After the Lost War: A Narrative [Paperback]

Andrew Hudgins (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 19, 1989

Andrew Hudgins imagines himself in the life of a now largely forgotten poet, Sidney Lanier, who served as a soldier for the Confederacy.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

"Verse this may be, but it is at the same time a historical novel if not a fictional biography," remarked PW about this account of Civil War veteran, poet and musician Sidney Lanier . "As a marriage of poetry and fiction, this highly readable narrative combines the best of both forms into an intensely moving history . . . an epic achievement."
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

A long sequence of poems based on the life of a largely forgotten 19th-century Southern poet seems at first an academic, if not pedantic, exercise; but Hudgins's portrayal of Sidney Lanier vibrates with an emotional and intellectual vitality its subject would envy. On the framework of external eventsLanier's Civil War experiences, marriage, fatherhood, illnessHudgins constructs a philosophical narrative, the inner struggle of one mind to make sense of the "strange, impersonal violences/that nature gives us." Free of the sentimentality and archaisms too often present in Lanier's own poems, these deft tetrameter lines may well outlast the ones that inspired them.Fred Muratori, Cornell University Lib.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 144 pages
• Publisher: Mariner Books (June 19, 1989)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0395457130
• ISBN-13: 978-0395457139
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.5 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,232,730 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Andrew Hudgins is the author of seven books of poems, including SAINTS AND STRANGERS, THE GLASS HAMMER, and ECSTATIC IN THE POISON. A finalist for the National Book Award and the Pulitzer Prize, he is a recipient of Guggenheim and National Endowment for the Arts fellowships as well as the Harper Lee Award. He currently teaches in the Department of English at Ohio State University.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Andrew Hudgins put my soul in jeopardy., January 18, 2001

By 

D. W WISELY "chiffandfipple" (Birmingham, AL USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: After the Lost War: A Narrative (Paperback)

When I was reading this volume, I drove to Sunday Mass early and sat for a few minutes in the car. I finished this book in the parking lot and never went to Mass. Normally, I would feel obliged to bring deliberating skipping Mass to confession. This time, I shall not. I immediately phoned my local bookseller and he obtained for me a signed first edition which I handed to my wife and told her it is all I want for my birthday in March. I then got on line and ordered five additional paperback copies to give to my friends. I read the book three times in 10 days. I'm not like this, normally. This is a brilliantly conceived, flawlessly executed and deeply moving book. It is now part of me.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars narrative lyric poetry, March 6, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: After the Lost War: A Narrative (Paperback)

In "After the Lost War", Andrew Hudgins accomplishes the nearly impossible. As a lyric poet, he has assembled a powerful collection of poems. Each poem retains the individuality that allows it to be enjoyed alone. However, as a storyteller, Hudgins has woven these poems into a narrative, allowing the reader to experience the development of a complicated individual as he struggles with surviving the Civil War. You will not look at lyric poetry the same ever again.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Incredible Narrative Poetry, November 2, 2001

By 

matt purcell (TN) - See all my reviews

This review is from: After the Lost War: A Narrative (Paperback)

This is one of the finest volumes of narrative poetry there is buy it you won't be dissapointed. Hudgins captures the soul of Sidney Lanier puts it on the page. I read this book for the first time two years ago and is still one of the best I've read. Enough so that I felt obligated to log on here and post this. On a side note I met Hudgins today, the man is brilliant, hilarious, and just a really really great guy.