Rebels

by Jeff Mann

Poets have been responding in lyric to the bloody aspects of war since Homer's era, and the American Civil War, in its scale and ferocity, was unquestionably one of the bloodiest. In Rebels, acclaimed poet Jeff Mann ranges the battlefields where such destruction occurred: famous battles like Malvern Hill, Fredericksburg, Gettysburg, and Cold Harbor, and those lesser known, such as Scary Creek and Cloyd's Farm. In his travels, Mann muses on Southern heritage and the sufferings of the Confederate people, both soldiers and civilians. As he did in his popular Civil War-era novels, Purgatory and Salvation, Mann ''queers'' the War as few other writers have, examining the conflict from a gay man's perspective. In this fine edition, several of Mann's poems have been illustrated by artists, making this volume unique in the fields of both Civil War studies and contemporary poetry.

Genres: Poetry

176 pages, Hardcover

First published April 20, 2015

About the author

Jeff Mann’s poetry, fiction, and essays have appeared in many publications, including Prairie Schooner, Shenandoah, Laurel Review and The Gay and Lesbian Review Worldwide. He has published three award-winning poetry chapbooks, Bliss, Mountain Fireflies, and Flint Shards from Sussex; two full-length books of poetry, Bones Washed with Wine and On the Tongue; a collection of personal essays, Edge: Travels of an Appalachian Leather Bear; a book of poetry and memoir, Loving Mountains, Loving Men; and a short fiction volume, A History of Barbed Wire, which won a Lambda Literary Award. He teaches creative writing at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Virginia.

Reviews

['Nathan Burgoine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Whenever I think about writing a review of a collection of poetry, that line attributed to Robert Frost springs to mind: Robert Frost told a person who asked him what one of his poems meant, 'You want me to say it worse?' I always feel no matter how hard I might try, all I shall accomplish is that: I'm going to say it worse.

Still, like every Jeff Mann book of poetry I have read thus far, it's worth my sad attempt to try and convince you to pick up a copy of this book.

Before I delve into the topic at hand—and yes, I will delve into the topic at hand—I want to emphasize the things I have said of Mann's poetry so many times those of you who read my reviews will nod and say them with me.

First: Mann's accessibility is here, as always, and as much as I've heard people say that's a terrible word to apply to poetry, I have to disagree: Mann's poems let you in. This is accomplished without losing complexity, without losing weight, without losing a single part of craft, and in and of itself, that is incredible. Nothing is as hard as making things seem easy. But I defy anyone to read 'Snow Quilt' without feeling every moment and emotion of those soldiers sleeping, dreaming, and freezing.

Second: Mann's lyricism borders on brilliance. There is musicality here, and in so many of these poems I caught myself making small motions with my hand or my feet, or—as with 'The Shepherdstown Sweet Shop'—noticing, upon finishing a poem, that I had completely changed the pattern of my breathing.

Third: Mann's grasp of history is unimpeachable. Now, given the topic of these poems—the American Civil War, and more specifically soldiers of the Confederate Army—no doubt many a potential reader might balk. Let me put your fears to rest, as quickly and as calmly as I can: this is not the stars and bars used as packaging for elitist or racist dogma. This is a book of poetry about soldiers, truths of history in the form of war, death, blood, loss and, through a lens of an incredibly educated gay man in the current day, a frankly unique book. When you read these poems, 'Light Rain at Saunders Field' springs to mind here, you can see this: these poems are offerings to history, to those who died and were left unburied (and, one can imagine, unmourned). In a world where today soldier is synonymous with hero, these poems drive home loss on a huge scale.

As a whole, Rebels also very much holds another voice—that of a contemporary southern gay man, a man who yearns for a kind of past that would very much have rejected him, but would have offered a tangible fight. It's hard to explain a feeling that I have trouble with myself (and that, I think, many gay men struggle with), this desire for an enemy, or a cause, or something that would make a target for ire. Others—because every war is with an 'Other'—provide that, and I can see the parallels with an invading army declaring 'Your way of life is to end.' Who wouldn't grab a weapon, faced with the end of everything they had been raised to believe right?

This voice, throughout Rebels, stands in places that once ran red with blood, where men stood, defended, and died, and sees the restaurants and dessert shops and tourist attractions and headstones and there is a sense of meaningfulness granted to those deaths that seems to elude himself. This is a collection, unless I've greatly misread, that sees a future death heavy with potential meaninglessness—the voice seems, at times, to ache for an end that would have true impact, to take a bullet for a general, for an imprint that leaves words and names to be spoken long after he departs.

What I hope isn't lost to him, however, is that this book, if there is any justice, alongside the other books that have come before, is that imprint. No one has said these words before, certainly not with this grace, and lyricism, and with such a genuine love of history. History simply must make a place for it in return.

[Dennis Bensie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jeff Mann does the Civil War so I don't have to. I never thought I would read a gay poetry book about the Civil War, let alone like it (I'm more of a city homo). The book is epic and charming. There is something fun (and cruisy) about revisiting all the battle sites with Jeff and his "husbear" despite all the carnage that took place there so long ago. The author also has a way of making you literally hungry while romping from battlefield to battlefield. Yes, HUNGRY. Men gotta eat.

[Jerry L. Wheeler · Rating 5 out of 5]

In Rebels, Mann shows his Southern roots, though, to be fair, he rarely strays from them, which is part of his appeal for me…From the delicious elegy of “Buckwheat Cakes” to the beautiful imagery in “Snow Quilt,” Mann occupies his niche with a comfortable assurance that makes his work solid and dependable… I love that he respects his traditions and his heritage. Long may he do so.

[Elisa Rolle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rebels by Jeff Mann: http://reviews-and-ramblings.dreamwid... 2015 Rainbow Awards Honorable Mention (5* from at least 1 judge)