Selected Poems

A superb collection of poems by the Pulitzer Prize–winning poet.

This new collection of Carl Sandburg’s iconic American poetry, which includes four previously unpublished Lincoln poems, contains selections from all of Sandburg’s previous volumes. This treasury of accessible free verse poetry supports MacLeish’s confidence in the breadth of Sandburg’s scope and is designed for general readers and for students alike.

In more than 150 poems, arranged in eleven sections—from his famous poems about Chicago to powerful poems of protest and tributes to Lincoln—readers can see what Sandburg was made of and, in turn, what the poet saw in the American people. This remarkable collection of working-class poetry reflects Sandburg’s aim 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.

This collection features such poems as:

• "Chicago"
• "Grass"
• "Arithmetic"
• "A Father to His Son"
• "A Dream Girl"
• "The Long Shadow of Lincoln: A Litany"

Edited and with an Introduction by George and Willene Hendrick. The Hendricks, in their thoughtful and comprehensive introduction, discuss how Sandburg’s life and beliefs colored his work and why that work resonates with Americans today.

“Carl Sandburg is the only American poet ever asked to address Congress, a date he was able to fit into his crowded schedule in 1959. He also appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show, the Texaco Hour(with Milton Berle), the early Today Show (with Dave Garroway), and See It Now, where he was interviewed by Edward R. Murrow. Sandburg once wrote a poem to which, on television, Gene Kelly danced.The house in which he was born was preserved as a memorial to him when he was still alive.” - Joseph Epstein

“Sandburg was the first poet of modern times actually to use the language of the people as his almost total means of expression. ... Sandburg had entered into the language of the people; he was not looking at it as a scientific phenomenon or a curiosity. ... He was at home with it.” - Richard Crowder