Carl Sandburg: A Biography

by Penelope Niven

Granted accesss to more than 50,000 papers in the Sandburg Collection in Connemara, North Carolina, Niven chronicles Sandburg from his birth in 1878 to immigrant parents, through the years when he struggled to find his identity, into his maturity and fame. The first major biography of Carl Sandburg, this is a remarkable portrait of the populist, the journalist, the orator, the biographer of Lincoln, and, ultimately, the best-loved poet of America's heartland. 16 pages of photographs.

Genres: Biography, History, Poetry

888 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1991

About the author

Penelope Niven is the author of critically acclaimed biographies of poet Carl Sandburg and photographer Edward Steichen. Her books include CARL SANDBURG: A BIOGRAPHY; STEICHEN: A BIOGRAPHY; VOICES AND SILENCES, co-authored with the actor James Earl Jones, and praised as a classic on acting; and SWIMMING LESSONS, a memoir. Her Steichen biography has just been translated into Chinese. CARL SANDBURG: ADVENTURES OF A POET, her biography for children, was awarded an International Reading Association Prize "for exceptionally distinguished literature for children," one of six books honored among publications from 99 countries. She is presently working on a biography of Thornton Wilder, to be published in 2012 by HarperCollins.

She has been awarded two honorary doctorates, three fellowships from the National Endowment for the Humanities, and the Thornton Wilder Visiting Fellowship at the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library at Yale University, among other honors. She received the North Carolina Award in Literature, the highest honor the state bestows on an author. During the past twenty years she has lectured across the United States and in Switzerland, Canada and Wales, and has served as an editor for various publications and a consultant for television films on Sandburg, Jones, and Steichen. She has recently retired after twelve years as Writer-in-Residence at Salem College in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.

Penelope Niven is the mother of award-winning author Jennifer Niven (THE ICE MASTER; ADA BLACKJACK: A TRUE STORY OF SURVIVAL IN THE ARCTIC; VELVA JEAN LEARNS TO DRIVE; THE AQUA-NET DIARIES; and VELVA JEAN LEARNS TO FLY.)

Reviews

[Mohammed omran · Rating 2 out of 5]

عُشْب



كوّموا الجثث عاليا في أوسترليتز وواترلو

ألقوا بها تحت التراب ودعوني أعمل ـ

أنا العشب؛ أغطَّي

الجميع.

وكوّموها عاليا في غتيسبيرغ

وكوّموها عاليا في إيبر وفردان.

ألقوا بها تحت التراب ودعوني أعمل.

بعد سنتين، عشر سنوات، سيسأل المارّون

أيّ مكان هذا؟

أين نحن الآن؟

أنا العشب.

دعوني أعمل.



مَليون عامل شابّ 1915



مليون عامل شاب مستقيمون وأقوياء

يتمدّدون متصلّبين على العشب والطرقات،

وهؤلاء العمال المليون هم الآن تحت التراب

وأجسادهم المتعفّنة سَتُطعِم في السنوات

المقبلة جذورَ ورود حمراء قانية.

نعم، لقد قَتّل هؤلاء العمّال الشباب

بعضهم بعضًا ولم يروا أبدًا

أياديَ حمراء.

وقد كان من الممكن، يا إلهي، أن يكون ما حدث عملاً هائلاً في القتل وشيْئًا جديدًا وجميلاً تحت الشمس

لو عرف المليون عامل لماذا خطفوا وقطعوا أوصالَ بعضهم بعضًا حتى الموت.

الملوك يبتسمون، وقياصرة ألمانيا وروسيا أحياء يركبون سيارات ذات مقاعد جلدية، لهم نساؤهم وورودهم لأجل رغد العيش، يأكلون بيضات مسلوقة طازجة في الفطور، زبدة جديدة على الخبز المحمّص، جالسين في منازل عالية محصّنة يقرؤون أخبار الحرب.

حلمتُ بمليون شبح لعمال شباب يقومون من الموت في قمصانهم المنقوعة في الدماء ويصرخون:

اللعنة على الملوك المبتسمين، اللعنة على قياصرة روسيا وألمانيا.



