Walt Whitman and the Civil War at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Museum!
Did you know that Walt Whitman spent time with soldiers at hospitals during the Civil War? I didn’t before attending the one man performance at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Museum yesterday. The one act play titled Lilacs and Letters is written by Zaxxon Nation, an actor at the museum. The play is also directed by Ed MacMurdo, and the original music was written by Randy Erwin who was performing at the museum yesterday when my mom and I visited.
The development of the play.
Zaxxon Nation said he has been a professional actor at the museum for the last five years. The museum staff thought a story about Walt Whitman would fit in perfectly with the Civil War theme of the museum. He researched it during the first round of COVID. One of the most fascinating things he learned he said, “His personality was a poet. His letters to friends and family were poetic. He was always a poet, his correspondence, the way he spoke, his recordings. Even in those last couple years of his life, he was just oozing poetry,” Zaxxon said.
Someone asked about the recordings, one of which you hear. Zaxxon said although they can’t prove it, it is said that Thomas Edison recorded his voice.
The Play
The play runs 15 minutes and the setting is Walt Whitman among sleeping Civil War soldiers. One wonderful aspect is after the plays completion, there is a question and answer period. The play is free with the price of admission to the museum.
During the play, Whitman is reflecting on the nations’ grief. He praises Abraham Lincoln finalizing his poem about him.
Walt Whitman
During the Civil War, this American poet worked as a volunteer nurse caring for both Union and Confederate soldiers in hospitals around Washington,DC. Reports I read said he worked over 600 shifts during the war. Besides helping with the wounded, he wrote letters for soldiers and comforted them. After President Lincoln’s assassination, he penned the following poems, “O Captain! My Captain! And “Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom’d” which the name of this play is based on, about Lincoln.
An unusual poet, he provided both art and poems alike. Born May 31,1819 in Huntington, New York he lived until March 26, 1892 passing at the age of 72. He was a poet, essayist, and journalist. He is called the father of free verse, although controversial at times, his work lives on and he is known for his writing and his compassion during a pivotal time in American history.
The play is a wonderful work of creativity from members of the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Museum staff, and breakout work for Zaxxon Nation. The play opened January 24, and will run through March 22nd. Check it out!
