by Lisa G. Gamia
A collection of 28 poems and 28 essays along with a selection of historical photos, sketches, and quotes that are dedicated to the lost and forgotten of the Civil War, by award-winning author, Lisa G. Samia. Selections within this work earned her the award of FINALIST for the Artist in Residence Program for the National Parks Arts Foundation Gettysburg Poetry 2018. Each poem is a narrative, a story told from an imagined person who is witnessing and experiencing some event during the Civil War.
Includes original sketch artwork "Bundle of Twigs" and "Unknown Confederate Soldier" drawn exclusively for this collection by artist, Shannon A. Reedy. The "Bundle of Twigs" icon is used to symbolize the hardships and suffering of the Civil War. The sketch "The Unknown Confederate Soldier" is of the headstones amassed at the Springwood Cemetery in Greenville, S.C.
The inspiration for the collection comes from the very first poem and essay on Michael Dougherty of the 13th Pennsylvania Calvary. Michael was captured and imprisoned in several Confederate prisons such as Pemberton, Barrett's, Libby, Belle Island and finally served the duration of his sentence at Andersonville Prison in Andersonville, Georgia.
Over the course of the 23 months and 17 days he was confined in prison, Michael kept a diary. It was only after I read the diary, especially regarding his confinement at Andersonville that the horror of this death camp came to life. Overcrowding, starvation, madness, and sickness were prevalent throughout the prison. And it was Michael's daily written count of men who were dead or dying, stating them as numbers without names or faces, that the inspiration for this collection was brought forth.
What of all of those thousands of soldiers, who were they? History tells us that after the Civil War many of these soldiers were eventually identified, yet what became of the ones who were not? And what about the civilians of the Civil War, those who starved to death, fell to disease, or simply died of a broken heart? What became of them?
Most of the poems and essays in this collection are based upon actual historical facts about a person or an event of the war. The narrator in each poem is an imagined civilian or soldier who was lost to history, yet through this creative venue is telling their story of what it was like to be at Shiloh, be tended to by Louisa May Alcott, or watch John Wilkes Booth died on the front porch of the Garrett farm on April 26, 1865.
The corresponding essays are the factual representation as provided by history, along with my thoughts and feelings. The result of the combination of the narration with the rhyme of the poem and the historical reference of the essay brings forth these voices and gives those lost and forgotten souls a chance to be heard, to tell their stories, and live again.
Lisa G. Samia is an award-winning poet, author, and speaker who loves American History. She was honored with the award of FINALIST for the Artist in Residence Program from the National Parks Arts Foundation Gettysburg Poetry 2018. She is the author of the historical fiction, "My Name is John Singer," an imagined account of John Wilkes Booth. Her contemporary romantic poetry collection, "The Man with the Ice Blue Eyes" debuted #1 in Women's Poetry on Amazon. She has also appeared as a guest speaker at the Poe House and Museum in Baltimore, MD, and the Poe Museum in Richmond, Virginia. She attended the University of Massachusetts and has appeared on local television multiple times for her writing. A Boston native, she is happily married and lives in Avon, CT.
- Release date: April 22, 2018
- 128 pages
- paperback