Selected Poems

A superb collection of poems by the Pulitzer Prize—winning poet.

This new collection of Sandburg's classic American poetry, which includes four previously unpublished Lincoln poems, contains selections from all of Sandburg's previous volumes and certainly supports MacLeish's confidence in the breadth of Sandburg's scope. It is designed for general readers and for students.

In more than 150 poems, arranged in eleven sections from Chicago to Poems of Prostest to Lincoln to Anti-War Poems to Poet of the People—readers can see what Sandburg was made of and, in turn, what the poet through the American people were made of. Sandburg's aim was to write "simple poems...which continue to have an appeal for simple people," and in his signature free verse, the poet strove to maintain that important connection.

This collection features such poems as:

• "Chicago"
• "Grass"
• "Arithmetic"
• "A Father to His Son"
• "A Dream Girl"
• "The Long Shadow of Lincoln: A Litany"

Edited and with an Introduction by George and Willene Hendrick. The Hendricks, in their thoughtful and comprehensive introduction, discuss how Sandburg's life and beliefs colored his work and why that work resonates with Americans today.