First in a series on Carl Sandburg: the man, his works — and his ideas

The author of a book that is touted as offering a “reappraisal” of Carl Sandburg gave an address on the American poet-biographer-journalist-editor on Nov. 18 at UNC Asheville’s Reuter Center.

The presentation featured Dr. John W. Quinley, who wrote “Discovering Carl Sandburg: The Eclectic Life of an American Icon.” 

(In 1945, at age 67, Sandburg, with his wife Lilian, moved to nearby Flat Rock, where he bought a home, which he renamed Connemara, and 240 acres. He died at his home in 1967 at age 89.)

Quinley was introduced by Trevor Freeman, public programs director of the Western North Carolina Historical Associaton, which he noted is housed in the middle of the A-B Tech campus. Freeman said the WNCHA is a nonprofit historical association that showcases the history and culture of WNC.

As for Sandburg, Freeman said “his legacy has somewhat faded since” the first half of the 20th century, when he was regarded as an important poet and the pre-eminent biographer of President Abraham Lincoln — “but our presenter tonight is trying” to change that.

In introducing Quinley to the the roughly 125 persons (a mostly older audience that filled the room almost to its seating capacity), Freeman noted that “he teaches American history at A-B Tech in Asheville. He also writes and gives presentations.”

Thirty years earlier, Sandburg had lived four blocks from where Quinley grew up in Maywood, Illinois, Freeman said, adding that Quinley now lives with his wife Melissa in Hendersonville, just a few miles from Sandburg’s former home in Flat Rock.

An promotion for Quinley’s lecture stated the following:

“During the first half of the twentieth century, Carl Sandburg seemed to be everywhere and do everything: poet and political activist; investigative reporter, columnist, and film critic: lecturer, folk singer, and musicologist, and more. In books sold, platform appearances delivered, and honors bestowed, he was one of the most successful American poets of the century. At his death in 1967, 6,000 mourners gathered, but as time when on, his fame began to fade. In this lecture, Dr. John W. Quinley will reintroduce Carl Sandburg to a new generation and provide fresh insights into the man, his life, and his work.”

In opening his address at UNCA, Quinley said, “I spent my whole life, mostly (teaching) at community colleges, but also at universities.” He added that he retired as a college adminstrator. 

“I began my Carl Sandburg interest in a college class. One of the places we went to was the Carl Sandburg home. After I retired, I volunteered to be a docent. I started reading everything that he wrote.”

As Quninley dug deeper into Sandburg’s writings, “many of the people” including students with whom he interacted “would ask what they could read,” seemingly seeking just one book, to learn about him.... There were sort of limited choices. 

“That’s one of the reasons I wrote that book (‘Discovering Carl Sandburg’) — to fill the gap in the literature.

“We all love Sandburg — and we’re all frustrated that we only have 30 minutes” at that evening’s program to review his life and legacy,” Quinley noted. “I really need six hours....

To that end, he pointed out, “Some of you know I’ll be doing a 12-hour Sandburg class” during the winter session at the UNCA College for Seniors, starting in January.

(In further research by the Daily Planet on Quinley’s upcoming class, it was listed as of Dec. 14 as “full,” but a website listing encouraged those interested to click on an icon to be added to a “waitlist,” in case an opening occurs. The class will be held 9-11 a.m. Fridays (in six sessions) from Jan. 13 through Feb. 17, in Room 206 in UNCA’s Reuter Center.)

Continuing, Quinley said, “Today, you’re going to learn about the passions and interests of Carl Sandburg... You’ll be surprised about many of them... He did all of these things during his lifetime — at the same time.

“His focus always was on America. He had an incredible work ethic. His concern was for social justice. … His kindness” was notable. “And a big surprise for me — what a funny guy he was....”

Quinley also praised a 2012 docsumentary by Asheville filmmaker Paul Bonestill titled “The Day Carl Sandburg Died.” He added, “Someone in the film notes that Sandburg was ‘a true socialist.’ The critics were unmerciful in how critical they were of Sandburg.” However, in a brief interview with the Daily Planet after his lecture, Quinley characterized Sandburg’s so-called socialism as more akin to today’s progressive political agenda. 

