I received some information from Brendan Hamilton, a former participant in TOCWOC’s Top 5 Civil War books contest, about his new book of Petersburg Campaign poetry, entitled Jerusalem Plank Road. Since I run a Petersburg Campaign web site, how could I resist telling you about this new book? 
Jerusalem Plank Road is due out today, April 2, 2010, at Lulu.com, in honor of the 145th anniversary of the Petersburg Breakthrough.
Jerusalem Plank Road is a book of poetry that examines the Petersburg Campaign of the American Civil War from a variety of perspectives, forming a fragmented, shuffled narrative through the hidden spaces of the past. The book is illustrated with images taken from details of photographs in the Library of Congress’s Civil War collection. A portion of the proceeds will be donated to nonprofit organizations that benefit American veterans and their families. Jerusalem Plank Road is introduced by Jarvis Fosdick, a visual artist and landscape architect.
About the author:
Brendan Hamilton lives in Louisville, Colorado with his wife, Kris and their dog, Oliver. A lifelong student of the Civil War, Brendan is a recent graduate of Naropa University’s M.F.A. Writing & Poetics program. He also has a B.A. in history from the College of William & Mary. This is his first book of poetry.
About Durga Press:
“Durga” for the foothills of the mountains: a goddess of that, versus deeper in. A verge, correlating to Punjab and Colorado. Similar terrain. I am the founder of this press but not its editor or physical publisher. The writer makes their own book. Wanted to make a place where the history and geography of this country might appear, because I am a citizen. A new citizen, and wondered what a press of that would be. Brendan Hamilton writes on the civil war; his poems are accompanied by an essay/interview by Jarvis Fosdick, a landscape architect. I do not align myself with the aesthetics of either writer/architect. Durga doesn’t care about that. Durga wants books like tigers, the tiger Durga rides upon: to appear, and pounce. I hope this pounces on you. — Bhanu Kapil. Loveland, Colorado: March 27th, 2010
