Carl SandburgBy:Nicholas Keifer
Background
Poet Son of Swedish Immigrants Born and raised in Galesburg, Illinois Forced to leave school after 8th grade
To help support his family
At 19 he set out to see the country By hitching rides on freight trains
Background
Enlisted in the Army Spanish-American wars is being fought Did not see combat
In 1912 he settled in Chicago and became a newspaper reporter
Also he published poetry in a poetry magazine Later in life he begins touring the country and
becomes a folk singer
Background
Received a Pulitzer Prize for his Complete Poems, and another for his multi-volume biography of Lincoln
Was asked to address a joint secession of Congress on the 150th anniversary of Lincoln’s birth
Major Works
Grass Ready to Kill Chicago Fog Happiness
Influences
Walt Whitman American poet, essayist and journalist
Abraham Lincoln 16th President of the United States from March
1861 until his assassination in April 1865
Historical Background
Born the second of seven children in 187 Paid for the publication of his first volume of
poetry, a pamphlet called Reckless Ecstasy (1904)
Worked for the Social-Democrat Party in Wisconsin
Acted as secretary to the first Socialist mayor of Milwaukee from 1910 to 1912
Birth/Death
Born in Galesburg, Illinois, on January 6, 1878 January 6, 1878 – July 22, 1967 He died from Heart failure in Flat Rock, North
Carolina, on July 22, 1967
Quotes
Back of every mistaken venture and defeat is the laughter of wisdom, if you listen.
A book is never a masterpiece: it becomes one. Genius is the talent of a dead man.
All human actions are equivalent... and all are on principle doomed to failure.
POEM: GRASS
PILE the bodies high at Austerlitz and Waterloo, Shovel them under and let me work-- I am the grass; I cover all. And pile them high at Gettysburg And pile them high at Ypres and Verdun. Shovel them under and let me work. Two years, ten years, and passengers ask the conductor: What place is this? Where are we now? I am the grass. Let me work.
Literary Elements I am using the poem "Grass" by Carl Sandburg. In this poem the
lines one through four. " Pile the bodies high at Austerlitz and Waterloo. Shovel them under and let me work-- I am the grass; I cover all. And Pile them high at Gettysburg..." made me think of imagism. It made me thing imagism because it made the picture some of the battlefields I have visited or even the pictures I have seen form different wars. When it says "I am the grass; I cover all." I have the picture of the battlefield in Gettysburg were all there is is a big open field were hundreds of men died fighting for the independence. That picture does show what the author is saying. Because many people do not realize how many died there one cause it is covered by new grass. It symbolizes that over time you will lose thoughts or memories of what may or really happened. Over time the truth will be covered up by something and in this case grass. This is my example of imagism from the poem Grass.
Sources
"Grass, by Carl Sandburg." Poetry Archive | Poems. Web. 15 Nov. 2010. <http://www.poetry-archive.com/s/grass.html>.
"Answers.com - What Was the Cause of Carl Sandburg's Death." WikiAnswers - The Q&A Wiki. Web. 15 Nov. 2010. <http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_was_the_cause_of_Carl_Sandburg's_death>.
"Carl Sandburg." Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Web. 15 Nov. 2010. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carl_Sandburg>.
QUESTIONS What war being fought during the time he was in the
army? _________
What is two for his major works? _________, _________(_________, _________, _________)
Who are his influences? _________, _________
Worked for the _________-_________ Party in Wisconsin? Born in _________, Illinois January 6, ____, Died July 22,
____ because of _____ failure.
QUESTIONS and ANSWERS What war being fought during the time he was in the
army? Spanish-American wars is being fought
What is two for his major works? _________, _________(_________, _________, _________)
Who are his influences? __________, ___________
Worked for the _________-_________ Party in Wisconsin? Born in _________, Illinois January 6, ____, Died July 22,
____ because of _____ failure.
QUESTIONS and ANSWERS What war being fought during the time he was in the
army? Spanish-American wars is being fought
What is two for his major works? Grass, Chicago (Ready to Kill, Fog, Happiness)
Who are his influences? __________, ___________
Worked for the _________-_________ Party in Wisconsin? Born in _________, Illinois January 6, ____, Died July 22,
____ because of _____ failure.
QUESTIONS and ANSWERS What war being fought during the time he was in the
army? Spanish-American wars is being fought
What is two for his major works? Grass, Chicago (Ready to Kill, Fog, Happiness)
Who are his influences? Walt Whitman, Abraham Lincoln
Worked for the _________-_________ Party in Wisconsin? Born in _________, Illinois January 6, ____, Died July 22,
____ because of _____ failure.
QUESTIONS and ANSWERS What war being fought during the time he was in the
army? Spanish-American wars is being fought
What is two for his major works? Grass, Chicago (Ready to Kill, Fog, Happiness)
Who are his influences? Walt Whitman, Abraham Lincoln
Worked for the Social-Democrat Party in Wisconsin? Born in _________, Illinois January 6, ____, Died July 22,
____ because of _____ failure.
QUESTIONS and ANSWERS What war being fought during the time he was in the
army? Spanish-American wars is being fought
What is two for his major works? Grass, Chicago (Ready to Kill, Fog, Happiness)
Who are his influences? Walt Whitman, Abraham Lincoln
Worked for the Social-Democrat Party in Wisconsin? Born in Galesburg, Illinois January 6, 1878, Died July
22, 1967 because of heart failure.
