Carl Sandburg By some really awesome students. Guess who?

Influences Defined as "indubitably an American in every pulse- beat" (Poetry Dispatch) Went through numerous blue-collar jobs before becoming a writer Spoke and wrote for common man

Influences Was enlisted during the Spanish-American but never saw battle Never completed college, attended West Point and failed after two weeks Lived in Chicago, Illinois, for many years

Timeline 1878-Carl Sandburg is born on January 6 in Galesburg, Illinois Leaves school after eighth grade; takes odd jobs to help support his family Enlists in Sixth Illinois Volunteers and serves in Puerto Rico during Spanish American War; returns to Galesburg and enrolls at Lombard College Leaves Lombard before graduation; works at odd jobs, selling stereographic photographs and traveling around the country.

Timeline continued Serves as an organizer for the Social Democratic Party in Wisconsin; married Lillian "Paula" Steichen Works as a newspaper reporter in Milwaukee First daughter, Margaret, is born.

Timeline continued Sandburg begins work as a newspaper reporter in Chicago Publishes nine "Chicago Poems" in Poetry; wins Levinson Prize for that magazine's best poems of the year; forms the first of many literary friendships Publishes his first full-length volume of poetry, Chicago Poems; second daughter Janet, is born.

Timeline continued Sandburg is briefly unemployed; joins Chicago Daily News as a reporter Travels to Stockholm, Sweden, as a correspondent for the Newspaper Enterprise Association; third daughter, Helga, is born Sandburg returns to Daily News and covers race riots in Chicago and then works as film critic Performs at Cornell College in Iowa, the first of many college performances.

Timeline continued Publishes Rootabaga Stories Publishes Abraham Lincoln: The Prairie Years Publishes Abraham Lincoln: The War Years Wins Pulitzer prize for history; is elected to American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

Timeline continued Publishes Complete Poems; wins Pulitzer Prize for poetry Sandburg died on July 22, at Connemara.

Literary Period Late 1800s through early to mid-1900s Sandburg wrote about the common man and his struggles with life Didn't hold back about realities of the American working class lifestyle Created poetry to show the evolution and history of the common man in America

Literary Period: Modernisim Modernism was an international literary/art movement lasting from the turn of the century to around The writings were realistic and sometimes gloomy because of the influences of WWI and WWII and the Great Depression.

Chicago Literary Renaissance Period: A sub-category of Modernism “Chicago Renaissance,” describes a gathering of writers, a flowering of institutions that supported and guided them, and the outpouring of writing they produced between about 1910 and the mid-1920s. Major figures include novelists, poets, newspaper writers, editors and critics. In this period, Chicago's magazines, social reform clubs and movements, theaters, newspapers and other mediums often kicked off the careers of many famous writers in Chicago. Little magazines like Monroe's Poetry, Margaret Anderson's Little Review, Dell's Friday Literary The University of Chicago nurtured both literary and social scientific exploration of urban life. University of Chicago

Sandburg's Life Lived the life of the subjects of his poems Knew firsthand the life of the common man in America Lived the American dream

Common Themes Abraham Lincoln Common Life American Dream

A Father to his Son A father sees his son nearing manhood. What shall he tell that son? 'Life is hard; be steel; be a rock.' And this might stand him for the storms and serve him for humdrum monotony and guide him among sudden betrayals and tighten him for slack moments. 'Life is a soft loam; be gentle; go easy.' And this too might serve him. Brutes have been gentled where lashes failed. The growth of a frail flower in a path up has sometimes shattered and split a rock. A tough will counts. So does desire. So does a rich soft wanting. Without rich wanting nothing arrives. Tell him too much money has killed men and left them dead years before burial: the quest of lucre beyond a few easy needs has twisted good enough men sometimes into dry thwarted worms. Tell him time as a stuff can be wasted. Tell him to be a fool every so often and to have no shame over having been a fool yet learning something out of every folly hoping to repeat none of the cheap follies thus arriving at intimate understanding of a world numbering many fools. Tell him to be alone often and get at himself and above all tell himself no lies about himself whatever the white lies and protective fronts he may use against other people. Tell him solitude is creative if he is strong and the final decisions are made in silent rooms. Tell him to be different from other people if it comes natural and easy being different. Let him have lazy days seeking his deeper motives. Let him seek deep for where he is born natural. Then he may understand Shakespeare and the Wright brothers, Pasteur, Pavlov, Michael Faraday and free imaginations Bringing changes into a world resenting change. He will be lonely enough to have time for the work he knows as his own.

