Lincoln's Lover : Mary Lincoln in Poetry / selected, arranged, and edited by Jason Emerson.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Emerson, Jason, 1975- editor.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Lincoln, Mary Todd, 1818-1882--Poetry.

Lincoln, Mary Todd.

Lincoln, Abraham, 1809-1865--Family.

Lincoln, Abraham.

Presidents' spouses--United States--Poetry.

Presidents' spouses.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (146 pages) : illustrations

Place of Publication:

Kent, Ohio : The Kent State University Press, 2018.

Summary:

In his Poetics, Aristotle said a historian and a poet do not differ from each other-one simply writes in verse and the other in prose. In fact, history and poetry have a long connection; much of what we know about ancient history throughout the world came to us through the centuries and millennia as epic poetry purporting to tell the stories of great men and events. The two genres also create a fascinating juxtaposition when each views one through the lens of the other. To consider the life of a historical person through poetry is both to see that person for who they were and to consider who that person could have, or even should have, been in a more poetically perfect world. Abraham Lincoln and poetry have a long and intimate connection. Lincoln wrote and even published multiple poems, and all of his greatest writings and speeches are themselves outstandingly and inherently poetic. Following Lincoln's death, hundreds of poetic tributes were published in newspapers across the country, and eulogies to the Great Emancipator in verse have continued to be penned ever since. But what about his wife, Mary? She also has a long and intimate connection to verse: she read and wrote poetry, was both ennobled muse and satirical target, and shared a love of the genre that formed a personal connection with her husband. Lincoln's Lover: Mary Lincoln in Poetry is a compilation of poetry written by, for, and about Mary Lincoln dating from 1839 to 2012. Each poem is prefaced with brief explanations contextualizing the historical events of Mary's life as portrayed in the poem, as well as an explanation of the poem and the poet who wrote it. Presented chronologically, the works offer a view of the changing perceptions of Mary Lincoln through the years. The poems show Mary as woman, wife, First Lady, and widow, as well as insane woman, complex individual, and intricate and indispensable part of her husband. A combination of poetry, history, and biography, Lincoln's Lover is a unique book that allows readers to experience Mary Lincoln's words, thoughts, experiences, and legacy as explained and exposed through poetry over the past 170 years.

Contents:

"Riding on a dray" (1839/1840) / Dr. E. H. Merriman

Untitled poem, signed "Cathleen" (1842) / Mary Todd

"Dear Mary" (1848) / Abraham Lincoln

"Little Eddie" (1850) / Anonymous

"The queen must dance" (1862) / George H. Boker

"To Mrs. Lincoln" (1865) / Emissus

"To Mrs. Lincoln" (1865) / Mary A. Dennison

"Mrs. Lincoln's lamentation" (1865) / George Moses Horton

"President Lincoln's funeral" (1866) / Sarah E. Carmichael

"Lady of Lincoln" (1937) / Marion Mills Miller

"Mary Todd Lincoln" (1938) / Martha Thomas Dyall

"The spirit of Mary Todd speaks" (1940) / Courtnay Fraser Fite

"Mary Todd Lincoln" (1946) / Reed Miles Perkins

"Valentine for Mary Lincoln" (1955) / Jane Merchant

"Mary visits Lexington: 1848-1849" (1965) / Della Crowder Miller

"Mrs. Lincoln given social snubs: October, 1861" (1965) / Della Crowder Miller

"Mrs. Lincoln enters Bellevue Place," (1987) / Edward C. Lynskey

"Mrs. Lincoln's epistle from Bellevue Place" (1997) / Edward C. Lynskey

"Mary Todd on her deathbed" (1999) / Julianna Baggott

"Willie at the foot of the bed (an ode to Mary Todd Lincoln)" (2003) / Laurence Overmire

"To ease my mind" (2006) / Kathleen Flenniken

"Love is eternal" (2007) / Dan Guillory

"Litany for Mary T" (2007) / Dan Guillory

"The foreshadowing" (2007) / Michael Meng

"Mary Todd Lincoln in her inaugural ball gown" (2007) / Michael Meng

"An open letter to Mrs. Lincoln" (2008) / Julianna Baggott

"Epistle for Mary Lincoln" (2009) / Jason Emerson

"Mary Lincoln triptych" (2012) / R. T. Smith

Afterword / by James M. Cornelius.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references.

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

9781631012938

1631012932

9781631012921

1631012924

OCLC:

1013526061