Private Hercules McGraw: Poems of the American Civil War (Anaphora Literary Press), was published in 2011. It is available for purchase at Amazon.com.

This reading is free and open to the public.

Dueling Characters

Scott’s great snake. Cartoon map illustrating Gen. Winfield Scott’s plan to crush the Confederacy, economically. It is sometimes called the “Anaconda plan.” (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I’ve a friend, a fellow poet, who reads everything I write. Well, at least everything I send him. He, William, read and commented on each poem in my book Private Hercules McGraw: Poems of the American Civil War. He’s also read and commented on every poem in my ever growing, soon to be published second book, The Journals of Lt. Kendal Everly: Poems of the American Civil War.

Recently, William made the following observation. “Here, in The Journals of Lt. Kendal Everly, more than with the rebel series, Private Hercules McGraw, you seem to isolate on the singular enemy ["the man I was to kill"] rather than the mass – as if these soldiers fight soldiers rather than armies.”

William also commented, “It seems that the Union liutennant is more self-absorbed and takes his action as against individuals. The tenor of the Confederate representative has a nobler essence – suggesting the poet has a sympathy for the settled character of the South.”

Hmmmm? Do I like one character (Hercules) more than another (Kendal)?

I need to think this one through. Fascinating.

Related articles

• Private McGraw Receives Stellar Review (thelintinmypocket.wordpress.com)
• Voices From History (thelintinmypocket.wordpress.com)

Private McGraw Receives Stellar Review

Civil War historian and author Scott L. Mingus, Sr. recently read and reviewed my book Private Hercules McGraw: Poems of the American Civil War. He liked it!

Scott Mingus authored Flames Beyond Gettysburg: The Confederate Expedition to the Susquehanna River, June 1863, The Louisiana Tigers in the Gettysburg Campaign, June-July 1863, and several other books.

Posted here is Mingus’ review in its entirety. You can also visit Mingus’ website Canonba!! and read the review.

S. Thomas Summers is a poet and writer who maintains a literary blog, Lint in My Pocket: Writing with Some Ink and a Hammer. The New Jersey high school teacher doubles as an adjunct professor in writing at a community college.

Anaphora Literary Press has recently released Summers’ new book, Private Hercules McGraw: Poems of the American Civil War, which currently retails for $15 on amazon.com.

The book traces in vivid and often gritty poetry the story of a fictional Confederate private, Hercules McGraw, who enlists at the start of the war with two friends. Among his motivations is his love for Martha Lane, a Southern belle. He believes that he needs to acquire a slave and better his economic status to have a chance with Miss Lane.

Summers skillfully weaves the McGraw story with a backdrop of issues of slavery, militarism, human emotions, and the horrors of warfare. McGraw moves over time from a starry-eyed volunteer soldier who struggles with his emotions after shooting his first Yankee to a grizzled and realistic veteran who no longer wants anything to do with acquiring a slave or courting Miss Martha. He instead becomes a man of peace and compassion, and loses his racist attitudes toward the black race.

Along the way, he watches the deaths of his two pals, fights at Shiloh and Gettysburg, and endures the life of a Confederate soldier fighting for a lost cause. All the while, he grows as a man as his attitudes and his war experiences reshape and remold him.

Private Hercules McGraw: Poems of the American Civil War

S. Thomas Summers

Anaphora Press, 2012, $15

ISBN 978-1-937536-14-5

Related articles

• Gettysburg – Pickett’s Charge (thelintinmypocket.wordpress.com)
• Book Presentation and Reading: Vernon, New Jersey (thelintinmypocket.wordpress.com)
• At the Country Store: Historic Cold Spring Village (thelintinmypocket.wordpress.com)
• Empathizing with Your Characters: His Hell, My Hell (thelintinmypocket.wordpress.com)
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McClellan is Cut

Yup, looks like Gen. McClellan has been cut. I wrote the poem posted below for my developing manuscript, but I don’t think it will survive final edits. Therefore, I thought I’d share it here.

Gen. George B. McClellan

McClellan is Named

July 27, 1861

The news has set small fires
in the hearts of the boys –
George McClellan will lead us all,

and I pray, like Moses, he will
usher us into a new Promised Land
where the milk is peace and the honey

the sweet tastes of home: my wife’s tenderness,
my children’s laughter. Yet, I fear this new fire.
A fire’s warmth only hides its growl and bite.

Like me, McClellan is a learned man.
His eyes reach for something
that cannot be seen. He wonders…

but a viper considers not the wind
before it unsheathes its fangs.
That much I’ve learned.

My First Reading and Book Signing

It went well.

I was able to present, discuss, and read from Private Hercules McGraw: Poems of the American Civil War. An enthusiatic crowd was in attendance. The reading was held at the historic Van Riper House in Wayne, NJ. Van Riper House staff hope to have me return for other Civil War events. Thanks to all.

Reading/Book Signing at the Van Riper House in Wayne, NJ