I’m still catching up from a big week for The Fire of Genius. By all standards it was hugely successful, and there was even a little bit of intrigue.
Let’s start with the ALI Symposium. I was privileged to be one of the five speakers asked to present at the 2023 Abraham Lincoln Institute Symposium held at historic Ford’s Theatre in Washington, DC. The theater is where Abraham Lincoln was assassinated, and as a permanent memorial they keep the box where he was sitting exactly as it was that fateful night. I’ve been in the theater many times, but this was the first in which I was on the actual stage presenting. Seeing the box from that angle as you look out onto the audience brings you back in time. It’s an amazing experience. I was the middle of the five presentations so got to speak just before everyone raced out to grab lunch on a rainy day in DC. Most of my presentations are done with slides projected on a screen, from which I speak without notes. But Ford’s is not only a NPS historical site, it’s also a working theater and the stage is set for their production that night. No projections allowed. I was a little worried that the full speech I had typed out would seem wooden, but I shouldn’t have been. The reception for it was extraordinary. Many people – Lincoln scholars, general public, book buyers – sought me out after the presentation to compliment me. Phew. In short, don’t read; perform. The photo below is compliments of ALI and Lincoln Group of DC board member Rod Ross. Left to right: Edna Greene Medford (moderator), Fred Hord, Diana Schaub, me, Terry Alford, Jon Meacham.
As heartwarming as the ALI response was, there were other surprises during the week that also made the busyness worthwhile.
The most recent issue of Civil War Times arrived with two exciting mentions. First, there was a brief recap of the 2022 Lincoln Forum using the great photo of me accepting the Wendy Allen Award on behalf of the Lincoln Group of DC. Then there was a full-page review by Gordon Berg of my book, Lincoln: The Fire of Genius. Berg notes historian Eric Foner’s conclusion that Lincoln’s greatest attribute was Lincoln’s ability to learn and grow. Berg agrees and writes:
“Nowhere is this more evident than in Lincoln’s support for science and technology dedicated to the public good. Kent has drawn back the curtain on Lincoln’s lifelong interest in these areas and the historiography surrounding the 16th president is richer for his efforts.”
I also received in the mail a copy of an article recently published in The Gazette, a local newspaper in Peekskill, New York. The article was titled, “Lincoln author to headline gala presidential banquet, Ryan to be honored” and previewed my upcoming keynote role at the Lincoln Society of Peekskill’s annual dinner banquet and dance to be held on April 15th. This is a great honor that I’ll talk more about in an upcoming post.
Finally, I received some news that I can’t really share at the moment but is incredibly exciting. I was recently requested to sign a copy of Lincoln: The Fire of Genius to an incredibly important and famous person and received word that it was being hand-delivered that day to this person. As Forrest Gump might say, “And that’s all I have to say about that.” Intriguing, to say the least.
Meanwhile, I’m still last-minute prepping for a big Lincoln-related road trip that I will be able to say more about shortly. Stay tuned.
[Photo of CWT page by author; top photo by Rod Ross]
Lincoln: The Fire of Genius: How Abraham Lincoln’s Commitment to Science and Technology Helped Modernize America is available at booksellers nationwide.
Limited signed copies are available via this website. The book also listed on Goodreads, the database where I keep track of my reading. Click on the “Want to Read” button to put it on your reading list. Please leave a review on Goodreads and Amazon if you like the book.
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David J. Kent is President of the Lincoln Group of DC and the author of Lincoln: The Fire of Genius: How Abraham Lincoln’s Commitment to Science and Technology Helped Modernize America and Lincoln: The Man Who Saved America.
His previous books include Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity and Edison: The Inventor of the Modern World and two specialty e-books: Nikola Tesla: Renewable Energy Ahead of Its Time and Abraham Lincoln and Nikola Tesla: Connected by Fate.
In less than two weeks I’ll be joining Jon Meacham and three other Lincoln scholars on the stage at Ford’s Theatre for the Abraham Lincoln Institute Symposium.
