Talk:Carl Sandburg

E.T.
His face was used to model E.T. from the popular movie. Not a joke, look it up. 77.183.63.250 (talk) —Preceding comment was added at 04:59, 29 May 2008 (UTC)

Possible references
There is a significant need for some work with sources here; Carl Sandburg's page could be huge. I have done some looking for reference material. Since I am not familiar with Sandburg or any of these authors, rather than adding a flood of (possibly questionable) resources to the page, I think it useful to note them here:

List of works published about Carl Sandburg

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The Rootebaga Stories para says he was hated by generations of kids - the word beloved was changed on 11 7 by someone.

--- —Preceding unsigned comment added by 216.160.0.65 (talk) 23:18, 15 November 2007 (UTC)

Harvest Poems 1910-1960 was published 1960, not 1950 212.100.250.212 21:36, 8 July 2006 (UTC)


 * Thank you anonymous editor ;) You're right and I fixed it. --Matthew 02:11, 9 July 2006 (UTC)

In the Bob Dylan song "Talking World War III Blues," the lyric is "I think Abraham Lincoln said that," not "Carl Sandberg said that" as listed in this article. --Anonymous 13:24, 27 July 2006 166.108.253.11


 * I looked around. It looks like it is just in a particular live version of the song.  I need to look for a better source, but here is one reference: [].

I took out a reference to MacArthur that was unclear. If the only thing the two of them have in common is they were in the same class in West Point, I doubt it deserves mention. Anyone who knows about a more substantial connection please feel free to elaborate. RampagingCarrot 02:19, 14 September 2006 (UTC)

I removed "Grass" from the list of Sandburg's works. The title and date were absolutely correct, but the rest of the list is of anthologies, biographies, and novels, and it seemed inappropriate to the list to add a single poem title. I'm not against adding single titles of poems, but that list could go on and on and would almost warrant a separate page, as with the (great!) list of references above. If I'm way off base here, please feel free to repost "Grass" and any other poetry.


 * I agree. I was thinking about whether "Grass" should be in the list.  If someone starts adding individual poem titles, I will be inclined to make another section for them.  Once that list gets too large, we will have to choose the best/most popular poems and put the big list in a different page.  That doesn't mean that "Grass" isn't important.  Depending on how much information about the poem itself is available, perhaps even another post would be good.  --Matthew K 15:07, 22 September 2006 (UTC)

I separated some of the external links into a subdivision; I am trying to think of a classification for the others. The list is just getting too long without some sort of 'sorting.' --Matthew K 15:35, 22 September 2006 (UTC)

I aimed UIUC's link to the broader "Manuscripts" page so that both the Asheville and Connemara collections are available. Also because they currently have a grant to update their online collection information and availability, so the previous link may become outdated.
 * Sorry if I stepped on your toes here by modifying that link again; I see it could be useful to serious scholars researching Sandburg, but have doubts that that link is particularly useful to anyone else. I tried to make it clear where the link goes and what it is for.  If you see a way to make it better yet, feel free. --Matthew K 13:51, 29 September 2006 (UTC)
 * No worries. I think having the links listed as they are now is probably the most accurate representation.

Not to sound panicky, but what happened to all of the links at the bottom of the article? I'm pretty certain we'd wracked up more than three... Did I miss something?


 * I am a little surprised, but we seem to have attracted some vandals. I hadn't noticed that they had done that-- I only fixed the "Milwaukee, Germany" thing they had done.  If you go to page history and then look through the 'last' links, you can see the progress of the page through each edit. Pretty sure I got everything back, though. --Matthew K 13:08, 4 October 2006 (UTC)


 * I saw in the history that they'd been removed, but I wasn't certain if it was vandalism or a ligitimate change in progress and that had petered out mid-change. The restoration looks good.

Do we prefer the new picture or was the 'TIME' one better? Perhaps we should integrate the TIME picture lower in the article. The image of him on a TIME magazine gets across how important he was thought to be during his own time. Just curious if there are any preferences here. --Matthew K 01:32, 15 October 2006 (UTC)

A childhood memory
My grandmother who lived her life in Galesburg, Illinois (birthplace of Carl Sandburg) used to recite the following poem that she atrributed to Sandburg. As I remember it, it goes like this (some details may not be right):

Sea rocks have green moss

Pine rocks have red berries

I have memories of you.

Speak to me of how you miss me...

Tell me the hours go long and slow.

Speak to me of the drag on your heart...

The iron drag of long days.

For I know hours empty as a beggars tin cup.

Empty as a soldier's sleeve with an arm lost.

Speak to me...

I always thought this was beautiful and I think it may be the only poem I have committed to memory in full as a result of her reciting it so well on special occasions/holidays (often as a result of requests). This poem certainly sounds like Sandburg but I have not been able to find it in any of the Sandburg books I have. Can anyone confirm that it's Sandburg and in what book/collection it might be published?

I'm glad there's a Wiki page on Sandburg. In particular I remember growing up with "Rootabaga Stories" being read to me by my mother as a child. --16:46, 31 March 2007 by Siraj555 (talk).


 * Your grandmother appears to have been correct about the author. I haven't checked the book itself, but uncp.edu has a page that says it is in Sandburg's book Smoke and Steel.  I bet your local library would have a copy.  They call the poem 'Home Thoughts.'  The article says he traveled a lot and his longing for his wife when he was away was the inspiration for the poem. --Matthew K (talk) 03:01, 21 November 2007 (UTC)

List of References
Someone started an article called Carl Sandburg/References that lists articles and books about Sandburg. I nominated that article for deletion because that is not the proper citation method. However it would be a shame to lose that possibly useful information, so I have pasted it here:


 * [List that was formerly right here has been moved to List of works published about Carl Sandburg by Matthew K (talk)]

SmartGuy 14:00, 5 April 2007 (UTC)

'Listen' link that died
Carl Sandburg reading The People, Yes that was formerly linked to in the listen section no longer works. If this is a public domain item, can someone else find where it is and link to it again?

