Carl Sandburg
From Illinois Authors
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General Information
Illinois Poet Laureate - 1962-1967
Pen Name: Carl (August) Sandburg, Militant, Jack Philips, Charles Sandburg, Charles A. Sandburg, and Carl Sandberg
Genre: Poetry
Born: January 6, 1878 in Galesburg, Illinois
Died: July 22, 1967 in Flat Rock, North Carolina
Website: http://www.poets.org/poet.php/prmPID/28
Photo Credit: CC-BY Freebase
Illinois Connection
Carl was born in Galesburg and lived in the Midwest, primarily in the Chicago area - Evanston and Elmhurst.
Biographical and Professional Information
Carl Sandburg was born Carl August Sandburg. His parents were Swedish immigrants, and his family was so poor that when he finished eighth grade he went to work full time. Sandburg spent many years traveling around the American West working at a wide variety of jobs, including bootblack, harvester, hotel dishwasher, and newspaper reporter.
After fighting in the Spanish-American War, he went to Lombard College in his hometown. Although he did very well, he did not take his final exams and returned to being a hobo for several more years. At age 30, he settled down and put his years of traveling and learning American folksongs and stories to good use in this writing.
He is one of America's best-loved poets. He was also a popular folklorist and a biographer of Lincoln. He is famous for his book, Rootabaga Stories, written for his daughters. His Abraham Lincoln biography has come to be considered an American epic. He won two Pulitzer Prizes, one for his poetry and another for a biography of Abraham Lincoln.
Published Works
- Rootabaga Stories, 1922
- Abraham Lincoln: The War Years, Harcourt, 1939
- Harvest Poems, 1910-1960, Harvest Books, 1960
- Honey and Salt, Harvest Books, 1967
- Chicago Race Riots, Revised Edition, Harcourt, 1969
- Abe Lincoln Grows Up, Voyager Books, 1975
- The Wedding Procession Of The Rag Doll And The Broom Handle, Voyager Books, 1978
- Early Moon, Harvest Books, 1978
- Carl Sandburg At The Movies : A Poet In The Silent Era, 1920-1927, The Scarecrow Press, 1985
- The American Songbag, Harvest Books, 1990
- The People, Yes, Harvest Books, 1990
- Prairie-town Boy, Odyssey Classics, 1990
- Remembrance Rock, Harcourt, 1991
- Always the Young Strangers, Harvest Books, 1991
- Billy Sunday and Other Poems, Harcourt, 1993
- Mary Lincoln: Wife and Widow, Applewood Books, 1995
- Poems For Children Nowhere Near Old Enough To Vote, Knopf Books for Young Readers, 1999
- Ever the Winds of Chance, University of Illinois Press, 1999
- Sandburg Range, Harvest Books, 2000
- The Movies Are: Carl Sandburg's Film Reviews and Essays, 1920-1928, Lake Claremont Press, 2000
- Rootabaga Pigeons, Applewood Books, 2001
- The Family of Man, The Museum of Modern Art, 2002
- Sandburg Out Loud (Audiobook), August House, 2002
- Abraham Lincoln : The Prairie Years And The War Years, Harvest Books, 2002
- Rootabaga Stories, Odyssey Classics, 2003
- More Rootabaga Stories, Harcourt Young Classics, 2003
- Complete Poems, Harcourt, 2003
- Smoke and Steel, Kessinger Publishing, 2004
- The Huckabuck Family: How They Raised Popcorn in Nebraska and Quit and Came Back, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2004
- Cornhuskers, Kessinger Publishing, 2004
- Breathing Tokens, Eastern National Park and Monument Assoc., 2005
- Slabs of the Sunburnt West, Kessinger Publishing, LLC, 2007
- Chicago Poems, Digireads.com, 2008
- Poetry for Young People, Sterling, 2008
Titles for Purchase and at Your Library
 | Rootabaga Stories (1922)ISBN: 1436607442 Release Date: 2008-06-02 |
 | Abraham Lincoln: The War Years Vol 4ISBN: 0151016070 Release Date: 1939-12-01 |
 | Harvest Poems: 1910-1960ISBN: 0156391252 Release Date: 1960-04-11 |
 | Honey and SaltISBN: 0156421658 Release Date: 1967-04-12 |
 | Chicago Race Riots: RevisedISBN: 0151171505 Release Date: 1969-08-27 |
 | Abe Lincoln Grows UpISBN: 0156026155 Release Date: 1975-04-09 |
 | The Wedding Procession of the Rag Doll and the Broom Handle and Who Was in ItISBN: 0156954877 Release Date: 1978-10-04 |
 | Early Moon (Voyager/HBJ Book)ISBN: 0156273268 Release Date: 1978-04-18 |
 | Carl Sandburg at the Movies: A Poet in the Silent Era 1920-1927ISBN: 0810817381 Release Date: 1995-05-23 |
 | The American SongbagISBN: 015605650X Release Date: 1990-10-29 |
 | The People, YesISBN: 0156716658 Release Date: 1990-06-04 |
 | Prairie-Town Boy (Odyssey Classic)ISBN: 0152633324 Release Date: 1990-08-24 |
 | Always the Young StrangersISBN: 0156047659 Release Date: 1991-11-15 |
 | Billy Sunday And Other PoemsISBN: 0151621306 Release Date: 1993-10-15 |
 | Sandburg RangeISBN: 0156014084 Release Date: 2000-09-01 |
 | The Movies Are : Carl Sandburg's Film Reviews and Essays, 1920-1928ISBN: 1893121054 Release Date: 2000-10-01 |
 | The Family Of ManISBN: 0870703412 Release Date: 2002-07-02 |
 | Abraham Lincoln: The Prairie Years and The War YearsISBN: 0156027526 Release Date: 2002-11-01 |
 | Rootabaga StoriesISBN: 015204714X Release Date: 2003-04-01 |
 | The Complete Poems of Carl SandburgISBN: 0151009961 Release Date: 2003-01-06 |
 | Smoke and SteelISBN: 0766199444 Release Date: 2004-12-01 |
 | CornhuskersISBN: 1419114085 Release Date: 2004-06-01 |
 | Breathing TokensISBN: 1590910389 Release Date: 2005-03-01 |
 | Chicago PoemsISBN: 1420931091 Release Date: 2008-01-01 |
Literary Awards
- Illinois Poet Laureate 1962 - 1967
- 1951 Pulitzer Prize for Abraham Lincoln: The War Years.
- 1955 National Book Award Finalist Non-Fiction for Abraham Lincoln.
- Awarded Illinois Author of the Year by the Illinois Association of Teachers of English in 1984.
- In 1990, his name was engraved on the frieze of the Illinois State Library alongside other great Illinois literary figures.
- A 2011 inductee into the Chicago Literary Hall of Fame.
External Links
Carl Sandburg on the State of Illinois' Illinois Poet Laureate Website
Editing
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