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Carl Sandburg

Carl Sandburg Quotes

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Carl Sandburg was a prominent American poet, writer, journalist, and editor. Born on January 6, 1878, in Illinois, he passed away on July 22, 1967. His works primarily depicted rural life in America, industrialization, and the working class, with notable works including 'Chicago' and 'The American Songbag'.

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All Poetry Is Literature Men Ifs People Poetry Knows Writing Life Years

Famous Carl Sandburg Quotes

“The woman named Tomorrow sits with a hairpin in her teeth and takes her time”

Book:The Complete Poems of Carl Sandburg

Source: The Complete Poems of Carl Sandburg

“Lay me on an anvil, O God. Beat me and hammer me into a steel spike.”

Prayer Beats Transformation Lays Steel Hammers Anvils

Book:The Complete Poems of Carl Sandburg

Source: The Complete Poems of Carl Sandburg

“Tongues wrangled dark at a man. He buttoned his overcoat and stood alone. In a snowstorm, red hollyberries, thoughts, he stood alone.”

Men Dark Solitude Red Tongue Overcoat Snowstorms

Book:Harvest Poems: 1910-1960

Source: Harvest Poems: 1910-1960

“Who else speaks for the Family of Man? They are in tune and step with constellations of universal law.”

Men Law Speak Steps Universal Unity Tunes Humankind Constellations Universal Laws

Book:The Complete Poems of Carl Sandburg

Source: The Complete Poems of Carl Sandburg

“Time is a great teacher, Who can live without hope?”

Time Hope Learning Teacher Great Teacher Without Hope

Book:The People, Yes

Source: The People, Yes

“The buffaloes are gone. And those who saw the buffaloes are gone.”

Gone Saws Extinction Abandonment

Book:The Complete Poems of Carl Sandburg

Source: The Complete Poems of Carl Sandburg

“out of great Russia came three dusky syllables workmen took guns and went out to die for: Bread, Peace, Land.”

Dies Three Land Gun Russia Bread Nationalism Rebellion Syllables Workmen

Book:The Complete Poems of Carl Sandburg

Source: The Complete Poems of Carl Sandburg

“There will be a rusty gun on the wall, sweetheart, The rifle grooves curling with flakes of rust. A spider will make a silver string nest in the darkest, warmest corner of it.”

Wall Gun Corners Silver Strings Spiders Nests Rifles Rust Groove Sweetheart Flakes

Book:The Complete Poems of Carl Sandburg

Source: The Complete Poems of Carl Sandburg

“An expert is a damn fool a long way from home.”

Way Long Home Fool Damn Experts Long Way

Author:Carl Sandburg

“We live in the time of the colossal upright oblong.”

Author:Carl Sandburg

“I'll die propped up in bed trying to do a poem about America.”

Trying America Dies Bed

Author:Carl Sandburg

“POETRY: A sliver of the moon lost in the belly of a golden frog.”

Lost Moon Golden Belly Frogs

Book:The Complete Poems of Carl Sandburg

Source: The Complete Poems of Carl Sandburg

“I been a wanderin' Early and late, New York City To the Golden Gate An' it looks like I'm never gonna cease my Wanderin'.”

Looks Cities New York Late Cease Golden Gates New York City

Author:Carl Sandburg

“I was up day and night with Lincoln for years. I couldn't have picked a better companion.”

Years Night Companion Day And Night

Author:Carl Sandburg

“The impact of television on our culture is. . . indescribable. There's a certain sense in which it is nearly as important as the invention of printing.”

Important Certain Culture Television Impact Invention Printing Indescribable

Author:Carl Sandburg

“I remember in my early 20s when I felt I couldn't live past 30. I was learning how to write. I had a lot of hard work ahead of me.”

Writing Hard Past Remember Felt Hard Work Early 20s Learning How To Write

Author:Carl Sandburg

“My first stringed instrument was a cigar box banjo where I cut and turned the pegs and strung the wires myself.”

Firsts Cutting Instruments Boxes Wire Cigar Banjos Peg

Author:Carl Sandburg

“Money buys everything except love, personality, freedom, immortality, silence, peace.”

Silence Personality Immortality

Book:The Complete Poems of Carl Sandburg

Source: The Complete Poems of Carl Sandburg

“History is a living horse laughing at a wooden horse. History is a wind blowing where it listeth. History is no sure thing to bet on. History is a box of tricks with a lost key. History is a labyrinth of doors with sliding panels, a book of ciphers with the code in a cave of the Saragossa sea. History says, if it pleases, Excuse me, I beg your pardon, it will never happen again if I can help it.”

Ifs I Can Book Helping Happens Lost Laughing Doors Sea Wind Keys Please Horse Boxes Excuse Tricks Code Caves Pardon Labyrinth Excuse Me Sure Thing Ciphers Wind Blowing

Author:Carl Sandburg

“There are dreams stronger than death. Men and women die holding these dreams.”

