Blogging about abolitionist Julia Wilbur, the Civil War, Alexandria, women's rights, and more
I began this blog at the end of 2014 on a Wordpress site. Thanks to all who have read and commented on it.
Now, I'll be blogging. here. You can still let me know if you want a notification when I've added a new post, and I still welcome your comments.
I mostly use this blog to talk about aspects of Julia Wilbur's life and times. However, may people have asked me about meeting the deadline for my book (forthcoming from Potomac Books, an imprint of University of Nebraska Press.) The deadline for my book came and went on July 1.
Read MoreThis past weekend, I attended the annual conference of the Biographers International Organization (BIO, nice play on words), held in Richmond. A day of great sessions by experts in the craft.
Read MoreTwo staff members from the Library of Virginia came up to Alexandria yesterday to explain some of the resources in the collection in Richmond or online.
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I attended the Washington Independent Review of Books' Books Alive conference yesterday. The conference is set up as part educational panels/part talking to agents, so there's a lot of going in and out of the sessions. Nonetheless, some miscellaneous pieces that I picked up, applicable to my work with Julia Wilbur and other nonfiction projects.
Panelists: Linda Lear, Kitty Kelly, James McGrath Morris, moderated by Marc Pachter.
Can a woman write about a man, and vice versa? Yes....if the writer can develop empathy for the subject and be able to make the effort to understand the gender-related issues the subject dealt with.
Other gender-related issues came up--related to sources (women's letters and other writings traditionally not saved, especially the non-famous), reception by editors and publishing houses, and critics.
Panelists: David Rowell, Maud Casey, Eugenia Kim, moderated by Tim Wendel
This session related to a sense of place in writing fiction. But the same attention to sensory details applies to nonfiction. Newspapers, other people's writings, photographs, novels written at the time--all these can help, since, unlike in fiction, we cannot "make things up."
Panelists: Michael Isikoff, Tom Dunkel, moderated by Chuck Babcock
"Throw out a lot of seeds of corn to see what will grow."
Check out the Alexandria Gazette, available online through the Arlington County Public Library.
Read MoreTranscriptions of Wilbur's diaries are now online as a searchable PDF.
Read MoreIn 1942, Margaret Leech won a Pulitzer for her book Reveille in Washington 1860-1865. The book was one of the first--maybe the first?--to describe Washington as a living, breathing, and, it would have to be said, smelling place, filled with characters large and small.
Read MoreA few weeks ago, I spent an unseasonably warm and sunny Sunday afternoon hearing about Living Hell.
Read MoreJulia Wilbur traveled from Rochester, NY, to Alexandria, VA, in 1862, ready to help the Union cause how best she could. Her diaries (one example shown here, part of the Quaker Collection at Haverford College) reveal her successes and disappointments, friends and foes. I will use this site to highlight some of what I have learned about her, Civil War Alexandria and Washington, and the many people and events she came in contact with. Also, I hope this website finds those of you working on similar projects so we can share information and answer each other's questions.
Paula Tarnapol Whitacre's website with a focus on her forthcoming biography on abolitionist Julia Wilbur.
