What is your opinion on Carl Sandburg?

[GustD45]

Rob,

Firstly thank you for those book suggestions and at the first opportunity I'll go searching for them. Reading Sandburg lit the candle, but reading through historical research really helped to spread the flame. Anyone studying history needs to realize that the material is only as good as the person writing it. Using good research techniques and siting [sic] good reliable sources will lend credibility to a work. Davg2000 has hit on this exactly with Pope's words.

[Anita]

(01-18-2019 06:00 PM)Rob Wick Wrote:  As many of you might remember, before I set out on the Tarbell Trail I was working on a similar book about Carl Sandburg. Given that I've been unable to get back to work on my Tarbell-Albert J. Beveridge article, I've decided to take the advice of Anita and go back to an article I am working on about Tarbell and Carl Sandburg. My working title is "'Iderem' and 'Sholly': Ida M. Tarbell, Carl Sandburg and the Influence of Popular Biography in Lincoln Studies." "Iderem" was the nickname given to Tarbell by William Allen White, and was a play on "Ida M." "Sholly" was the name Sandburg's father called him given that Sandburg's first name was actually Charles and he was known as "Charley".

What I'm wanting to get here are forum member's personal opinion on Sandburg and how his work may have influenced you or not in your own pursuit of Lincoln studies. I asked this question about six years ago on the forum and we had a pretty good discussion. Given that a number of new people are here, I would like to restart it. My article will focus mainly on how Tarbell and Sandburg approached Lincoln biography and how their books were reviewed by the popular mainstream press vs. the academic community. I will also discuss their roles in the Wilma Minor Affair.

Rob, I'm catching up on forum posts and am so pleased to see that you have included Carl Sandburg's Lincoln biography in you next article. I know your writing and the exacting research behind it but equally import I know you will strive for that balanced perspective.

I grew up with Sandburg, both his poetry, writings and television appearances. Social youth movements of my day, the 1960s, admired Sandburg. His poetry reflected his passion for social justice and he worked politically for social change. At this time his poetry was read in most American schools. Sandburg's "Abraham Lincoln: The Prairie Years" was about my 5th Lincoln book. I knew at the start that the book was controversial and had received some harsh criticism. This has already been discussed here and I know Rob will address it in his article. I read the book because it was by Sandburg, a man I admired and respected, and I wanted to see Lincoln through his poet's eye. I never looked at it as an standard academic biographical treatment. I wanted another way to sense what Lincoln saw and experienced to compliment my understanding and it did just that.

[LincolnMan]

I recently posted this on FB:
Abraham Lincoln by Carl Sandburg

This classic six volume work started the love of Abraham Lincoln for me. Written in beautiful poetic style that only Sandburg could pen, it takes the reader from Lincoln’s humble beginnings to his end via the assassin’s deed. In all, a magnificent literary portrayal of one of the greatest individuals in American history. Sandburg is largely unknown today, sadly. In his day he was quite the predominant poet and celebrity. He was charming and folksy too. I remember him playing guitar and singing on television. He also “hung out”-at least for photo ops-with the likes of JFK and Marilyn Monroe. But his work on Lincoln was and still is what he is probably best remembered for. Needless to say, that masterpiece has inspired countless others. I was, and continue to be, among them.