Analysis of A Father to his Son This poem describes the difficulties the father has to face once his son nears manhood. It seems that Carl once faced these challenges with his developing children.

The People, Yes Lincoln? He was a mystery in smoke and flags Saying yes to the smoke, yes to the flags, Yes to the paradoxes of democracy, Yes to the hopes of government Of the people by the people for the people, No to debauchery of the public mind, No to personal malice nursed and fed, Yes to the Constitution when a help, No to the Constitution when a hindrance Yes to man as a struggler amid illusions, Each man fated to answer for himself: Which of the faiths and illusions of mankind Must I choose for my own sustaining light To bring me beyond the present wilderness? Lincoln? Was he a poet? And did he write verses? “I have not willingly planted a thorn in any man’s bosom.” I shall do nothing through malice: what I deal with is too vast for malice.” Death was in the air. So was birth.

Analysis of The People, Yes Recreates the speeches of Lincoln Gives a voice to Lincoln Pays homage to Lincoln's political views and his feelings toward the American people

2013 Poetry Out Loud National Champion Langston Ward

Chicago Hog Butcher for the World, Tool Maker, Stacker of Wheat, Player with Railroads and the Nation's Freight Handler; Stormy, husky, brawling, City of the Big Shoulders:

They tell me you are wicked and I believe them, for I have seen your painted women under the gas lamps luring the farm boys. And they tell me you are crooked and I answer: Yes, it is true I have seen the gunman kill and go free to kill again. And they tell me you are brutal and my reply is: On the faces of women and children I have seen the marks of wanton hunger. And having answered so I turn once more to those who sneer at this my city, and I give them back the sneer and say to them: Come and show me another city with lifted head singing so proud to be alive and coarse and strong and cunning.

Flinging magnetic curses amid the toil of piling job on job, here is a tall bold slugger set vivid against the little soft cities; Fierce as a dog with tongue lapping for action, cunning as a savage pitted against the wilderness, Bareheaded, Shoveling, Wrecking, Planning, Building, breaking, rebuilding, Under the smoke, dust all over his mouth, laughing with white teeth, Under the terrible burden of destiny laughing as a young man laughs, Laughing even as an ignorant fighter laughs who has never lost a battle, Bragging and laughing that under his wrist is the pulse, and under his ribs the heart of the people, Laughing!

Laughing the stormy, husky, brawling laughter of Youth, half-naked, sweating, proud to be Hog Butcher, Tool Maker, Stacker of Wheat, Player with Railroads and Freight Handler to the Nation. Source: Poetry (March 1914).

Analysis of “Chicago” Title: refers to the largest city in the mid-west Paraphrase: the speaker obviously admires the common man, the hard workers of the city Connotation: many of the words show the harsh reality of the situation: “hog butcher of the world,” “smoke,” “terrible burden”. Ironically, the people are “laughing,” which shows that they enjoy life and the fact that they have a job Attitude: The speaker has a positive, respectful and admiring tone toward the people of Chicago and the work that they do, even if it is undesirable (butcher) or even questionable (prostitution) Shift: occurs at Come and show me another city with lifted head singing so proud to be alive and coarse and strong and cunning because although the speaker describes all aspects of the city that would make you think negatively of it, he actually admires it and the people and proves that they should “brag” Title revisited: the poem is an ode to the city because it praises Chicago in an apostrophe Theme: pride of the hard work of the common man

Artwork

The artwork uses the symbolic colors of the United States and reinforces the idea that our country was built on hard work. The flag and the “thumbs up/thumbs down” signs symbolize that you can disagree with people – or agree – and still get along, and that’s what makes the US such a great country. Abraham Lincoln is also a respected forefather and a favorite of the poet, so it is appropriate that his picture is here as well.

Works Cited "From The People, Yes." By Carl Sandburg : The Poetry Foundation. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Mar "A Coin by Carl Sandburg • 452 Poems by Carl SandburgEdit." A Coin by Carl Sandburg Classic Famous Poet. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Mar "Poetry Dispatch & Other Notes from the Underground." Poetry Dispatch Other Notes from the Underground. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Mar