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Poets of the Civil War:
Writers on both sides of the American Civil War “brought to the crisis” (in editor J. D. McClatchys’ words) “poetry’s unique ability to stir the emotions, to freeze the moment, to sweep the scene with a panoramic lens and suddenly swoop in for a close-up of suffering or courage.” This vibrant collection brings together the most memorable and enduring work inspired by the the masterpieces of Whitman and Melville, Sidney Lanier on the death of Stonewall Jackson, the anti-slavery poems of Longfellow and Whittier, the front-line narratives of Henry Howard Brownell and John W. De Forest, the anthems of Julia Ward Howe and James Ryder Randall. Grief, indignation, pride, courage, patriotic fervor, ultimately reconciliation and the poetry of the Civil War evokes unforgettably the emotions that roiled America in its darkest hour.
About the American Poets Project
Elegantly designed in compact editions, printed on acid-free paper, and textually authoritative, the American Poets Project makes available the full range of the American poetic accomplishment, selected and introduced by today’s most discerning poets and critics.
About the American Poets Project
Elegantly designed in compact editions, printed on acid-free paper, and textually authoritative, the American Poets Project makes available the full range of the American poetic accomplishment, selected and introduced by today’s most discerning poets and critics.
250 pages, Hardcover
First published April 7, 2005
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39 people want to read
About the author
J.D. McClatchy
102 books37 followersMcClatchy is an adjunct professor at Yale University and editor of the Yale Review. He also edits the "Voice of the Poet" series for Random House AudioBooks.
His book Hazmat (Alfred A. Knopf, 2002) was nominated for the 2003 Pulitzer Prize. He has written texts for musical settings, including eight opera libretti, for such composers as Elliot Goldenthal, Daron Hagen, Lowell Liebermann, Lorin Maazel, Tobias Picker, Ned Rorem, Bruce Saylor, and William Schuman. His honors include an Award in Literature from the American Academy of Arts and Letters (1991). He has also been one of the New York Public Literary Lions, and received the 2000 Connecticut Governor’s Arts Award.
In 1999, he was elected into the membership of The American Academy of Arts and Letters, and in January 2009 he was elected president. He is a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and has received fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation (1987), the National Endowment for the Arts, and the Academy of American Poets (1991). He served as Chancellor of the Academy of American Poets from 1996 until 2003. (Wikipedia)
His book Hazmat (Alfred A. Knopf, 2002) was nominated for the 2003 Pulitzer Prize. He has written texts for musical settings, including eight opera libretti, for such composers as Elliot Goldenthal, Daron Hagen, Lowell Liebermann, Lorin Maazel, Tobias Picker, Ned Rorem, Bruce Saylor, and William Schuman. His honors include an Award in Literature from the American Academy of Arts and Letters (1991). He has also been one of the New York Public Literary Lions, and received the 2000 Connecticut Governor’s Arts Award.
In 1999, he was elected into the membership of The American Academy of Arts and Letters, and in January 2009 he was elected president. He is a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and has received fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation (1987), the National Endowment for the Arts, and the Academy of American Poets (1991). He served as Chancellor of the Academy of American Poets from 1996 until 2003. (Wikipedia)
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
April 25, 2024
America's Civil War In Poetry
Many people in the United States remain fascinated with the Civil War, but relatively few students of the war study how it was viewed in the literature of the day. This is a pity because the poetry of the Civil War is among the best sources we have to see how Americans responded to the conflict, its origins, and its aftermath. This short anthology, "Poets of the Civil War" will introduce the reader to the extensive volume of poetry inspired by the Civil War. The anthology is part of the "American Poets Project" series of the Library of the America which has the laudable goal of making readily accessible a selection of the memorable poetry that Americans have written over the years. The volumes in this ongoing series show that the art of poetry constitutes an important American achievement. Professor J.D. McClatchy of Yale University selected the poems and wrote a perceptive introduction to this Civil War volume.
The volume includes selections from 33 poets, arranged chronologically by date of birth. Although Civil War poetry continues to be written, the works in this collection all were written by contemporaries to the war. The poems differ widely in quality and in theme. The volume includes works by famous early American authors, including Bryant, Emerson and Longfellow. Some readers may be surprised to learn that these writers remained active during the Civil War era. The volume also includes a short selection of reflective poems by Emily Dickinson inspired by the Civil War. Dickinson is not often considered as a Civil War poet.
The two poets who best captured the Civil War in their works, Walt Whitman and Herman Melville, are well-represented here. Whitman's poems emphasize the compassion he developed for individual soldiers as shown by "The Wound Dresser". His poems have a feeling of immediacy. The anthology also includes Whitman's great poem on the death of Lincoln, "When Lilacs Last at the Dooryard Bloom'd."
