Carl sandburg poems

Carl Sandburg's life was like a tall tale. Yes, Sandburg was only a man. But, his words were Paul Bunyan; his words were John Henry: impossibly real. For much of the 20th century, Sandburg was synonymous with the American experience, a spokesman and writer on behalf of the people. BY DR. One of seven children, he left school at the age of 13 to work and help support his family.

Carl sandburg famous works

He volunteered for military service during the Spanish-American War and afterward, qualified as a veteran for college admission despite his lack of a high school diploma. At Lombard College in Galesburg, Sandburg began to write poetry and prose, and his first booklets were published by his favorite professor, Philip Green Wright. Sandburg left college without graduating and worked as a traveling salesman before becoming an organizer and orator for the Social Democratic Party of Wisconsin in At party headquarters, he met Lilian Steichen, younger sister of the painter and photographer Edward Steichen, who was already making a name for himself in New York and Paris.

Sandburg and Lilian Steichen were married in , and moved to Chicago in , where Sandburg went to work as a journalist, sometimes using a pseudonym and writing for business journals and socialist journals and newspapers. During nearly five decades as a newspaperman, he was a local news reporter, an investigative reporter, a war correspondent, a movie critic, and a nationally syndicated columnist.

Encouraged by his wife, Sandburg kept writing poetry, most of it free verse. His first serious recognition as a poet came in when Harriet Monroe, editor of Poetry: A Magazine of Verse , published several of his poems in her magazine. Sandburg was a popular platform performer, playing the guitar and singing American folk music, and reading his poetry and prose.