My New Book of Old Poetry

[ELCore]

I have joined the ranks of the published, at least by way of editing a book.

During the war, John B. Tabb had been a blockade runner, was captured, and kept a prisoner at Point Lookout. He eventually became a Catholic priest and professor of English. His poetry was quite popular in the last decade of the 19th century and the first decade of the 20th.








Amazon.

[Susan Higginbotham]

Congratulations!

[Steve]

Interesting. Congratulations on publishing!

[L Verge]

Ditto on the congrats! I will be attending a lecture by Dr. Bradley Gottfried, a Civil War author and recently retired college president, on October 21. He will be speaking on Point Lookout, which is of particular interest to me since I had a great-uncle who was imprisoned there. A member of the Confederate Navy, he survived the prison; however, he was assigned to grave digging details and injured his ankle with a pickax. The tool was so filthy from the conditions in that camp that his wound never healed. He still had a running sore the day he died.

I also can claim a divided Maryland family during the war. This man's brother fought for the Union and survived. They both attended family gatherings, but never spoke a word to each other for the rest of their lives.

I will certainly try to remember to mention this book and the background on Fr. Tabb after the lecture. We'll see if Dr. Gottfried is aware of this.

[Gene C]

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.

[RJNorton]

Congratulations, Lane! That is wonderful.

[L Verge]

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.

[ELCore]

(10-04-2017 01:29 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.)

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(10-02-2017 05:15 PM)RJNorton Wrote:  Congratulations, Lane! That is wonderful.

Thank you, Roger.

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(10-02-2017 02:28 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.

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(10-02-2017 12:16 PM)Susan Higginbotham Wrote:  Congratulations!

Thank you!

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(10-02-2017 01:09 PM)Steve Wrote:  Interesting. Congratulations on publishing!

Thanks very much.

[Donna McCreary]

Congratulations for the publication of your book!

[ELCore]

(10-05-2017 10:51 PM)Donna McCreary Wrote:  Congratulations for the publication of your book!

Thank you!

[Veronica]

(10-02-2017 08:14 AM)ELCore Wrote:  I have joined the ranks of the published, at least by way of editing a book.

During the war, John B. Tabb had been a blockade runner, was captured, and kept a prisoner at Point Lookout. He eventually became a Catholic priest and professor of English. His poetry was quite popular in the last decade of the 19th century and the first decade of the 20th.








Amazon.

Congratulations!

[ELCore]

(10-07-2017 11:59 PM)Veronica Wrote:  Congratulations!

Thank you.

[Eva Elisabeth]

Congrats from me, too - I like old poetry, especially anything involving nature images. (Intriguing cover BTW!) I've never heard of Tabb - how did you come across?

[L Verge]

According to the previously posted biography on J.B. Tabb, he was lucky enough to be released from Point Lookout in February of 1863. If he had not been, I wonder if he might have been a victim of the Great Shohola Train Wreck, which occurred in July of 1864, as nearly 850 Confederate prisoners were being transported from Point Lookout to the new Camp Rathbun in Elmira, NY, which had just been opened to relieve the crowding at the Maryland camp.

Here's a brief Wikipedia account: A mile and a half (2.4 km) from Shohola [PA], the track passes through "King and Fuller's Cut" which had only 50 feet (15 m) of forward visibility as the track negotiated a series of blind bends. The trains collided head-on with a crash so fierce that it was said that locals 'felt it as an earthquake'.[1] The combined speed was more than 30 mph, and propelled the wood stacked in each engine's tenders forward into the cabs; killing both engineers and firemen. The wooden box cars were telescoped into each other.[3] Of the 37 men in the car immediately behind the engine, 36 were killed outright, the only survivor being thrown clear. Most casualties occurred in the first three box cars, those riding further back escaped death though many were injured. A ring of uninjured guards was formed around the wreck but despite this five Confederate prisoners escaped and were never recaptured.[4] Frank Evans, a Union guard described the scene: "The two locomotives were raised high in the air, face-to-face against each other, like giants grappling...The front (car) of our train was jammed into a space less than six feet. The two cars behind it were almost as badly wrecked. There were bodies impaled on iron rods and splintered beams. Headless trunks were mangled between the telescoped cars"[6]

Aftermath[edit]
The citizens of Shohola and nearby Barryville, New York, treated the wounded 'without regard to the colour of their uniforms'[2] and doctors sent by two relief trains from Port Jervis worked throughout the night.[5] The official death toll was 65 people killed composed of 44 prisoners, 17 guards, and 4 railway staff,[4] however estimates range from between 60 and 72.[5] A subsequent enquiry found the dispatcher, who fled the scene, to be negligent.[3]

The dead were buried in unmarked graves next to the track, where they remained for 47 years until 1911 when they were moved to the Woodlawn National Cemetery at Elmira, and the Shohola Monument erected with the names of the Union soldiers on one side and the names of the Confederate soldiers on the other.[3] The Shohola Railroad Historical Society houses a museum dedicated to the wreck in a caboose stationed permanently in Shohola.[1

For further info and modern photos: http://www.civilwaralbum.com/misc11/shohola1.htm

[ELCore]

(10-08-2017 12:26 PM)Eva Elisabeth Wrote:  Congrats from me, too - I like old poetry, especially anything involving nature images. (Intriguing cover BTW!) I've never heard of Tabb - how did you come across?

Thank you. I had submitted a sunset photo of mine for the cover, but the publisher said it wouldn't work. Then I was asked for my opinion among several other choices, and we decided to go with that one. I am very happy with it.

I read a little poem of Tabb's in an anthology many, many years ago. As time went by, I encountered others here and there. Eventually, I found a copy of his "Later Poems", published posthumously in 1910, in a used bookstore. The collected edition, published in 1928, was the first book I ever ordered over the Internet, from a site called bibliofind, in May 2000. I had had a couple of bookstores looking out for it for years; when I added a search for it at bibliofind, I got an email about it in a couple of weeks, and had it in my hands a couple of weeks later. The Internet sure has revolutionized the bookselling/bookbuying trade.

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For those interested, I am posting poems on social media sites. You can find them by searching for @tabbpoetry on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. Feedback would be appreciated!