Many readers may not be aware that Herman Melville wrote Civil War poetry. Melville's poetry has received a mixed reception over the years, but I find it offers a moving and thoughtful picture of the war. Melville wrote in a deliberately halting poetic style that emphasizes the ambiguities and conflicts he felt in considering the war. He tended to write about individual battles and events, and his work can be viewed as a sort of running commentary on the war and its aftermath. This selection includes Melville's poem on the battle of Shiloh with its description of the dead as "Foemen at morn, but friends at eve," and a lengthy poem on the horrors of the battle of the Wilderness.
The poems I enjoyed in this volume include the descriptions of battles, including Henry Brownell's eyewitness account of the battle of Mobile Bay, "The Bay Fight", Thomas Read's poem, "Sheridan's Ride", Silas Weir's poem "How the Cumberland Went Down", and Kate Sherwood's "Thomas at Chickamauga". Of the poets that are not well known today, I enjoyed the selection by Henry Timrod, the "Poet Laureate of the Confederacy" and the poems by John De Forest, who is better remembered as the author of the Civil War novel, "Miss Ravenel's Conversion."
The anthology reflects many points of view including strong Southern feelings and feelings equally intense for the Union. Many of the poets, North and South, are more concerned with the death and destruction resulting from the conflict that with the righteousness of their respective causes. But abolitionist poems such as Julia Ward Howe's "Battle Hymn of the Republic" and Francis Harper's "The Slave Auction" find a place in this collection as do poems seeking a peaceful reconciliation of North and South upon the conclusion of the war. Poems with a reconciliationist sentiment include Francis Miles Finch's once well-known poem, "The Blue and the Gray." ("Love and tears for the Blue/Tears and love for the Gray.")
Poetry remains the most direct way to understand the heart of a people. Readers with an interest in understanding the Civil War will enjoy and learn from this short selection of its poetry.
Robin Friedman
Many people in the United States remain fascinated with the Civil War, but relatively few students of the war study how it was viewed in the literature of the day. This is a pity because the poetry of the Civil War is among the best sources we have to see how Americans responded to the conflict, its origins, and its aftermath. This short anthology, "Poets of the Civil War" will introduce the reader to the extensive volume of poetry inspired by the Civil War. The anthology is part of the "American Poets Project" series of the Library of the America which has the laudable goal of making readily accessible a selection of the memorable poetry that Americans have written over the years. The volumes in this ongoing series show that the art of poetry constitutes an important American achievement. Professor J.D. McClatchy of Yale University selected the poems and wrote a perceptive introduction to this Civil War volume.
The volume includes selections from 33 poets, arranged chronologically by date of birth. Although Civil War poetry continues to be written, the works in this collection all were written by contemporaries to the war. The poems differ widely in quality and in theme. The volume includes works by famous early American authors, including Bryant, Emerson and Longfellow. Some readers may be surprised to learn that these writers remained active during the Civil War era. The volume also includes a short selection of reflective poems by Emily Dickinson inspired by the Civil War. Dickinson is not often considered as a Civil War poet.
The two poets who best captured the Civil War in their works, Walt Whitman and Herman Melville, are well-represented here. Whitman's poems emphasize the compassion he developed for individual soldiers as shown by "The Wound Dresser". His poems have a feeling of immediacy. The anthology also includes Whitman's great poem on the death of Lincoln, "When Lilacs Last at the Dooryard Bloom'd."
Many readers may not be aware that Herman Melville wrote Civil War poetry. Melville's poetry has received a mixed reception over the years, but I find it offers a moving and thoughtful picture of the war. Melville wrote in a deliberately halting poetic style that emphasizes the ambiguities and conflicts he felt in considering the war. He tended to write about individual battles and events, and his work can be viewed as a sort of running commentary on the war and its aftermath. This selection includes Melville's poem on the battle of Shiloh with its description of the dead as "Foemen at morn, but friends at eve," and a lengthy poem on the horrors of the battle of the Wilderness.
The poems I enjoyed in this volume include the descriptions of battles, including Henry Brownell's eyewitness account of the battle of Mobile Bay, "The Bay Fight", Thomas Read's poem, "Sheridan's Ride", Silas Weir's poem "How the Cumberland Went Down", and Kate Sherwood's "Thomas at Chickamauga". Of the poets that are not well known today, I enjoyed the selection by Henry Timrod, the "Poet Laureate of the Confederacy" and the poems by John De Forest, who is better remembered as the author of the Civil War novel, "Miss Ravenel's Conversion."
The anthology reflects many points of view including strong Southern feelings and feelings equally intense for the Union. Many of the poets, North and South, are more concerned with the death and destruction resulting from the conflict that with the righteousness of their respective causes. But abolitionist poems such as Julia Ward Howe's "Battle Hymn of the Republic" and Francis Harper's "The Slave Auction" find a place in this collection as do poems seeking a peaceful reconciliation of North and South upon the conclusion of the war. Poems with a reconciliationist sentiment include Francis Miles Finch's once well-known poem, "The Blue and the Gray." ("Love and tears for the Blue/Tears and love for the Gray.")