--Matthew K (talk) 02:38, 21 November 2007 (UTC)

Possible external source
http://www.millikin.edu/aci/crow/chronology/sandburgbio.html seems like it would be a useful external source. If no one disagrees, let's add it to the growing list. --Matthew K 15:31, 3 December 2007 (UTC)

"I am my own god and therefore every day is MY day."
Where did the person find this quote? I seems largely important if that is what he is known for, but I have not found it anywhere


 * This quotation, "I am my own god and therefore every day is MY day.", was added in this edit by 152.1.34.95, whose only other edit was clear vandalism.
 * Since it is not sourced, I am removing it it immediately from the article.
 * --Atavi (talk) 08:19, 26 July 2008 (UTC)

Reorganization proposal
This article is frustrating for me, because so much of it consists of lists (works, memorials, and references) that are not integrated in any kind of substantial way. I feel that the lists ultimately work to the detriment of the article as a whole. I propose:
 * 1) Moving the list of Sandburg's works to a separate list article
 * 2) Writing a selected bibliography in prose that lays out the basic chronology of his work.
 * 3) Rewriting the memorials section as a prose paragraph that mentions only the primary memorials (Flat Rock, Galesburg, some others?). The various places named for the poet probably do not need to be mentioned here unless they have a significant link to his life or work. In most cases, the connection would be better discussed on the site of each respective institution.
 * 4) Rewriting the references in popular culture section as a prose paragraph that focuses on the enduring impact of Sandburg. Most of the included references would be better suited for inclusion in the articles on the media where the references were made.

Thoughts? Avram (talk) 19:19, 25 October 2008 (UTC)

Proportional Emphasis in "Works"
I am astounded at the completely inadequate discussion of CS' poetry under "Works." The only full-length book mentioned is a collection of children's poems so minor in the poet's oeuvre that some scholars don't even include it - where works of major influence like Chicago Poems and The People, Yes! are not even mentioned. This would be roughly equivalent to discussing T.S. Eliot's whimsical Old Possum's Book Of Practical Cats as important and ignoring The Waste Land And Other Poems and The Four Quartets altogether. This needs some significant and sourced revision - will do so time permitting. And no reference whatsoever to Sandberg's final years as a folksinger and song collector? Sensei48 (talk) 03:07, 16 May 2009 (UTC)

Remembrance Rock
I added an external link to photos of the rock and its accompanying sign. Ideally someone in the Chicago area should visit Sandburg's childhood home and take photographs and put them in the Commons. Choor monster (talk) 16:41, 30 December 2012 (UTC)

Protection bot wars?
Can someone explain what is going on with the protection bots turning protection to this page on and off? Was this discussed somewhere? I gather that the previous protection expired today, and as I type, it has been extended for a year. Choor monster (talk) 13:41, 17 September 2013 (UTC)
 * No, a human had put this on Pending Changes without an expiry, and I (another human) changed it to semi-protection (a different protection level) with an expiration time. Fram (talk) 13:47, 17 September 2013 (UTC)

Original name Charles?
I have added that Carl's original name was Charles, according to his daughter Helga, who stated that she renamed him. I haven't added this as a fact, since this is the only reference so far for this claim. Further research is needed to find a WP:Reliable Source. David Spector (talk) 23:19, 15 January 2014 (UTC)


 * A source has been found, but it is WP:PRIMARY. Note that this source credits responsibility of the change to Helga, born in 1918.  But he was already published as Carl before she was even born.  See, for example, the cover of Chicago Poems.  I am reverting it from the article. Choor monster (talk) 17:39, 16 January 2014 (UTC)


 * Note that the article already mentions that Sandburg's first works were published as "Charles". The question is was that his birth name, or a journalist name. Choor monster (talk) 17:43, 16 January 2014 (UTC)

These are interesting questions, and I urge other editors to help out. Here is the primary reference: Helga Sandburg: Keeping the Sandburg tradition alive. Thanks, Choor! David Spector (talk) 01:35, 17 January 2014 (UTC)


 * I looked up the story of his name in his autobiography. (Well, actually, I found a copy for sale extra cheap without even looking.)  He also used the nickname "Gus" for a bit, but not at a level that seems notable.  Choor monster (talk) 13:32, 23 February 2014 (UTC)

Removal of history from "Carl Sandburg"
[Removed from my Talk page, put here where it belongs.]

Choor, I appreciate your adding information about his "Charlie" nickname, but why did you delete the interesting information about some of his jobs and locations? Do you object to the topics, object to a lack of citations, or what? Please make your reason for removal clear on the Talk page. David Spector (talk) 17:32, 23 January 2014 (UTC)


 * I have not deleted any of this information. Perhaps you (and the history-revision-diff-program) are confused by the fact that I broke the paragraph into two smaller ones? Choor monster (talk) 21:48, 23 January 2014 (UTC)


 * Totally my fault. Thanks for your improvements. David Spector (talk) 01:17, 24 January 2014 (UTC)

Mencken quote about Chicago writers
An anon alertly deleted the Mencken quotation, and provided a link in an edit summary as justification. Unfortunately, edit summaries are a lousy place to put such a link, here's a link that's easier to find and use: Mencken quote on Chicago writers Choor monster (talk) 16:41, 28 December 2014 (UTC)

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