Tony Wolk

Easter weekend, 1955, and Abraham Lincoln finds himself in Evanston, Illinois, mysteriously transported from 1865 at the height of the Civil War. Ninety years after his assassination, this wry, gaunt man, briefly relieved of the burdens of life in his own time, encounters a future society, idealized images of himself, reminiscences of friends and acquaintances long dead, and rare understanding from a woman very different from Mary Todd, his troubled wife. He returns to our nation’s highest office and the bloody conflicts of the War Between the States, a man restored by his experience of the future and determined—as ever—to preserve the Union.

Writer and scholar Tony Wolk has been fascinated by Lincoln, “the essence of a good man,” for four decades. In this novel, Wolk skillfully blends history, fantasy, and the writer’s craft to bring Abraham Lincoln to life—Lincoln the man of flesh and blood as well as Lincoln the President. Readers emerge from a mesmerizing read with the sense of having been in Lincoln’s head and in his skin. Henceforth, references to Abraham Lincoln have a personal resonance: “The Father of Us All” is no longer a stranger.

For more information: ooligan.abrahamlincoln@pdx.edu

ISBN: 978-1-932010-00-8
5 ½” x 8 ½”, softcover
224 pages
$14.95

About the Author

Tony Wolk

Tony Wolk brings to light a different side of Lincoln in his time–twisting series Lincoln Out of Time. Wolk draws upon fourteen years of research to give a historically accurate feel to this highly imaginative tale about Abraham Lincoln.

Wolk graduated from Northwestern University, first with a Bachelors in Journalism in 1957 and then with a Masters in English Literature two years later. After a brief stint teaching English at a college of mortuary science, he moved to Nebraska to enter a PhD program. After receiving his PhD from the University of Nebraska in 1965, he moved to Portland, Oregon, and began teaching at Portland State University. His interest in writing grew, but it was not until he co–taught a science fiction writing course with Ursula K. Le Guin that he realized he was meant to be a writer.

An accomplished author, Wolk had written many articles, reviews, and short stories before he first began to write novels. He published his first article in 1969 and has written steadily since. He began using writing response groups in his classes in 1980, and all of his books have been written or developed in these sessions, including Abraham Lincoln, A Novel Life and his latest, Good Friday.

An avid cyclist, Wolk has been riding the same bicycle to Portland State since 1969. Riding over 55,000 miles, he has had many interesting moments along the way—including talking a girl out of jumping off the Broadway Bridge. His love of cycling is tied to his feeling of being connected to the area, and he brings this sense of connection to his stories, articles, and novels.

Praise

Many wonderful things have been written about Abraham Lincoln, but never anything like this poignant, pixilated tale of the past turning to the future and the future to the past.
— Ursula Le Guin, author of Gifts