اِرموا الوُرود

اِرموا الورود في البحر حيث يتمدّد

في قاعه الموتى.

تتكلم الورود مع البحر،

ويتكلم البحر مع الموتى.

اِرموا الورود أيها العشاق ـ

ودعوا الأوراق تغتسل بالملح تحت الشمس.



دُخان



أجلس على كرسي وأقرأ الجرائد.

ملايين من الرجال يذهبون إلى الحرب، فدادين كثيرة تغصّ بجثثهم، بنادق وسفن حربية دُمرت، مدن أُحرقت، قرى أصبحت دخانا، والأطفال حيث

تذبح الأبقار وسط مشاوٍ مبحوحة يتلاشون مثل

خواتم من دخان في ريح شمالية.

أجلس على كرسي وأقرأ الجرائد.

[Jim · Rating 5 out of 5]

A thoughtful and meticulously-researched account of the life of Carl Sandburg. Having unrestricted access to many of the subject's personal papers allowed the author to create a more holistic view of Sandburg than would have been allowed by only referencing the public information available. Full disclosure: I was not really a fan of Sandburg the poet in general, and I'm still not a fan of Sandburg's style of prose poetry, which is sprinkled throughout the book. My motivation for reading this was a recent visit to the Carl Sandburg Home, part of the National Park Service, near Flat Rock, NC. The interest was more from a nostalgic and historical perspective. ~ Throughout his lifetime, Sandburg was much more than just a poet. He was also a biographer, a novelist, a historian, a lecturer, a novelist, a folk singer, and a social activist, among other titles he could rightly claim. For all his fame during his lifetime, the author reminds us, through presentation of his personal correspondence and that of his family, friends, and contemporaries, that he was human as well. Bringing a character to life through words is a worn-out cliche in many cases, but the author accomplishes this completely. That aspect is perhaps the most redeeming quality of the book. That's also the reason I enjoyed it even more than I thought I would.

[Lisa Phillips · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an incredibly in-depth study of the life and work of Carl Sandburg. I felt as if I were following in his tracks as he moved from activism to newspaper writing/editorials to poetry and round again. He was in constant motion, both body and mind, and unstoppable as a writer. When I think of Sandburg, I think he simply couldn't NOT write. His relationship with his wife was just as amazing as his working abilities. They were a predestined pair. I cannot wait to visit the Sandburg farm in my home state of North Carolina. This book certainly brought his personality to life.

[Rocky · Rating 3 out of 5]

Informative and interesting. A fascinating man.

[Richard Thompson · Rating 2 out of 5]

We read a book of Sandburg's collected poems earlier this year. I quite enjoyed the poetry, especially the "Chicago poems". The editors' biographical sketch of the poet was intriguing but "sketchy"... how many children did the Sandburgs have? what was his wife's name... some times she seems to be Lillian, sometimes Paula... So I bought Niven's biography used on ABE books.

The book was way too long and detailed. She could have and should have told the story more effectively in 350 pages instead of 700. Niven spent fourteen years to the project and was way too close to her subject — the word "hagiography" comes to mind.

We admired Sandburg's talent, energy and drive, but by the end of the book we didn't like him very much as a man. He wrote and expounded on the Family of Man, but was not very nice to his family (our perspective). He thought of and promoted himself as "a poet of the people" but he was seduced by the wealthy elite who gathered round him to enjoy his folksy songs.

This was book # 58 on our 2016 Read-alouds List.

[Robert Rubenstein · Rating 5 out of 5]

Can a book of 843 pages, written by a mere woman, hold my continued interest? You bet it can. This male chauvinist has been whittled down by brilliant writers who happen to be..women. This year, I have had the pleasure to re-awaken to Jen Knox' Musical Chairs. Now, simultaneously, Maurine Watkins(who knew she existed?)and now, my supreme pleasure writing about the biographer, poet, singer, protestor, Carl Sandburg. Truthfully, i am a little pissed at the heroes I am studying. They created histories but took their eye off the banality of day to day. Did they not know there were real killers on the loose? And the killers were they!!!!