“What Sandburg knew and said was what America knew from the beginning and said from the beginning and has not yet, no matter what is believed of her, forgotten how to say, ” wrote Archibald MacLeish about Carl Sandburg – that most American of poets – and his connection to the American psyche. This new collection of Sandburg’s poetry, which includes four previously unpublished Lincoln poems, contains selections from all of Sandburg’s previous volumes and certainly supports MacLeish’s confidence in the breadth of Sandburg’s scope. In more than 150 poems, arranged in eleven sections – from Chicago to Poems of Protest to Lincoln to Anti-War Poems to Poet of the People – readers can see what Sandburg was made of and, in turn, what the poet thought the American people were made of. Sandburg’s aim was to write “simple poems… which continue to have an appeal for simple people, ” and throughout his life the poet strove to maintain that important connection. The Hendricks, in a thoughtful and comprehensive introduction, discuss how Sandburg’s life and beliefs colored his work and why that work resonates with Americans today.
Recent Writings
- Neeli Cherkovski (1945–2024) March 20, 2024
- Can We Keep Both Fascism and Climate Doom at Bay for Decades to Come? December 15, 2023
- City Lights 70th Anniversary Programming November 21, 2023
- 5 Questions with Ian Johnson, Author of SPARKS: China’s Underground Historians and Their Battle for the Future November 21, 2023
- 5 Questions with Robert Glück, Author of ABOUT ED November 8, 2023
- 5 Questions with Joseph Lease, Author of FIRE SEASON November 8, 2023
- 5 Questions with Benjamin Weber, Author of AMERICAN PURGATORY: Prison Imperialism and the Rise of Mass Incarceration October 30, 2023
- Scientists Pursue Climate Activism Despite Violent Threats October 26, 2023
- 5 Questions with Jonathan Lethem, Author of BROOKLYN CRIME NOVEL October 17, 2023
- 5 Questions with mimi tempestt, Author of THE DELICACY OF EMBRACING SPIRALS October 17, 2023