Today we’ve got a poem from Kathleen Rooney called “Robinson’s Hometown.” I love this poem, and I played it for someone before posting it, and she said that it sounds like a message left on an answering machine. I like that quality about this recording. But I feel like I should take credit, or blame, for that, and not make it seem like Kathleen did that. I recorded this one over the phone with Kathleen, and it got that tinny, hollow quality to the voice that you can only get by trying to record over the phone. I like it. But this poem would work no matter how we recorded it. It comes from her forthcoming collection Robinson Alone Provides the Image.

Kathleen Rooney is a poet and a writer. With Abby Beckel, she is a founding editor of Rose Metal Press. With Elisa Gabbert, she is the author of That Tiny Insane Voluptuousness (Otoliths, 2008). With Counterpoint Press, her prose collection For You, For You I Am Trilling These Songs is now available. With her husband, the writer Martin Seay, she lives in Chicago, where she works as a Visiting Assistant Professor of English and Creative Writing at DePaul University, and where she will be the Writer-in-Residence at Roosevelt University for 2011-2012. With Gold Wake Press, her latest solo poetry collection, Robinson Alone Provides the Image, is forthcoming in November 2012.

InDigest’s Poem of the Day podcast is sponsored by Audible.com. You can get a free audiobook download at AudibleTrial.com/InDigest. You can also get the podcast for free on iTunes and on the Stitcher, Smart Radio app. For more updates you can also become a fan on Facebook or follow us on Twitter. Go here for past episodes of the Poem of the Day Podcast.

By Joseph Michael Owens with recommendations from David W. Bulla, PhD

It’s president’s Day and we here at InDigest want to celebrate, specifically, we want to celebrate books about Abraham Lincoln. A former Journalism mentor of mine at Iowa State, David W. Bulla, wrote his dissertation on press suppression during the Civil War and knows more than a thing or two about Lincoln. I asked him to give me a list of some of his recommended reading about Honest Abe. [ed. note: synopses provided by http://www.barnesandnoble.com/]

Doris Kearns Goodwin’s Team of Rivals

“Team of Rivals is pretty good. Kearns is [a sort of] Jane Come-Lately. She had all of her children helping her. But I like the thesis: Take all of the major opponents in your party and put them in your cabinet. Add a little pragmatism and Midwest humor, and, presto, you have an administration. And it worked. Somehow.“ ~DWB

On May 18, 1860, William H. Seward, Salmon P. Chase, Edward Bates, and Abraham Lincoln waited in their hometowns for the results from the Republican National Convention in Chicago. When Lincoln emerged as the victor, his rivals were dismayed and angry. Throughout the turbulent 1850s, each had energetically sought the presidency as the conflict over slavery was leading inexorably to secession and civil war. That Lincoln succeeded was the result of a character that had been forged by life experiences that raised him above his more privileged and accomplished rivals. He won because hepossessed an extraordinary ability to put himself in the place of other men, to experience what they were feeling, to understand their motives and desires. This capacity enabled President Lincoln to bring his disgruntled opponents together, create the most unusual cabinet in history, and marshal their talents to preserve the Union and win the war.

William E. Gienapp’s Abraham Lincoln and Civil War America: A Biography

In Abraham Lincoln and Civil War America, historian William Gienapp provides a remarkably concise, up-to-date, and vibrant biography of the most revered figure in United States history. While the heart of the book focuses on the Civil War, Gienapp begins with a finely etched portrait of Lincoln’s early life, from pioneer farm boy to politician and lawyer in Springfield, to his stunning election as sixteenth president of the United States. Students will see how Lincoln grew during his years in office, how he developed a keen aptitude for military strategy and displayed enormous skill in dealing with his generals, and how his war strategy evolved from a desire to preserve the Union to emancipation and total war.

Richard Carwardine’s Lincoln: A Life of Purpose and Power

Carwardine examines Lincoln’s dramatic political journey, from his early years in the Illinois legislature to his nation-shaping years in the White House. Here, Carwardine combines a new perspective with a compelling narrative to deliver a fresh look at one of the pillars of American politics. He probes the sources of Lincoln’s moral and political philosophy and uses his groundbreaking research to cut through the myth and expose the man behind it.