What’s more, Quinley, a decided Sandburg fan, noted in the first words of foreword of his “Discovering Carl Sandburg” book the following:

“We Sandburg enthusiasts who have visited his humble three-room birthplace cottage in Galesburg, Illinois, and learned about his hardscrabble youth and uneven formal education are astonished at the breadth and depth of his accomplishments. By the end of his extraordinary life, Carl Sandburg was acclaimed throughout the world.”

In his UNCA address, Quinley noted that Sandburg was born in 1878 in a railroad town (Galesburg) in Western Illinois... It was the working-class people — including Sandburg’s parents — who fueled the industrial revolution.... They had steam locomotives that broke down a lot. They worked six days a week — 10 hours a day, for (an average roughly of) 20 cents per hour... He (Sandburg) would mix alcohol in his coffee during wintertime” to cope with the tough conditions.”

Quinley added that Sandburg eventually bought a boarding house that he fixed up in his “spare time” — after his 60-hour-a-week job.

Perhaps not suprisingly, “none of Sandburg’s kids turned out to do hard labor. They all took professional jobs,” Quinley said, noting the contrast with their famous father.

“When he (Sandburg) was 11, he had his first job (as a barbershop porter). In eighth grade, there were severe economic conditions in the country, so he had to drop out of school.”

Sandburg “took many tough manual-labor jobs,” Quinley said, including a milk truck driver, a brickyard hand and a harvester in the Kansas wheat fields.

At one point, Sandburg attended the Illinois State Fair in Peoria, after which “Carl began with his embracing of ‘the journey’… after a short time, back in Galesburg… 

“He joined the army, so when he returned home, the local community college offered a year of free tuition... He edited the (student) newspaper. He co-edited the  yearbook. Sang in the glee club. And he started writing poetry. He also was the captain of the basketball team....

“He attended four years at the community college” and recorded many accolades and accomplishments, “but what he didn’t do is graduate,” Quinley noted.

“Not too many people had a college degree back then,” so the lack of one did not overly bother Sandburg, Quinley added. However, Sandburg “later was given many honorary doctorates, including from Harvard....

After college, “he went back to Galesburg. Wrote his autobiography about his high school days...” Then, “he worked for newspapers. He (also) started lecturing. 

“Because of his talents, the American Socialist Party hired him to write poetry and articles. From there, he goes back to Chicago… At this point, Chicago was the fastest-growing city in the world, with wheat and cattle coming in,” —and many things going out.

At that point in the program, a recording of a reading by Sandburg of his poem ‘Chicago’ was played for the audience, with Quinley describing it as Sandburg’s “most iconic poem.”

Regarding the recording, Quinley added, “The speaker, to modern ears, doesn’t seem to be that far out. But back then, it seemed like shouting.”

A few years later, Sandburg released his book of “Chicago” poems, Quinley noted. At that point, Sandburg started developing into “what became known as ‘the poet of the people.

“He (Sandburg) also used their (the people’s) common speech. He used free verse, which is something they could understand. He avoided rhymes” — a traditional style used by most other poets.

To the critics of his poetry, Quinley quoted Sandburg as once dryly quipping:

“Here’s the different between Dante, Milton and me — They wrote about Hell...  and never saw the place. I wrote about Chicago.” 

The crowd at his address roared with laughter at Sandburg’s words, the only such major outburst of the evening.

Quinley then played a recording of Sandburg reading another of his poems. 

Next, Quinley noted, “All during his life, the foundation of Sandburg’s life was journalism. He was a reporter and columnist. He worked in a variety of jobs. He worked for the Hearst Foundation –  they wanted to slant his writings, so he quit. Years later, they offered him $75,000 — $500,000 in today’s money— a year to write for them. He turned it down” because he wanted to write the truth, instead. 

“Eventually, he worked 12 years at the Chicago Daily News, which is the newspaper with which he was most connected,” Quinley said. “He (Sandburg) became a war correspondent and served in Sweden. He then comes back and starts working again for the Chicago Daily News — and he’s given the job of writing about the racial riots.

