J 70-19,352 1 QUIGLEY, Michael Jerome, 1938- ! A STUDY OF CARL SANDBURG: A MAJOR WRITER FOR I THE SECONDARY SCHOOL OF TODAY. i I The Ohio State University, Ph.D., 1970 Language and Literature, general University Microfilms, A XERD\Company, Ann Arbor, Michigan ® Copyright by Michael Jerome Quigley 1970 THIS DISSERTATION HAS BEEN MICROFILMED EXACTLY AS RECEIVED A STUDY OF CARL SANDBURG: A MAJOR WRITER FOR THE SECONDARY SCHOOL OF TODAY DISSERTATION Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University By Michael Jerome Quigley, B. A , M. Ed. ****** The Ohio State University 1970 Approved by A d viser College of Education ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Grateful acknowledgment is given to my adviser, Dr. Wilfred Eberhart, for his kind assistance and helpful guidance; Professor S. Louise Garcia of Central State University; the late Carl Sandburg; Mrs. Carl Sandburg; Mr. Harry Golden; and to my wife, Martha, for understanding and considerable patience. 11 VITA December 2, 1938 . Born--Dayton, Ohio 1 9 6 5.................................... B. A , Central State University Wilberforce, Ohio 1965-66 ............................ Assistant Instructor, Department of English, Central State University, Wilberforce, Ohio 1966-6 7 ............................ Teacher of English and Social Studies, Blanches ter High School, Blanchester, Ohio 1 9 6 7 .................................... M. Ed. , Central State University, Wilberforce, Ohio 1967-68 ............................ Teacher of Social Studies and English Greenon High School, Springfield, Ohio 1968-6 9 ............................ Teaching Associate in English Education, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio PUBLICATIONS "Carl Sandburg. " Ebony, pp. 158-63, September, 1963. "Carl Sandburg, Get to Know Him During His Birthday Month. " The Instructor, pp. 66-69, LXXVII, (January, 1968). April Is The Cruelest Month. New York and Dubuque, Iowa: Kendall-Hunt Publishers, 1969. Ill FIELDS OF STUDY Major Field: English Education Studies in English Education. Professors Wilfred Eberhart, Donald R. Bateman, and Frank J, Zidonis Minor Field: 19th and 20th Century American and English Literature Studies in Victorian Literature. Professors Richard D. Altick and Richard T. Martin Studies in 19th and 20th Century American Literature. Professor Matthew J. Bruccoli Minor Field: Teacher Education Studies in Teacher Education. Professors L. O. Andrews and Charles Galloway Minor Field: Guidance and Counseling Studies in Guidance and Counseling. Professors Herman J. Peters and Anthony C. Riccio IV TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS......................................................................... ii VITA .......................................................................................................................... iii Chapter L AN OVERVIEW OF THE STUDY OF CARL SANDBURG ..................................................................... ] Introduction Scope of the Study Limitations of the Study Materials and Methods of the Study Sandburg's Place in American Literature Critical Reputation of Carl Sandburg Review of the Literature II. A SURVEY OF THE MOST ADAPTABLE WORKS OF SANDBURG FOR SECONDARY STUDENTS................ 50 Chicago Poems The People, Yes Selections from Complete Poems Bronze Wood and The Chicago Race Riots, July, 1919 Selections from Abraham Lincoln, The Prairie Years and War Years Remembrance Rock Always the Young Strangers The American Songbag The Family of Man (Photographs by Edward Steichen, Text by Sandburg) A Lincoln Portrait (Music by Aaron Copland, Lyrics by Sandburg) III. METHODS OF TEACHING SELECTED SANDBURG W ORK ..................................................................... 129 Conventional Reading and Discussion Use of Films, Records, and Photographs Personal Interviews and Criticism Relationship to Other Writers Student Writing Dramatic Presentation IV. SUMMARY .................................................................................... 220 Conclusions Suggestions for Further Study and Experimentation APPENDIX A ................................................................................................................. 227 B ................................................................................................................. 234 BIBLIOGRAPHY ......................................................................................... 