Heitman's Poet Analysis

Heitman, Danny. “CARL SANDBURG A Workingman's Poet.” Humanities, vol. 34, no. 2, 2013, pp. 28-35. Academic Search Premier.
Heitman provides insight into Sandburg’s early life and how he eventually got interested in poetry. He chronologically outlines some major events in Sandburg’s early life and the different career plans he had. Moreover, Heitman writes about Sandburg’s poetry and his motives for writing certain poems. He also discusses Sandburg’s accomplishments such as awards for his poems and his biography of Abraham Lincoln. This source would be very useful in examining Sandburg’s life as a whole. However, it is limited in its analysis of Sandburg’s works.
Maas, David F. "Using Gs Extension Al Devices To Explore Carl Sandburg's Poetry."
ETC: A Review Of General Semantics, vol. 62, no. 4, 2005, pp. 411-19. Academic Search Premier.
Maas provides an analysis of multiple poems written by Sandburg. Maas focuses on how Sandburg’s poems embody principles of general semantics and extensional devices. He also points out certain techniques used by Sandburg, like visual details, to accomplish this. Moreover, Maas writes about various observations and trends that are found in Sandburg’s poems. This allows him to effectively make conclusions on how Sandburg’s poems resemble each other and illustrate extensional devices. This article would be very important in my examination of Sandburg’s style because it contains excerpts from certain poems and analyzes them.
Van Wienen, M. "Taming The Socialist: Carl Sandburg's Chicago Poems And Its Critics." American Literature, vol. 63, no. 1, 1991, pp. 89-103. Academic Search Premier.
Van offers a detailed examination of how Sandburg was influenced by the socialism. In addition to describing how Sandburg got involved in socialism, Van discusses how Sandburg emerged as an avid proponent for various socialist ideals. He writes about how Sandburg incorporated certain socialist beliefs in his works. Van illustrates this by offering several excerpts from Sandburg’s poems; moreover, he goes into detail about the messages Sandburg tries to convey in each one. This article would be beneficial in my examination of Sandburg’s motives for writing certain works.
Johansen, J. G. "Sandburg's THEY WILL SAY." Explicator, vol. 59, no. 3, 2001, pp. 134-37. Literary Reference Center.
Johansen provides an extensive analysis of Sandburg’s “They Will Say.” He goes into detail about the specific techniques Sandburg uses to convey or emphasize certain meanings. For instance, he thoroughly discusses how Sandburg uses sentence structure and alliteration to add certain characteristics to the poem. Johansen also notes that Sandburg does not use poetic devices plainly to create pleasing sounds or images. For instance, he uses alliteration to create links between thoughts. Johansen also talks about how Sandburg depicts death and children. Although this source only focuses on one poem, it is still important since it effectively portrays Sandburg’s style.
Beyers, Chris. "Carl Sandburg's Unnatural Relations." Essays In Literature, vol. 22, no. 1, 1995, pp. 97-112. Literary Reference Center.
Beyers provides various opinions and interpretations of Sandburg’s works. He also talks about how Sandburg’s writing style can be attributed to his early life and his notion of being authentic. This article also points out some of the techniques presented in Sandburg’s works. For instance, Beyers goes into detail about the structure of Sandburg’s “Chicago” and how this aspect of Sandburg’s style can be found in his other works. Lastly, Beyers analyzes how Sandburg depicts different classes of people and what he tried to convey with these descriptions. This source is beneficial in my investigation of Sandburg’s originality and how he developed his style.
Marsh, John. "A Lost Art Of Work: The Arts And Crafts Movement In Carl Sandburg's Chicago Poems." American Literature, vol. 79, no. 3, 2007, pp. 527-51. Literary Reference Center.
Marsh discusses Sandburg’s contribution to the Arts and Crafts movement through his collection of poems entitled Chicago Poems. Moreover, he focuses on how John Ruskin and William Morris, who were leading proponents of this movement, influenced Sandburg’s works. For example, Sandburg uses architecture, a form of art, to demonstrate his objection against war in his poem “Salvage.” Also, in his poem “Fish Crier,” Sandburg uses art to uplift labor, which is usually regarded with contempt. Marsh also analyzes how Sandburg uses the image of a skyscraper as a symbol in his poem “Skyscraper,” This article is very relevant in my examination of Sandburg’s lifetime contributions.
Siber, Kate. "An American Poet." National Parks, vol. 86, no. 2, 2012, pp. 1-3. Academic Search Premier.
Siber offers a brief outline of Sandburg’s life and career. By discussing Sandburg’s early experiences, Siber suggests how Sandburg understood the plight of the common workers.
Therefore, Siber concludes that this enabled Sandburg to become a voice for the public. Siber also writes about some of Sandburg’s career highlights including awards and certain works. Moreover, Siber mentions how Sandburg’s works were significant in addressing certain issues and conveying America’s identity. This article is limited in its analysis of Sandburg’s contributions. However, it provides pertinent information about why Sandburg wrote about certain topics.
Stoltzfus, Duane. "Carl Sandburg: Reporting For The People." American Journalism, vol. 21, no. 1, 2004, pp. 37-54. Literary Reference Center.
