More than any medication, more than any doctor’s counsel, Lincoln drew on two therapies for inspiration and succor: He read poetry, which helped him cut straight into the heart of real life. And he told jokes, which he called “the vents of my moods & gloom.” It’s an apt image, as humor helped keep Lincoln’s inner life in circulation, keeping him in a kind of equilibrium with the environment.

Here at lincolnsmelancholy.com, we need vents, too. Help us by sending your favorite poetry and humor —  the verse you find the most moving and the jokes you love. Each month, we’ll choose our favorite submission and award an inscribed first-edition of Lincoln’s Melancholy to whoever proposed it. These pieces may be, but need not be, original compositions. And they certainly need not refer to Lincoln or to depression. We’re just looking for the stuff that opens our hearts — or splits our sides.

Here’s some material to get you started:

“Four Things I Would Have Said to Sylvia Plath If I had Been Her Boyfriend,” by Dan Kennedy, editor of ReallySmallTalk.com, and author of Loser Goes First.

“The Portrait,” by Stanley Kunitz