237 VI CHAPTER I AN OVERVIEW OF THE STUDY OF CARL SANDBURG Introduction It was cold and brisk for Washington, D. C. that February day in 1959 as I hurried up the steps of the Capitol Building to claim my seat in the press gallery. Inside the massive building, I ridded my­ self of my heavy coat and showed my ticket of admission to a uniformed attendant, who directed me to the section reserved for working press representatives. We were gathered to cover an ex­ traordinary event in American history--for the first time in the nation's history, a private citizen had been invited to address a joint session of the United States Congress. This private citizen was Carl Sandburg of Connamara Farm, Flat Rock, North Carolina. The occasion was the commemoration of Abraham Lincoln's one hundred fiftieth birthday, February 12, 1959. The Honorable Sam Rayburn, Speaker of the House of Repre­ sentatives, called the session to order. The first order of business was to introduce the speaker for the day, and the late M ister Sam said to the Congress, justices of the Supreme Court, the members of 1 President Eisenhower's Cabinet, and the Diplomatic Corps; It now becomes my very great pleasure and high privilege to be able to present to you the man who in all probability knows more about the life, the times, the hopes and the aspirations of Abraham Lincoln than any other human being. He has studied and has put on paper his conceptions of the towering figure of this great and good man, I take pleasure and honor to be able to present to you this great writer, this great historian, Carl Sandburg. ^ A standing ovation was accorded to Sandburg, now making his way slowly down the wide aisle toward the podium. Instead of the jovial man with the guitar, Sandburg looked solemn and scholarly as he put on his large eyeglasses in preparation for his speech. As the speech would be a matter of public record, I decided to watch him deliver the speech instead of taking laborious notes as he spoke. As I listened to the slow cadences of Carl Sandburg's speech that day, I realized that Carl Sandburg would still have been a poet had he never written a line of poetry. Note the poetic quality of these lines that Sandburg spoke shortly after 11 A, M. , Thursday, February 12, 1959, in his opening remarks: Not often in the story of mankind does a man arrive on earth who is both steel and velvet, who is as hard as rock and soft as drifting fog, who holds in his heart and mind the paradox of terrible storm and peace unspeakable and perfect. ^ ^The 150th Anniversary of the Birth of Abraham Lincoln, February 12, 1959. Speech by Carl Sandburg, Introduction by Speaker of the House Sam W. Rayburn. (Washington: Government Printing Office, 1959). p. 1. ^Ibid. I could see these words arranged as poetry on the printed page as follow s: Not often . In the story of mankind Does a man arrive on earth Who is both steel and velvet, Who is as hard as rock And soft as drifting fog . On the printed page of the Congressional Record that day, the words are recorded as prose, but to those who heard the speech, the words were poetry. For here was the personal testament of a sincere man who still held that mankind's best hope is America. He spoke for just twenty minutes that day and closed his short Lincoln tribute with more of the same kind of poetic utterance: Today we may say, perhaps, that the well-assured and most enduring memorial to Abraham Lincoln is invisibly in the hearts of men who love liberty today, tomorrow, and for a long time, yes, a long time yet to come. It is there in the hearts of lovers of liberty, men and women--this country has always had them in crisis--m en and women who understand that wherever there is freedom there have been those who fought, toiled and sacrificed for it. 3 Since that time, I had the privilege of getting to know Carl Sandburg on a personal basis, and my respect and admiration for him grew with the years until his death in 1967. I have written a number of articles on him for various newspapers and magazines and was also a guest in the Sandburg home on three occasions. This study will ^Ibid. , p. 6. make full use of my personal knowledge of Carl Sandburg. It will also survey the literature of criticism in an attempt to evaluate Sandburg's contributions to American [literature. The main part of the study will attempt to discuss Sandburg's work, especially the large volume of his work that is particularly adaptable for use in the secondary school classroom. Scope of the Study The objects of the present study are as follows: (1) to sur­ vey and discuss a number of the works of Sandburg that the secondary school teacher can most effectively use in classroom teaching; (2) to suggest and analyze various methods of teaching the selected pieces; (3) to offer insight and understanding of Carl Sandburg and his work. Limitations of the Study This study gives only passing glance at much of the work of Sandburg, concentrating primarily on his work that is most easily adaptable to the curriculum of the secondary school. Biographical material is used only where it has