Railsplitter

by Maurice Manning

Railsplitter , the seventh collection from Pulitzer Prize Finalist and Guggenheim Fellow Maurice Manning, envisions the role of poetry in the life of Abraham Lincoln. Manning, who writes each piece in Lincoln’s persona, provides a lasting reflection on how poetry guided and shaped the President’s mind while leading a divided nation. Equal parts prophetic and rich in both rural folklore and literary allusions―from Shakespeare, to Whitman, to Poe, to the comedic― Railsplitter transcends the darkness of Lincoln’s time, to imagine a new lore entirely―one comprised of buzzard feather quills, horse treats in a top hat, and finally, a fateful bullet. Lincoln, who was born nearby to Maurice Manning’s childhood home in Kentucky, is alive again, in new form.

Genres: Poetry

96 pages, Paperback

Published October 15, 2019

About the author

MAURICE MANNING, the author of four collections of poetry, was awarded the 2009 Hanes Poetry Award from the Fellowship of Southern Writers. His first book, Lawrence Booth’s Book of Visions, was selected by W. S. Merwin for the Yale Series of Younger Poets. Manning, a former writing fellow at the Fine Arts Work Center in Provincetown, Massachusetts, teaches at Indiana University and Warren Wilson College.

Reviews

[Bill on GR Sabbatical · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the things the actor's bullet failed
to do was to interrupt the rhythm

of thought, the flow of the mind as it moves around.

And a little further on in the same poem, "Transcendentalism":

Contemplation

is all there is of the afterlife-the mind
continues steadily, not seeking

decision or destination, unable to rest
and yet at ease, because the thought

is always lulling back and forth, as a boat
gently rocking, following the rhythm

of the world.

Like Lincoln was, Manning is a native Kentuckian, and he channels these posthumous poems by the assassinated president following rambles through shared geographies, literal, literary, and cerebral. The poems are in several forms and range from the self-deprecating humor of "By God I Was a Sly Gesticulating Fool" -

Unfolding myself to rise in court
required a rousing double jerk
that ever proved to startle the clerk,
and the judge, when I rose from a chair too short,
to sail, as a ship listing to port,
and then I'd add flamboyant quirks-
employed that an anecdote might work-
why, I'd tug the whiskers on my wart.

to the searing, timely "A Barrel Full of Pickled Pig's Feet" -

I received a letter from the son
of a horse doctor in Perryville
who said his father was shot right through
the pocket watch he drew on the page
of his letter, pointing out the hands
were missing now and the face of time
had a 50-caliber hole in it.
The horse doctor was a Negro,
born in freedom, ironically,
who lived in a village of free blacks
the Union had presently burned
to prevent the enemy from shelter.
They were also shooting the horses so
the enemy could not escape.

I speculate that I might remember images from this excellent collection when I get around to reading my copy of George Saunders' Man Booker Prize-winning Lincoln in the Bardo; both have been compared to Edgar Lee Masters' Spoon River Anthology and I loved it, too.

It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this, discuss this book, and Lincoln, in the context of other books. As Manning notes in his preface:

Abraham Lincoln was our most literary president. Indeed, he made himself and he found his life's purpose and meaning through reading. It's as if his identity, his sense of self, was composed of the books he read. Lincoln's many letters and speeches often include literary references, demonstrating that his mind was formed not just by present matters or professional duties but more importantly by the broader recognition that meaning and values are handed down to us through the wisdom of those who thought and wrote and acted before us.

[Natalie Thorpe · Rating 5 out of 5]

"A Brief Refutation of the Rumor That I Allowed Willie and Tad to Relieve Themselves in My Up-Turned hat on a Sunday Morning at the Office while Their Mother Was Attending Religious Services" and "here's a toot for the USA, a living burden to my dying day" and "I'll pick you up and spit in your ass" resolve into "Once in the middle of Pilgrim's Progress I realized the furrows in the field could just as well be verses on the page, and the point of being alive fell down on me, and the smell of open ground brought me to tears. While irony may wrap itself around a poem, the true poem in the end escapes the shroud" and "who is buried in those endless rows, those silent lines of American poetry where metaphors and muses refuse to go?" It is thrilling--Manning at his best.

