The Works Of Poet Carl Sandburg And His Effect On American Poetry :: essays research papers

The Works of Poet Carl Sandburg and His Effect on American PoetryThe beloved poet, Carl Sandburg, changed the course of American poetry.He was a poet, novelist, journalist, and songwriter, yet the influence of hisworks find not constantly been acknowledged. Carl Sandburgs evocations of Americanurban and rural life, compassion for commonwealth, and his love of nature, through hisworks have made an enormous contribution to the American literary scene.Carl Sandburg was born on January 6, 1878 to illiterate p arents ofSwedish decent in Galesburg, Illinois. Much of Sandburgs literary works are aresult of his life time observations. He, more generously than many of hisfellow authors, left a detailed account of his wanderings, his numerous jobs,his early struggles, and his successes in life. His own life fascinatedhim.(Rogers 19) Therefore, he felt he wanted to share his fascination with thepeople he enjoyed typography about.Carl Sandburg is so greatly remembered because his writing wa sconsiderably different from the writing of his contemporaries. He let his mindtravel, and be free. His works included the use of free verse, colloquialisms,an original type of rhythm, and oddly structured, unglamorous poetry that emphasizedkey phrases and images.(clc 35, 338) Sandburg was the first of a long line ofpoets and authors to use the words and phrases that he created in his poetry.Sandburgs style of writing is what changed the course of Americanpoetry. Before Sandburg, most poetry and other literary works were considerablysimilar, along with dull and boring. He carried poetry to new horizons. He,many times, wrote of reality, which was not always what people wanted to read,but it was reality and it had to be dealt with. This is how his writing becameso known, because he dealt with what was real in our fantasy world.Sandburg was not afraid to express his true(a) feelings and thought onpeople, society, nature, and life in general. One of his finest poeticachievements is a poem called The People, Yes. It is a poem about people inlife, and everything life entails. The images in it range from a white man andan Indian man arguing over who knows more, to why children put beans in theirears when told not to. The People, Yes covers everyday dilemmas encountered bythe ballpark man, but have not been expressed, and it is mandated by none otherthan Carl Sandburg, the great American poet.The people is a myth, an abstraction.And what myth would you put in place of the people?And what abstraction would you exchange for this one?