“Hundreds of thousands of blacks had moved (into Chicago) from the South. So he wrote these series of articles, which became his first book of prose — ‘The Chicago Race Riots.’”

Quinley added, “Others say he wrote about ‘the negro problem,’ but Carl didn’t see it as a ‘negro problem,’ in the 1920s. He was way ahead of his time... In the 1960s, he received a plaque from the NAACP at the height of the civil rights movement – the first white person to receive such a plaque. He valued that (NAACP plaque) more than any of his other awards.”

Another book Sandburg wrote was the “Home Front Memo” and, Quinley said, “Even after he (Sandburg) moved to Connemara in Flat Rock, he continued to be a columnist. He never stopped writing for the newspapers.

“Sandburg, however, was not only a man of the written word, but of the spoken word. He spoke at all kinds of places, including Asheville. He had that wonderful voice that he really worked on...

“He then started making records (seven) that featured his poetry. And not only did he speak, but he also sang.

“So Carl was — sort of — a superstar. He would travel three to six months a year — anywhere from 24 to 60 performances a year. Eventually, he was on radio and TV. He cut 12 records of singing folk songs — on 45 RPM records.

“Sandburg started collecting American folk songs. It wasn’t easy,” Quinley said. “He would write historic commentary” to accompany the songs. “He had 280 folk songs in his first edition, of which 100 songs had never been published before. 

“A lot of these songs we know today and think they’re standards (‘C.C. Rider,’ ‘The John B. Sails’ (a Bahamian folk song from Nassau)... Didn’t the Beach Boys do that...  later?” 

(In its subsequent research on the history of the song, the Daily Planet confirmed that, in 1966, the Beach Boys’ updated version of the “The John B. Sails” was retitled “The Sloop John B.” It was the biggest hit on the group’s seminal “Pet Sounds” album. The song earlier (in 1958) was popularized by the Kingston Trio, which “adapted it from a version in poet Carl Sandburg’s 1927 songbook “The American Songbag,” according to www.songfacts.com.)

“Also, the song ‘Midnight Special’” by Leadbelly (reportedly popularized by Leadbelly upon his release from Sugar Land prison in Texas), was among the notable songs in Sandburg’s collection, along with many others, Quinley said.

He added that “Pete Seger was a lifelong friend of Sandburg.”

“When (Bob) Dylan (at age 22) came to see Sandburg in his home, he told Sandburg (at age 89), “I’m a poet just like you,” Quinley told the UNCA audience.

“It’s so fitting that Dylan was awarded the Nobel Prize for expression through his songs, just as Seger did,” Quinley stated. 

(In the Daily Planet’s research on Dylan’s visit with Sandburg, the following summary was written on historynewnetwork.org:

(“Yet, the young Dylan seems to have suffered no trepidation about knocking on this famous man’s door. “You’re Carl Sandburg,” he said, “I’m Bob Dylan. I’m a poet, too.” Sandburg invited Dylan and a few friends who accompanied him to sit down. Dylan told the old poet that he had often been mentioned by Woody Guthrie, the famous folk singer Dylan often visited in the hospital. He then handed Sandburg his recently released album The Times They Are A-Changin’ and told him he’d appreciate it if he listened to them. One of Dylan’s companions on that occasion later noted, “I distinctly felt like there was a passage of honor between the young prince and the old king.”)

Continuing, Quinley said, “Sandburg “was a man who cared very deeply about nature. He was a tremendous hiker. He wrote about many details of nature that he saw.

Quinley then mentioned Sandburg’s poem “Fog,” which, he said, “many people had to memorize in high school.” However, instead of playing Sandburg’s recording of “Fog,” Quinley played Sandburg reading his poem “Wilderness”

Quinley added, “Besides his time as a war reporter, he also wrote many poems about war... Early on, he wrote many pacifist poems... One of his most iconic poems was ‘Grass,” which states: “Shovel them under and let me work — I am the grass; I cover all. And pile them high at Gettysburg And pile them high at Ypres and Verdun. Shovel them under and let me work....”

