Carl Sandburg was born in Galesburg, Illinois in 1878. At the age of thirteen, he left his Seventh Ward School to support his family. Even when he was young, he was a hard worker. He raised money for his family by driving a milk truck and delivering the milk, shining shoes, and farming on wheat fields in Kansas. When the Spanish-American War took place in 1898, Sandburg was enlisted in the 6th Illinois Infantry. He described these years in a later autobiography, Always the Young Strangers, written in 1953. Then, Sandburg attended Lombard College in Galesburg, Illinios. He married Lilian Paula Steichen in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in 1910. From 1910 to 1912 he served as an organizer for the Social Democratic Party and secretary to the mayor.
In 1913, Carl Sandburg’s writing career started. Sandburg was transferred to Chicago, Illinois where his work could be appreciated. In Chicago, he was the editor of “System”, a business magazine. Sandburg also joined the staff of “Chicago Daily News”. A year later, in 1914, a few of his poems were published in “Poetry”, a Chicago literary magazine. “Poetry” awarded Sandburg with the Levinson Prize for his poem “Chicago” in 1914. Many people criticized his poems because they felt that they were written too simply. However, other people believed that his work contained “vivid descriptions”.
In 1916, Chicago Poems, a collection of Sandburg’s best poems, was published. Carl Sandburg is known for many other books. These include Cornhuskers published in 1918, Smoke and Steel published in 1920, Pigeons published in 1923, Country published in 1929, Potato Face published in 1930, The People Yes published in 1936, Complete Poems, published in 1950, and Honey and Salt published in 1963. He also published Rootabaga Stories in 1922. These were stories written for his three daughters, Margaret, Janet, and Helga. Sandburg also wrote and read his works to his two grandchildren. Sandburg also wrote biographies on Abraham Lincoln. These included Abraham Lincoln: The Prairie Years, which was written in 1926, and Abraham Lincoln: The War Years, which was written in 1939.
The Term Paper on Carl Sandburg American Poetry Chicago
... and felt the solemn thrill of them," Sandburg wrote in "Masses." (Sherwood, 3022-3024) Sandburg's themes in Chicago Poems reflect his Socialistic idealism and pragmatism, ... years later, Sandburg starts work at the "Chicago Daily News" (Niven 392-393). After a friend, Alfred Harcourt, risked his job to get Sandburg published ...
Carl Sandburg has won many prizes for his poems and books. He was awarded prizes by the Poetry Society of America in 1919 and 1921. Sandburg also was awarded Pulitzer prizes for Abraham Lincoln: The War Years in 1940, and Complete Poems in 1951. He published a novel, Remembrance Rock, in 1948. Carl Sandburg also earned money from presenting his poems in recitals. He also sang and collected folksongs. In 1927 he composed The American Songbag, a collection of folksongs. Later in his life he collected additional folksongs, which he published in The New Songbag in 1950. One of Carl Sandburg’s poems, “Fog”, is widely known. “Fog” reads as follows:
The fog comes
on little cat feet.
It sits looking
over harbor and city
on silent haunches
then moves on.
Carl Sandburg was a famous American poet, folklorist, novelist, and historian. He was extremely talented and had a great mastery of words. He used his writing talent most of his life. Carl Sandburg died at the age of 89 on July 22, 1967, in Flat Rock, North Carolina. Carl Sandburg was one of America’s best writers and poets. Thus making him “The real proofrock”.