[Hailey Kate · Rating 5 out of 5]

Railsplitter is a visionary collection of poems. Based on the life, and death, of America’s beloved President Abraham Lincoln, Manning’s poetry has the ability to captivate readers through his ability to fuse wit and humor to the sacred and spiritual. His poems range in scope from Lincoln’s top hat, sex life, and dramaticly ironic death, leaving no topic untouched. Everything about this collection is delightful. He has a beautiful way with words and despite his penchant for humor, Manning takes great care to keep a persistent tone of deep and abiding respect for the martyred president. He can make a simple scene of two young boys playing with a tophat, turn into a story of deep symbolic significance. Illustrating the power of public image and the importance we place on the objects that experience the world with us. An expert on the life and workings of President Lincoln, Manning gives us a comprehensive and powerfully intimate view of this man and his life. You get to see a window into the tragedy and triumphs that Lincoln went through and, with him, experience a sort of spiritual redemption in his words. This collection is not just an opportunity to learn about Lincoln, but an opportunity to know him. If you only read one collection of poetry this next year, make it Railsplitter and enjoy your newfound appreciation for the 16th President of the United States and his many escapades.

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved these poems, all themed from Lincoln's perspective. Such a clever premise and good delivery

[Anna Reeve · Rating 5 out of 5]

Poetry written “in the voice of [famous historical personage]” rarely piques my interest—maybe because I tend to consider difficult poetic conceits and puzzles like complex Arabic forms in English or entire books of poems by the animals on Noah’s ark or in the voice of Abraham Lincoln to be a deadlift-style performance, a feat of strength meant to impress rather than move. But my education in poetry keeps me meeting poets whose conceits and puzzles both impress *and* move. Case in point: Maurice Manning’s Railsplitter.

This collection can’t help but evoke Saunders’ Lincoln in the Bardo, since throughout, Lincoln is speaking from beyond (or in?) the grave, but this work is not experimental in tone. The poems function as set pieces, formally and thematically contained, taking up Lincoln’s childhood memories, wartime decision-making or letters, his love of sentimental and humorous folk music, or hommages to his favorite writers, thinkers, and friends. They are the kind of thinking we analytic types like to think we could think after it’s all over—in a timeless pocket of time, a final consideration of everything. The poems draw us into a still ether, elevated above (or sunk below) noise and the tyranny of the living, to a mind, which is alive with thought and reflection. Who—with any knowledge of Lincoln’s inner conflicts and the ripples they cast on the history of human civilization—wouldn’t want to listen in?

Speaking from the beyond is interesting, a device suited to a poet like Manning, who’s researched Lincoln enough to include a couple pages of informal endnotes (which sent me down several fascinating and profoundly moving internet wormholes, from the story of the death of Lincoln's mother to the poem written for him by a formerly enslaved man) and who’s clever enough to create a Janus-like symbol of Lincoln: looking back, looking forward. Gorgeous poetry in its own right, and a masterful evocation of the interplay between Lincoln the Man and Lincoln the Idea.

[Kirk · Rating 5 out of 5]

Manning is one of my favorite living poets. He has a place in his writing that is purposefully and decidedly “down home”, which is why this book works. This form is not new to Manning as his book “A Companion for Owls” was written likewise. “Owls” from the perspective of Daniel Boone, “Railsplitter” from the perspective of Abe Lincoln’s ghost. Lincoln’s presence in the place of American government was like having a “down home” neighbor as president. And this poetry is written in that manner. Neither “highfalutin”, nor “uneducated”. It’s the kind of poetry and tone that needs a rebirth in our deeply divided culture. Some of my favorites like “Transcendentalism”, “On Silence”, and “You Sockdoligizing Old Man Trap” are just solid writing like Lincoln picking a stick off the ground and poking you. While ones like “The Smell of Open Ground in Spring”, “The Gift of Prophecy”, and “I Sends This for You to Look At You Must Not Laugh At It” cut to the quick, as if Abe is next to you slapping his knee and bursting out “Hoooo” right next to you. My favorite lines come from “The Art of Poetry”, when Manning, through Lincoln, describes the image of what poetry is like using a horse and wagon as fodder. This is the kind of poetry I imagine would appear consistently in old magazines and newspapers there for all Men (to use the old adage) - and women - to enjoy and contemplate. Huzzah, Maurice, huzzah!