Further, Quinley noted, “During World War II, he (Sandburg) wrote about ‘wings for Norway.’ He also wrote a poem about a man with broken fingers,” describing the Nazi Gestapo breaking every bone in the body of a Norwegian freedom- fighter... “It was published in many places — Norway, Denmark, even Russia.”

In the singing of “God Bless America.”

Further, Quinley said of Sandburg, “Back in the 1920s, after World War I, he comes back and he’s just tired of the darkness and the slaughter” from the war. “So one of the things he turned to was writing books for children. He said his tales provided respite... He later published ‘Rootabegga Tales.’ In 1953 and 1958, he released records of Rootabegga Tales.” That was relatively new at the time.

“So Sandburg goes on to publish other books... He kept that child heart in him throughout his life....

“He did two six-volume sets on Lincoln. He spent 40 years researching and writing about Lincoln. The two of them (Lincoln and Sandburg) had much in common. Both grew up in Illinois. Both Lincoln and Sandburg shared common ideas about a more socially ‘just’ America.

“So Sandburg wrote eight books, altogether, about Lincoln, including about Lincoln growing up — so kids could understand him.

“Now, he wrote about Lincoln differently than many people had before. You know Lincoln wasn’t very popular at all until he was assassinated. Then he was written as great. Scholarship was changing as Sandburg was in college. Sandburg wanted to write about the real Lincoln.

That first major series, “Abraham Lincoln: The Prairie Years,” 1,000 pages, was a bestseller.

Now, he wrote about Lincoln differently than many people had before. You know. Lincoln wasn’t very popular at all until he was assassinated. Then he was written as ‘great.’ Scholarship was changing as Sandburg was in college. Sandburg wanted to write about the ‘real’ Lincoln.

“That first major series, “Abraham Lincoln: The Prairie Years,” (spanning) 1,000 pages, was a bestseller,” Quinley said. “His second major series… was 2,400 pages….

Quinley then asserted, “In 1959, at the 150th anniversary of Lincoln’s birth, Sandburg was ivited to address both houses of Congress — a rarity.

“One person (that Quinley did not identify in his speech) said of Sandburg that he was ‘the man, in all probability, who knew more about the life and aspirations of Abraham Lincoln than any other human being.’”

After a pause, Quinley continued, “So Sandburg went on the road, did radio and later was on TV. Sandburg read a tribute (to Lincoln) in 1962 on ‘The Ed Sullivan Show.’

“After his early days as an American socialist, Sandburg never worked again for a political party. To that end, Quinley said that Sandburg “was asked to run for Congress” and “to be a vice presidential” candidate, among other possibilities.

“It was President (Lyndon B.) Johnson who rewarded him (Sandburg) with the Presidential Medal of Freedom in the 1970s,” Quinley said.

“He always was interested in new technology... Sandburg never acted in films. He became a film critic. He wrote some 2,000 film reviews. He pretty much stopped when the films became ‘talkies’ in 1928. He knew everybody. He’d go to Hollywood and interview everyone. He especially enjoyed Charlie Chaplin and they became great friends.

“In 1940, MGM approached him and offered him $40,000 to write an epic about the American experience. The book (Sandburg wrote) ended up being way longer than MGM wanted — and never was made into a film,” Quinley noted.

However, his Hollywood connections did bring him into connection with many of the film industry’s stars, including Marilyn Monroe,

“Sandburg and Marilyn Monroe became great pals, despite the 40-year age difference,” Quinley said. (Other sources that the Daily Planet checked with have reported there was nearly a 50-year age difference between Sandburg and Monroe.)

Further, Quinley said, “He (Sandburg) was on the front cover of every (major) magazine.. He wrote more than 30 books, over a thousand poems, tens of thousands of newspaper stories and speeches... He won two Pulitzer Prizes... He never won a Nobel prize, but came close a number of times (Ernest) Hemingway once won the Nobel — and said, ‘Sandburg should have won it!’ He (Sandburg) sold millions of books.

“So it wasn’t surprising when he died in 1967 that the major funeral for Sandburg was at the Lincoln Memorial,” on the western end of the National Mall in Washington, D.C., across from the Washington Monument. “President Johnson said, ‘There was no end to the genius” of Sandburg.

