Railsplitter - by Maurice Manning (Paperback)

About the Book

Prophetic and rich in rural folklore and literary allusions, this seventh collection from Pulitzer Prize Finalist and Guggenheim Fellow Manning, envisions the role of poetry in the life of Abraham Lincoln, transcending the darkness of Lincoln's time and imagining new lore entirely.

Book Synopsis

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.

Review Quotes

"Manning is at his best in quiet moments of stunning lyricism... There is a deep reverence for the ancestral spirit of the land, as if Kentucky's rich hills and flowing streams were a part of its residents' DNA. Manning's verse resonates with the plaintive loneliness of his rural landscapes and the divine presence that alleviates that loneliness, be it God, one's forebears, or poetry." -- Publishers Weekly

"He nails his images the way a restless boy, up in a tree with a slingshot, nails anything sentient that wanders into view." -- New York Times Book Review

"Myth-making is a more important business than what's true and false, and Manning's ability to transcend the problem so blithely on the strength of his overall conception is impressive." -- Contemporary Poetry Review
"...within a few lines, the language becomes layered and hints at the constant intersection of the present and the eternal." -- Washington Post

About the Author

Maurice Manning has been praised for his ability to transcribe the land and culture of his native Appalachia into six full length books of poetry. His first book, Lawrence Booth's Book of Visions, was selected by W.S. Merwin for the Yale Series of Younger Poets. His fourth book, The Common Man, was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. A former Guggenheim fellow, Manning teaches at Transylvania University and in the MFA Program for Writers at Warren Wilson College. He lives with his family in Kentucky.