[257] Sesquicentennial Book Discussion: Robert Penn Warren's The Legacy of the Civil War

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:
Antoinette van Zelm
The Heritage Center
Tennessee Civil War National Heritage Area, MTSU
Phone: 615-217-8013
E-mail: avanzelm@mtsu.edu

Sesquicentennial Book Discussion:
Robert Penn Warren’s The Legacy of the Civil War

(Murfreesboro, Tenn.)—Jan. 6, 2011—To kick off the 150th anniversary of the American Civil War, the “Between the Lines: Reading about the Civil War” book group will discuss Robert Penn Warren’s The Legacy of the Civil War.
Published in 1961 for the centennial of the war, this short book contains a wealth of insights from one of America’s greatest writers. The book group will meet at the Heritage Center, 225 W. College St. in Murfreesboro, at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 20, and Thursday, Jan. 27. Both sessions are free and open to the public.
Warren (1905-1989), a native of Kentucky and a graduate of Vanderbilt University, had a distinguished career as a poet, novelist and essayist. He was awarded an unprecedented three Pulitzer Prizes during his lifetime. Deeply interested in history, Warren responded enthusiastically in 1961 when asked to write about the war’s centennial. The result was what one historian has described as “the most memorable short piece ever written on the symbolic meaning of the Civil War.”
“The Legacy of the Civil War is incredibly thought-provoking and also beautifully written,” said Antoinette van Zelm, historian for the Tennessee Civil War National Heritage Area. “At just over 100 pages, the book is really an extended essay, but it stimulates your thinking in so many different ways. It really makes you think about not just the Civil War but the whole scope of American history.” Among Warren’s many insights are his claims that the Civil War gave the United States a history and made it a nation.
The “Between the Lines” book discussion group is sponsored by the TCWNHA, Linebaugh Public Library and the Heritage Center of Murfreesboro and Rutherford County. The TCWNHA receives funding from the National Park Service and is administered by the Center for Historic Preservation at MTSU.
Linebaugh Library, which sponsors several book groups, serves the citizens of Rutherford County through four branches.
The Heritage Center is a joint venture among TCWNHA the Tennessee Civil War National Heritage Area, Main Street: Murfreesboro/Rutherford County, the City of Murfreesboro and the CHP. Additional support for the Heritage Center comes from Rutherford County government and State Farm Insurance.
For more information on “Between the Lines: Reading about the Civil War,” please call 615-217-8013 or send an e-mail to avanzelm@mtsu.edu.


Founded in 1911, Middle Tennessee State University is a Tennessee Board of Regents institution located in Murfreesboro and is the state’s largest public undergraduate institution. MTSU now boasts one of the nation’s first master’s degree programs in horse science, and the Council of Graduate Schools in Washington, D.C., acclaims MTSU’s Master of Science in Professional Science degree — the only one in Tennessee — as a model program. MTSU recently unveiled three new doctoral degrees in the sciences.

For MTSU news and information, go online to mtsunews.com.