Ronald C. White Jr.’s A. Lincoln: A Biography

Everyone wants to define the man who signed his name “A. Lincoln.” In his lifetime and ever since, friend and foe have taken it upon themselves to characterize Lincoln according to their own label or libel. In this magnificent book, Ronald C. White, Jr., offers a fresh and compelling definition of Lincoln as a man of integrity—what today’s commentators would call “authenticity”—whose moral compass holds the key to understanding his life. Through meticulous research of the newly completed Lincoln Legal Papers, as well as of recently discovered letters and photographs, White provides a portrait of Lincoln’s personal, political, and moral evolution. A transcendent, sweeping, passionately written Volume that expands our knowledge and understanding of its subject, A. Lincoln will engage a whole new generation of Americans.

James M. McPherson’s Abraham Lincoln

McPherson follows the son of Thomas Lincoln and Nancy Hanks from his early years in Kentucky, Indiana, and Illinois, to his highly successful law career, his marriage to Mary Todd, and his one term in Congress. We witness his leadership of the Republican anti-slavery movement, his famous debates with Stephen A. Douglas (a long acquaintance and former rival for the hand of Mary Todd), and his emergence as a candidate for president in 1860. Following Lincoln’s election to the presidency, McPherson describes his masterful role as Commander in Chief during the Civil War, the writing of the Emancipation Proclamation, and his assassination by John Wilkes Booth. The book also discusses his lasting legacy and why he remains a quintessential American hero two hundred years after his birth, while an annotated bibliography permits easy access to further scholarship. With his ideal short account of Lincoln, McPherson provides a compelling biography of a man of humble origins who preserved our nation during its greatest catastrophe and ended the scourge of slavery.

David Herbert Donald’s (ed.) Lincoln Reconsidered: Essays on the Civil War Era

When Lincoln Reconsidered was first published it ushered in the process of rethinking the Civil War that continues to this day. In the third edition, David provides two important new essays, on Lincoln’s patchy education—which we find was more extensive than even the great man realized—and on Lincoln’s complex and conflicted relationship to the rule of law. Together with a new preface and a thoroughly updated bibliographical essay, Lincoln Reconsidered will continue to be a touchstone of Lincoln scholarship for decades to come.

***

Team of Rivals

The opening scene of Young Lincoln (dir. John Ford, 1939):

Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter (dir. Timur Bekmembetov, 2012):

Abraham Lincoln (dir. D.W. Griffith, 2930), this is the entire film:

A clip from Gore Vidal’s Lincoln (dir. Lamont Johnson, 1988):

The Conspirator (dir. Robert Redford, 2011), a film about the trial and accusation of conspiracy surrounding Lincoln’s assassination:

Today’s poem is by Amaranth Borsuk. She is the author of a book of poems, Handiwork, selected by Paul Hoover for the 2011 Slope Editions Poetry Prize (forthcoming), a chapbook, Tonal Saw (The Song Cave, 2010), and, with Brad Bouse, the hybrid digital/print artist’s book Between Page and Screen (forthcoming, Siglio Press). She is the 2011 recipient of the Gulf Coast Poetry Prize for “A New Vessel,” selected by Ilya Kaminsky, and her poems, essays, and reviews have appeared widely in print and online.

InDigest’s Poem of the Day podcast is sponsored by Audible.com. You can get a free audiobook download at AudibleTrial.com/InDigest. You can also get the podcast for free on iTunes and on the Stitcher, Smart Radio app. For more updates you can also become a fan on Facebook or follow us on Twitter. Go here for past episodes of the Poem of the Day Podcast.

By David S. Atkinson

This week I checked our J R by William Gaddis, and afterward, I started thinking. Well, obviously I was also thinking while I was reading; we are talking about Gaddis after all. What I mean is that I started thinking about a very particular item. [ed note: I posted a link to the version of J R I think David should buy to, you know, truly get the "Gaddis-feel" of the novel.]

