I went into the neighborhood in that State in which I was raised, where my mother and only sister were buried, and from which I had been absent about fifteen years. That part of the country is, within itself, as unpoetical as any spot of the earth; but still, seeing it and its objects and inhabitants aroused feelings in me which were certainly poetry; though whether my expression of those feelings is poetry is quite another question.

Authentication Score 2

Original Citation

Lincoln, Abraham. Letter to Andrew Johnston. 18 Apr. 1846.

Current Citation

Lincoln, Abraham. "To Andrew Johnston, April 18, 1846." Abraham Lincoln: Speeches and Writings 1832-1858, edited by Don E. Fehrenbacher. Library of America, 1989.