Poetry remains the most direct way to understand the heart of a people. Readers with an interest in understanding the Civil War will enjoy and learn from this short selection of its poetry.
Robin Friedman
August 8, 2017
The Civil War presents the writer or editor of a work such as this with a difficult challenge. Ever since post-Reconstruction period it has been common to see the blue and the gray as being equals, equally courageous and brave, despite the fact that the cause of the North was relatively just and the cause of the South was among the worst known to man [1]. This book definitely falls into that trap. In many ways, this collection of poems wants to have it both ways–to give equal attention to poets of the North and South (and even some border state poets), to celebrate the different perspectives on nationalism and identity that were represented by the two sides, and also to earn some points by pointing to the fate of blacks in the society. It appears as if the editor of this book is trying too hard to curry favor with those who would most appreciate a book about the Civil War and not enough time being honest about what was at stake. To be sure, the editor shows himself unwilling to support jingoistic odes, but he appears to have no qualms about encouraging neo-Confederate readers to wish for Maryland’s secession or to celebrate the ethnogenesis of the Confederacy.
As appears to be common in this series, this book is organized by the birthdate of the poet, and this has an interesting result, in that many of the older poetic heavyweights skew towards the beginning of this book–William Cullen Bryant, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, and John Greenleaf Whittier being four of the first five. A few poets have large amounts of their work included–Herman Melville and Walt Whitman, obviously enough, but less obviously enough Henry Timrod, and quite deservedly Emily Dickinson as well, who is not often considered a Civil War poet even though this book includes some stellar examples of her war-inspired poetry. This is a book that provides about 200 pages worth of mostly good Civil War poetry, and if you like American military history and poetry this is certainly a worthwhile read. I happen to enjoy both of those subjects and so reading this book was certainly a no-brainer. I wonder how large of a market there is for civil war poetry books, but there is at least room for one.
That is not to say that this is a perfect book. It is unlikely that anyone would be able to tackle the mess that is the Civil War and do it to the satisfaction of everyone, or perhaps even anyone. While the author seems to think there were no great epic poems that came out of the Civil War, this book includes quite a few examples of modest triumphs–if you can consider O Captain, My Captain, or the striking poems about elderly Union citizens who bravely and stoutly defended the honor of the flag during those rare rebel invasions. And there are quite a few poets which do justice to the battles of the Civil War–there is a great one about Thomas at Chichamauga, a ballad of the siege of Vicksburg, and a thoughtful discussion of the Battle of Melvern Hill. All of these demonstrate that those who complain about the quality of Civil War poems don’t really have a leg to stand on–there is plenty of good material to be found and that is worthy of appreciation, and it is likely that most readers will at least find something that they enjoy here regardless of which side they cheer on and where their loyalties lie.
[1] See, for example:
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2015...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2017...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2017...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2015...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2017...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2017...
As appears to be common in this series, this book is organized by the birthdate of the poet, and this has an interesting result, in that many of the older poetic heavyweights skew towards the beginning of this book–William Cullen Bryant, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, and John Greenleaf Whittier being four of the first five. A few poets have large amounts of their work included–Herman Melville and Walt Whitman, obviously enough, but less obviously enough Henry Timrod, and quite deservedly Emily Dickinson as well, who is not often considered a Civil War poet even though this book includes some stellar examples of her war-inspired poetry. This is a book that provides about 200 pages worth of mostly good Civil War poetry, and if you like American military history and poetry this is certainly a worthwhile read. I happen to enjoy both of those subjects and so reading this book was certainly a no-brainer. I wonder how large of a market there is for civil war poetry books, but there is at least room for one.
That is not to say that this is a perfect book. It is unlikely that anyone would be able to tackle the mess that is the Civil War and do it to the satisfaction of everyone, or perhaps even anyone. While the author seems to think there were no great epic poems that came out of the Civil War, this book includes quite a few examples of modest triumphs–if you can consider O Captain, My Captain, or the striking poems about elderly Union citizens who bravely and stoutly defended the honor of the flag during those rare rebel invasions. And there are quite a few poets which do justice to the battles of the Civil War–there is a great one about Thomas at Chichamauga, a ballad of the siege of Vicksburg, and a thoughtful discussion of the Battle of Melvern Hill. All of these demonstrate that those who complain about the quality of Civil War poems don’t really have a leg to stand on–there is plenty of good material to be found and that is worthy of appreciation, and it is likely that most readers will at least find something that they enjoy here regardless of which side they cheer on and where their loyalties lie.
[1] See, for example:
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2015...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2017...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2017...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2015...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2017...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2017...
September 17, 2019
I'm not much of a poetry reader, but this little anthology had a good selection of works from a many poets. Some of them, like Mehlville's epic, were quite long. Digesting them took a while!
All of them, long or short, moved me in some way.
Highly recommended for any one interested in mid-19th century American poetry, and/or the Civil War.
All of them, long or short, moved me in some way.
Highly recommended for any one interested in mid-19th century American poetry, and/or the Civil War.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews