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ELCore · (This post was last modified: 10-05-2017 10:59 PM by ELCore.)

(10-04-2017 02:29 PM)L Verge Wrote: Lane - Your announcement spurred me to find out more about Fr. Tabb. I believe that others might enjoy the following link: https://archive.org/stream/fathertabbhis...8/mode/2up

It was interesting to find out that he was imprisoned at Point Lookout at the same time the famous poet Sidney Lanier was there, and they became friends after Tabb heard Lanier playing a flute at the Point. Even more interesting was the fact that Tabb became a teacher at St. Charles College in Ellicott City (then Ellicott Mills) in Maryland in 1878. That school was John Surratt, Jr.'s alma mater.

As I mentioned earlier, I will be attending a program on Point Lookout in a few weeks. The information that you led me to, Lane, will give me even more reason to "show off" my knowledge... Thank you.

I haven't been feeling quite well this week, so I have delayed replying. I was going to mention that Tabb and Lanier met and became friends while they were both at Point Lookout.

Father Tabb wrote that his Point Lookout experience suggested the following poem to him:

The Captives

Apart forever dwelt the twain,
Save for one oft-repeated strain
Wherein what love alone could say
They learned and lavished day by day.

Strangers in all but misery
And music’s hope-sustaining tie,
They lived and loved and died apart,
But soul to soul and heart to heart.

(That's # 169 in my book.)

(10-02-2017 06:15 PM)RJNorton Wrote: Congratulations, Lane! That is wonderful.

Thank you, Roger.

(10-02-2017 03:28 PM)Gene C Wrote: Lane, what is it about John B Tabb's poems that made you want share his writing with others?
Do you have a short favorite that you included in the book?
Do you know what encouraged him to become a Catholic priest?

Congratulations on the publication.

Tabb's poetry is virtually unknown nowadays, yet much of it seems fresh and new -- or so it does to me. I'm struggling for words right now, so instead of re-inventing the wheel, I'll just copy here my Amazon description:

Quote:The exquisite poetry of John B. Tabb (1845-1909) is rich in technical precision and concise expression. His keen perspective looks carefully around, peers into the depths of the soul, and gazes up at the heights. Little in nature escaped Father Tabb’s notice: flowers; birdsong; the beating of the rain; the passage of sun, moon, and stars; the cycles of the seasons; and the march of the years. Everywhere, he saw reflections and heard echoes of the gamut of human experience—loneliness and companionship, losses and rewards, regrets and hopes, man and God.

He expressed the essence of his unique vision in a profusion of small poems. This collection of 244 poems—most of which have no more than eight lines—displays the best of Tabb’s work, gathered into sets that showcase his various approaches to similar topics. With notes to help the reader with unfamiliar words and concepts, Long to Love and Memory brings John B. Tabb’s gems out into the light once more and sets them anew for a new century.

I will post a couple of poems later. (One of my favorites is quoted on the back cover above, but perhaps it is not legible to you?)

Tabb had been interested in the ministry and was a candidate for Holy Orders in the Episcopalian Church before he became a Catholic, following the lead of his pastor and mentor, Alfred Curtis.

Thanks.

(10-02-2017 01:16 PM)Susan Higginbotham Wrote: Congratulations!

Thank you!

(10-02-2017 02:09 PM)Steve Wrote: Interesting. Congratulations on publishing!

Thanks very much.