Private Hercules McGraw: Poems of the American Civil War
by S. Thomas Summers
Poem by poem, Private McGraw, each poem’s speaker, shares with us his journey through the landscapes of the American Civil War. McGraw, a Confederate soldier and racist, steps into the War in order to assure that slavery will exist long enough for him to purchase a slave with hopes to impress his love, Martha. As McGraw treks through the blood and mire, experiencing both triumph and tragedy, he begins to transform into a man of peace and compassion – a man who no longer sees a black man or a white man; he simply sees a man – a fellow, a brother.
S. Thomas Summers is a teacher of English at Wayne Hills High School in Wayne, NJ and an adjunct professor at Passaic County Community College in Paterson, NJ. The author of two poetry chapbooks, Summers’s poetry has been featured in several respected reviews and journals: The Atlantic, the Loch Raven Review, MiPo, The Pedestal Magazine, etc. Summers’s poetry is featured in New Jersey’s Civil War Odyssey, an anthology produced by the New Jersey Civil War Heritage Association and the New Jersey Civil War 150 Sesquicentennial Committee. Summers lives with his wife and children in the hills of Northern New Jersey and blogs at www.thelintinmypocket.
