Robert Penn Warren's Brother to Dragons: A Tale in Verse and Voices is a republishing of the original version from 26 years prior. This book, a singular, long-form poem, is concerned with the brutal murder of a slave by Thomas Jefferson's nephews, and the poems are formed through "dialogue spoken by [relevant] characters, but it is not a play." These characters, long dead, meet in 'no place' at 'any time', and their interactions forms the basis of the collection.
In crafting this piece, Warren and his historically-based characters aim to examine the murder and the situations both surrounding and resulting from it; and, in doing so, engage with themes of race, violence, innocence, and the blood that too often results from democracy. The poem "brings not only reconciliation among the ghostly figures but healing for Warren’s persona as well."
The long-form narrative poem is broken up into Roman-numerically numbered sections. Much like a screenplay (with no stage movement) the text is entirely composed of character tags with dialogue.
After the poem, in a section entitled "Notes," Warren moves through his piece page-by-page and addresses changes from the first draft, historical context, and his own sources.
Buy the book here:
https://lsupress.org/books/detail/brother-to-dragons/
https://www.amazon.com/Brother-Dragons-Verse-Voices-South/dp/0807121231
Robert Penn Warren's website:
https://www.robertpennwarren.com/
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