I realized that I was in a somewhat less than common position. This being the third book by Gaddis that I’ve read, I’m actually in a position to compare some of his work. Though I don’t think it is a horribly big deal to be familiar with The Recognitions, Agapē Agape, and J R, I don’t think that very many of my friends have read multiple books by Gaddis. As such, I thought I should take the time to compare them a little.

I was surprised to find that, after having read The Recognitions and Agapē Agape, that Gaddis could actually be funny. Mind you, it isn’t like The Recognitions or Agapē Agape are the appropriate places for humor. Still, J R is a riot. It may not get as sublime, in my humble opinion, as The Recognitions, but it is definitely a very different sort of book.

Frankly, I am a little confused as to why J R did not receive a more warm critical reception when it was first published. I would think the humor would go over well. Also, I found it to be the most approachable Gaddis work I’ve read yet. Sure, it is primarily unattributed dialogue that isn’t set apart clearly from straight narrative and it jumps around without any specific indicators that I could see between times, places, and characters.

However, I had very little trouble figuring out what was going on. It is still Gaddis, and therefore you will still have to do some work, but I think J R is a much easier path for a newbie into Gaddis than either The Recognitions or Agapē Agape (though I would still recommend all three).

In the end, I am admittedly far from a Gaddis scholar. I just like reading his stuff. All three of the Gaddis works that I’ve gotten into are well worth the time, each for different reasons. J R is just funnier and easier to figure out than the other two I’m familiar with. I just thought that was worth sharing.

***

An in-depth investigation by Joseph Michael Owens

Dustin Luke Nelson made an important discovery yesterday. One that could arguably be said to have changed his life. Dustin discovered A) “Ancient Aliens/Astronauts” are the focus of an actual human-pursued theory, and B) there is a History Channel show dedicated to it/them. All of his plans were immediately put on hold so he could get his learn on, post haste!

However, Dustin made a grave mistake, right away. He live-tweeted his viewing of Ancient Aliens and even dared show a hint of his skepticism.

Hell hath no fury like fans of History’s Ancient Aliens!

Dustin: What if building the pyramids wasn’t hard, but easy. How about that? #ancientaliens

Dustin: I guess I’m still not seeing how aliens is the most logical conclusion of ambiguity. #ancientaliens

Dustin: Maybe the pyramid stones were cut using Occam’s Razor? #ancientaliens [ed. note: I particularly like this one--very clever!]

Dustin: For some reason if you believe in #ancientaliens you probably shop at LL Bean.

Dustin: Don’t reinterpret the bible as factual evidence for aliens. Problematic and multiple levels. #ancientaliens

However, it didn’t take long for the show’s fans to weigh in:

AAFanatic1: @Dustin: The DUST “IN” is the cosmic rays which aren’t actually IN, they just appear that way. Sometimes soulless & puppeted. [ed. note: whoa...]

AAFanatic2: @Dustin: It’s one of my favorite shows bc it forces you to ask different questions of the same old problems… #ancientaliens.

AAFanatic2 (again): @Dustin: We still don’t know who killed JFK and you have issues w #ancientaliens? Lol. [ed. note: Lol. indeed!]

AAFanatic2 (um, again?): @Dustin: Of course not except in sense gov is giving us answers on both…just makes me wonder what ppl really know.

In response to Dustin’s tweet stating that he wasn’t sure one can connect JFK and ancient aliens.

AAFanatic2 (has more to say): @Dustin: not on #ancientaliens theory per se but space and aliens in general ie area 51… [ed. note: Word.]

Rumor has it Dustin has taken refuge deep underground in the bunker where the government his cryogenically preserving the body of the extra terrestrial who killed JFK but Dustin himself would neither confirm nor deny this claim.

However, all of this Ancient Aliens talk does make me wonder: does this somehow explain why my wife put 3 paint rollers in the freezer? I’m not saying it’s aliens, but…

***

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The Black Automaton

IS, AIN’T from Douglas Kearney on Vimeo.