[Scott Sanders · Rating 5 out of 5]

Book by book, Maurice Manning is building up one of the most substantial and consequential bodies of work in contemporary poetry. Through six previous volumes, including Lawrence Booth's Book of Visions (2001), winner of the Yale Younger Poets Prize, The Common Man (2010), and One Man's Dark (2017), he has explored his own personal roots in rural Kentucky and the cultural roots of our nation. Drawing on the earthy language of Appalachia, in books such as Bucolics (2007) and The Gone and the Going Away (2013), he has given voice to people who rarely appear in literature, and yet who grapple, as we all must, with the mysteries of love and loss and death. In Railsplitter (2020) he pays tribute to Abraham Lincoln, one of those who, except for a rare gift of spirit and verbal talent, might have remained among the forgotten. Lincoln was born and spent his early years in Manning's own region of Kentucky, and in these pages the assassinated president speaks from beyond the grave, in a voice sometimes melancholy, sometimes wry, and much preoccupied with the arts of reading and writing. In Manning's imagination, "Honest Abe Lincoln" appears to be as much of a poet as a politician. The meeting of these two minds makes for powerful drama.

[Betsy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve been attempting to read more poetry, and this was an excellent addition to my very limited repertoire. The poems are written in the “imagined posthumous voice of Abraham Lincoln,” which seemed strange at first, but I adapted quickly. I found the poems accessible, thought provoking, and sometimes downright funny.

[Shawn Aebi · Rating 4 out of 5]

A clever collection of pieces related to the life and times of Abraham Lincoln. Many reference his violent death which is strange but the overall tenor of the power of poetry in the 19th century rings loud.

[Paul Womack · Rating 5 out of 5]

A book of poetry to be read and re-read. Much enjoyable and the notes are a goldmine if you appreciate history.

[Dayna Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful book of poetry written, supposedly, by the deceased Abraham Lincoln. Charming and moving work. A must read for poetry lovers. A Reader's Corner Highly Recommended Read.

[Gregg Hower · Rating 3 out of 5]

The idea behind this book is fascinating, the finished book not so much. Manning is an excellent poet, but here, taking on Lincoln's voice, a number of the poems have a dull old fashioned voice. Throughout the volume references to Lincoln's life make it clear Manning did his homework. I would even say there are at least six excellent poems in the volume and the title poem is worth keeping forever. There are also good lines in other poems, such as these

"The effort to be
accomplished, without experience,
is something to pity"

So maybe my wish to be accomplished in my understanding of this volume is merely pitiable as I do not know much about Lincoln. So a volume by a poet I enjoy that just isn't for me.

[Nick Jordan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I recently was assigned a new-to-me pastoral position in Springfield, Illinois, so naturally part of my discernment process was to pick up this collection of poetry by Maurice Manning in the voice of Abraham Lincoln, who himself indeed wrote some poetry. There are plenty of history lessons here for the curious: Illinois' Sangamon County was Sangamo County when Lincoln moved, and John Wilkes Booth went out of his way to attend the hanging of John Brown.

Ultimately Manning's Lincoln interacts with all of US history, not just the 19th century, but much further back into North America and up to our present as well. I am here for it:

"An American habit is to fail / to recognize the symbolism / of what happens, even as / what happens always is also real."

[Scott Pomfret · Rating 3 out of 5]

This collection of poems consists of the musical musings of a well-imagined self-deprecating Abe who knows when to play the fool. (Farts jokes have their place here.) The poet plays mainly with rhyme in unexpected places and unexpected use of expected anecdotes in some of those same places. None of the poems seared, but they did make a kind of workman-like elegy for man who maybe wanted to go on living and wasn’t all that prepared to die. Relief from the cares of office and/or fatherhood, which is what I expected, was in short supply. Solid work.

[Christa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don’t know how to “star” a book of poetry. There is so much about the craft I still can’t grasp that sometimes it is as if I’m just reading a random group or words on a page. Other times the words hit me so hard I have to but the book down and breathe and digest them.

[Eric Cyr · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not my favorite of Manning's books. I couldn't get into honest Abe as the narrator for some reason. It just didn't sound like Abe's voice to me.