The Glosser, a Poem in Two Books

Continuing our theme of National Poetry Month, today’s feature is an odd little volume entitled The Glosser, a Poem in Two Books written by Giles Julap and published in 1802. It can be found in the Jeffersonian Americana microfilm collection, and is one of many scanned titles relating to Thomas Jefferson.

Little is known about the poem, The Glosser, or the author, Giles Julap (which is most likely a pseudonym) although the book Poets of Virginia describes Julap as “a gentleman of more than ordinary convivial habits; and from the incoherency of The Glosser it is to be feared that the author while writing it drank not at the fount of the Muses.”

As the title suggests, the poem is split into two books and is a satirical piece aimed against Thomas Jefferson. However, the poem is sprinkled throughout with an odd assortment of digressions related to Constitutional politics, slavery, Roman gods, and seemingly non sequitur anecdotes.

Here is a small sample of poetry from The Glosser. It’s from the first book and describes some of the protagonist’s experiences during the Revolutionary War.

Those were the times that tri’d the soul,
And stamp’d the man or half or whole,
The times in which began my story,
And fir’d my thoughts with thirst for glory,
For honest fame, to serve my nation,
With zeal correct in active station,
In field, or cabinet, on ocean,
Where thrice I swill’d salt water lotion,
Lost two new wigs, one newly bought hat,
And thrice three times by foes was shot at;
Encounter’d peril’s fierce attendants,
To gain my country’s independence.

 

Read the full book here.

 

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