Stoltzfus provides a thorough discussion of Sandburg’s career in journalism. More specifically, Stoltzfus focuses on Sandburg’s time as a labor reporter for various newspapers. Sandburg’s various articles called for certain reforms and criticized the working conditions of factories and places like the stockyards. Moreover, Stoltzfus discusses how Sandburg’s time in journalism influenced his poetry and supplied him various ideas to write about. Lastly, Stoltzfus talks about how The Day Book, the newspaper Sandburg worked for, ended up closing. This article will be beneficial in examining connections between Sandburg’s career as a poet and his career as a journalist.
Reed, Brian M. "Carl Sandburg's The People, Yes, Thirties Modernism, And The Problem Of Bad Political Poetry." Texas Studies In Literature & Language, vol. 46, no. 2, 2004, pp. 181-212. Literary Reference Center.
Reed provides an analysis of Sandburg’s The People, Yes, and he examines the different ways this poem fails to conform to the style of the time period. Reed deeply criticizes this book-length poem by noting certain characteristics such as odd punctuation and Sandburg’s failure to elaborate on certain ideas. Also, Reed contemplates if this work was actually an anthology because of the fragmented and inconstant topics presented. Moreover, Reed discusses how Sandburg attacked mass media through this work. This article contains useful information on how Sandburg was different from his contemporaries, and it supports his originality.
"Chicago Poems." Masterplots, Fourth Edition, 2010, pp. 1-3. Literary Reference Center.
This article discusses Sandburg’s Chicago Poems and analyzes some of the significant poems. It first talks about how this work was not accepted by conservatives that thought it was indecent. This article briefly touches on a couple of poems and tries to find relationships among them. For instance, it notes how “Muckers” and “Child of the Romans” provide a contrast of lifestyles. Moreover, this article points out certain themes apparent in Sandburg’s poems such as the shortness of life. This source is shallow in its discussion of the actual poems in Chicago Poems. However, it provides interesting connections and themes found among them.
"Abraham Lincoln." Masterplots, Fourth Edition, 2010, pp. 1-3. Literary Reference Center.
This article offers brief insight into Sandburg’s six-volume biography of Abraham Lincoln. Sandburg decided to divide this biography into two parts to effectively depict Lincoln’s entire life. The first two volumes focus on Lincoln’s early years and the legendary parts of his life. The last four volumes, published thirteen years later, focus on Lincoln’s life during the Civil War period. Also, this article also discusses Sandburg’s use of poetic passages within the biography for certain purposes like setting the mood. This article would be beneficial in my investigation of Sandburg’s various works like this biography.
Phillips, Lela. "Carl Sandburg." Identities & Issues In Literature, 1997, p. 1. Literary Reference Center.
In this article, Phillips highlights important events in Sandburg’s life like his careers, awards, and certain works.
Phillips mentions Sandburg’s experiences as a common laborer and a newspaper writer and how this influenced his writing career. Phillips also talks about the two Pulitzer Prizes Sandburg received in U.S. history and poetry. Moreover, Phillips briefly touches on Sandburg’s place in American literature and his contributions. Although this article is limited in its discussion of Sandburg’s life, it chronologically highlights important events. This will be useful since it offers a general outline of Sandburg’s life.
Lisk, Thomas. "Rootabaga Stories." Masterplots II: Juvenile & Young Adult Literature Series, Supplement, 1997, pp. 1-3. Literary Reference Center.
Lisk discusses and analyzes the Sandburg’s Rootabaga Stories, which is a collection of different tales. Grouped by a common character or theme, these tales were intended as entertainment instead of as a social commentary. Lisk also writes about some of the plots found in this collection. He notes how Sandburg escaped his usual style of writing since he does not act as a social activist in this work. Sandburg experimented with his imagination by creating unique characters and interesting stories. This article provides a different example of Sandburg’s writing; therefore, it would be beneficial in my examination of his diverse
works.
Epstein, J. “‘The People's Poet’.” Commentary, vol. 93, no. 5, 1992, pp. 47-52. Academic Search Premier.
Epstein considers how Sandburg was able to achieve such a great reputation in American literature.
Because he used free verse, Sandburg did not have consistent success with his poetry. However, once his poems started to get accepted, Sandburg became famous and was put in the company of famous poets. Epstein also discusses Sandburg’s contributions to the Chicago Renaissance during his time as a journalist. This article notes how Sandburg’s success allowed him to receive invitations to speak in public. Although he was regarded as an important figure during his life, Sandburg was soon forgotten. This article offers great insight into Sandburg’s fame; therefore, it will be beneficial in my investigation of Sandburg’s place in American literature.
Angyal, Andrew J. "Carl Sandburg." Critical Survey Of Poetry, Second Revised Edition, 2002, pp. 1-7. Literary Reference Center.
Angyal provides a brief biography about Sandburg and analyzes some of his notable works. This article notes how Sandburg’s place of birth – Galesburg, Illinois – shaped his writing. The memories of workers in his home town would influence his eventual career. Moreover, Angyal outlines Sandburg’s road to success with his publication of certain poems and other works. The analyses of Sandburg’s various works clearly demonstrate his distinct style and motive for writing. However, some critics claim that Sandburg’s works lack poetic structure and complexity. This article is beneficial since it provides important observations
about Sandburg’s works.