Quinley then concluded his address by reiterating that, for those who would like to learn more about the subject of the evening’s address,  he will be teaching a class on Sandburg at UNCA’s College for Seniors from 9 to 11 a.m. Fridays from Jan. 13 to Feb. 17.

Questions about Sandburg abound from audience

From Staff Reports

Following Dr. John W. Quinley’s address featuring highlights from his new book “Discovering Carl Sandburg: The Eclectic Life of an American Icon” on Nov. 18 at UNC Asheville, he answered questions for 15 minutes from both those watching virtually on ZOOM, as well as those in the audience.

The first questioner — via ZOOM — asked: “Did Sandburg write much about his socialist leanings?”

“There’s some controversy on how radical he was,” Quinley replied, noting that “he was more” a progressive, as it would be defined today, than a socialist..

Further, Quinley said Sandburg promoted the following::

• Good government

• Allowing women to vote

• The end of child labor

“It’s too complex for me to go into now,” Quinley said of Sandburg’s socialist leanings..

A woman then asked “What brought him to North Carolina?"

“What brought him here was the desires of his wife and his kids,” Quinley answered. “They lived in Michigan — on 5 acres on a lake. Carl said, ‘Just find me a quiet place to write. His brother-in-law had brought him to Asheville and said the area in which it was located might suit Sandburg.

A third questioner asked Quinley to tell about Sandburg’s family.

“Helga (Sandburg’s daughter) spent her early life on the farm with goats — and then she started ‘channeling’ her Dad,” Quinley replied.

A woman asked, “Please say something about his wife. I don’t think someone could have that kind of life without a strong wife.”

Quinley said of Sandburg’s wife Lillian, “She knew a lot more about socialism than Carl. She went to the University of Chicago, sort of ‘the Harvard of the Midwest,’” in those days. “Early on, when she met Carl, she recognized his genius. She decided she would dedicate her life in support of him. Later on, with the goats, she became internationally famous. They got married. No ring. He called her ‘Paula.’”

Another questioner asked, “What drew him to his friendship with Harry Golden? (Golden, a civil rights advocate and writer, was the publisher of the Carolina Israelite newspaper in nearby Charlotte. 

Quinley noted that Golden “would come up to the farm and smoke cigarettes and drink whiskey with him (Sandburg) — and they would write newspaper stories.”

A woman said, “Her (Lillian’s) brother was a very famous photographer. He’s largely forgotten today. It seems to me he married way above his station.”

“Her family was (made up of) immigrants —  just like Carl’s,” Quinley answered. “Her father worked in a copper mine, at one time. He had come back from Paris, where he spent just about every weekend with his very good friend Rodin — “The thinker….”

A man asked, “What did Sandburg think of (fellow poet) Walt Whitman?

“One of his (Sandburg’s) early lectures was on Walt Whitman,” Quinley replied. “That was his ‘go to’ lecture. Sandburg was ‘all into’ Walt Whitman.”

Daily Planet questions Sandburg enthusiast on details of icon’s life

From Staff Reports

After John W. Quinley’s address and question-and-answer session on Carl Sandburg, the Daily Planet managed to arrange a brief interview with Quinley on Nov. 18 at UNC Asheville’s Reuter Center.

“Why is Sandburg not highly regarded as a Lincoln scholar today?” the Daily Planet asked. “Did he only present one-sided depictions of Lincoln? Was he too close to the subject?”

In response, Quinley said, “First of all, he never was a trained historian. He was very poetic. He wrote like an investigative reporter. He was the Lincoln authority of his day. He kind of channeled (Lincoln) in his day.”

“Why is Sandburg’s poetry considered overrated by some critics today?” the newspaper asked.

Regarding Sandburg’s critics, Quinley said “He called them  the ‘abracadabra boys’ (the critics). Even his closest friends, Ezra Pound, was very crticial of him later.”

On a final question, the Daily Planet asked, “Why did Sandburg favor socialism? Did he later change his views to the right and criticize socialism?’

“He quit the party at the time of the Russian Revolution,” Quinley replied. “His brand of socialism was pretty much what Franklin D. Roosevelt enacted years later.”