Pulitzer Prize Poetry Winner

Complete Poems

by Carl Sandburg

Summary

A vast retrospective gathering Sandburg's hymns to laborers, prairies, and the rough music of American cities. His free verse owes much to Whitman, embracing colloquial speech, catalogues, and a broad democratic embrace of the common citizen. By midcentury Sandburg had become a national figure whose poetry served as a kind of populist scripture for industrial America.

Historical Context & Significance

Sandburg's second win. By 1951, he was considered the "people's poet," a living link to the era of Walt Whitman.