Tuesday, February 17, 2009

Lincoln Walks at Midnight


I'm a bit late on writing about the various holidays that are going by it seems, but at least I'm writing huh?  Today's topic is inspired by Presidents Day.

That picture you see up there is of a statue that sits directly in front of the state capitol in what is currently my hometown of Charleston, West Virginia.  In case you weren't aware, West Virginia is the only state to have been created by presidential proclamation, and Lincoln just happened to be the one doing the proclaiming, so he's kind of a big deal for West Virginia historically.  Hence the statue.

I happen to love this statue.  It's just particularly powerful to me to see Lincoln portrayed like this.  I really enjoy the different take on the very well known man, and I think it took a bit of bravery on the artist's part to stray from the typical stovepipe hat image, or at least putting him in a suit.  This statue just seems to make him more human, and I'm guessing that was mostly the intent behind it.  To see Lincoln mid-stride in a bathrobe looking like he's working some problem over in his head is just kind of moving.  I always enjoy sneaking a peek at it as I drive by the capitol building while I'm on my way to Taco Bell or McDonald's or something...  Yeah.

The statue itself is inspired by a poem titled "Lincoln Walks at Midnight" by Vachel Lindsay.  If you're so inclined, you can read it here.  

So there's a little bit of WV history for you whether you wanted it or not.  Actually, if you're into U.S. history, the whole West Virginia creation story is pretty interesting stuff, but I won't go into it unless I get really desperate.  So look for that post next week...

~Duck

2 comments:

  1. I've read that poem, for some reason the title makes me think of a bad horror movie though (maybe because it is about a ghost).

    I'm sure Honest Abe would be proud that his statue reminds people going to Taco Bell about freedom and humanity.

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  2. i totally expected to get RickRolled

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