Men Dream Dies Men And Women Stronger

Book:The Complete Poems of Carl Sandburg

Source: The Complete Poems of Carl Sandburg

“In democracy both a deep reverence and a sense of the comic are requisite.”

Humor Funny Democracy Comic Reverence

Book:Home front memo

Source: Home front memo

“A tough will counts. So does desire.So does a rich soft wanting.Without rich wanting nothing arrives.”

Doe Desire Rich Tough

Book:The People, Yes

Source: The People, Yes

“If the facts are against you, argue the law. If the law is against you, argue the facts. If the law and the facts are against you, pound the table and yell like hell”

Ifs Facts Law Hell Tables Arguing Pounds

Author:Carl Sandburg

“Why does a hearse horse snicker, hauling a lawyer away?”

Doe Horse Lawyer Snickers

Author:Carl Sandburg

“What of the Wright boys in Dayton? Just around the corner they had a shop and did a bicycle business-and they wanted to fly for the sake of flying. They were Man the Seeker, Man on a Quest. Money was their last thought, their final absent-minded idea. They threw out a lot of old mistaken measurements and figured new ones that stood up when they took off and held the air and steered a course. They proved that "the faster you go the less power you need."”

Source: The Complete Poems of Carl Sandburg

“The squeaky wheel gets the grease but the quacking duck gets shot.”

Conflict Shots Competition Wheels Ducks Negotiation Grease Squeaky Wheel

Author:Carl Sandburg

“And those who say, "I'll try anything once," often try nothing twice, three times, arriving late at the gate of dreams worth dying for.”

Trying Dream Three Dying Late Gates Three Times Arriving

Book:Breathing Tokens

Source: Breathing Tokens

“The greatest certainty in life is death. The greatest uncertainty is the time.”

Life Is Certainty Uncertainty Certainty In Life

Author:Carl Sandburg

“Poetry is a projection across silence of cadences arranged to break that silence with definite intentions of echoes, syllables, wave lengths.”

Silence Break Intention Wave Length Poetry Is Echoes Definite Projection Syllables Cadence

Book:The Complete Poems of Carl Sandburg

Source: The Complete Poems of Carl Sandburg

“Poetry is an art practiced with the terribly plastic material of human language.”

Humans Art Language Materials Poetry Is Plastic Human Language

Author:Carl Sandburg

“Poetry is the report of a nuance between two moments, when people say, 'Listen!' and 'Did you see it?' 'Did you hear it? What was it?'”

People Two Moments Reports Poetry Is Nuance

Book:The Complete Poems of Carl Sandburg

Source: The Complete Poems of Carl Sandburg

“Poetry is a tracing of the trajectories of a finite sound to the infinite points of its echoes.”

Sound Infinite Poetry Is Echoes Finite Trajectory Tracing

Book:The Complete Poems of Carl Sandburg

Source: The Complete Poems of Carl Sandburg

“Poetry is a puppet-show, where riders of skyrockets and divers of sea fathoms gossip about the sixth sense and the fourth dimension.”

Shows Sea Dimensions Poetry Is Gossip Fourth Puppets Riders Fathom Sixth Sense Puppet Shows

Book:The Complete Poems of Carl Sandburg

Source: The Complete Poems of Carl Sandburg

“Poetry is a plan for a slit in the face of a bronze fountain goat and the path of fresh drinking water.”

Faces Water Path Plans Drinking Poetry Is Fountain Goats Bronze Drinking Water Slits

Book:The Complete Poems of Carl Sandburg

Source: The Complete Poems of Carl Sandburg

“Poetry is a slipknot tightened around a time-beat of one thought, two thoughts, and a last interweaving thought there is not yet a number for.”

Two Lasts Numbers Beats Poetry Is

Book:The Complete Poems of Carl Sandburg

Source: The Complete Poems of Carl Sandburg

“Poetry is a fossil rock-print of a fin and a wing, with an illegible oath between.”

Rocks Wings Poetry Is Print Fossils Oath Fins

Book:The Complete Poems of Carl Sandburg

Source: The Complete Poems of Carl Sandburg

“Poetry is an exhibit of one pendulum connecting with other and unseen pendulums inside and outside the one seen.”

Poetry Is Unseen Connecting Exhibits Pendulums Inside And Outside

Book:The Complete Poems of Carl Sandburg

Source: The Complete Poems of Carl Sandburg

“Poetry is a sky dark with a wild-duck migration.”

Dark Sky Poetry Is Ducks Migration

Book:The Complete Poems of Carl Sandburg

Source: The Complete Poems of Carl Sandburg

“Poetry is any page from a sketchbook of outlines of a doorknob with thumb-prints of dust, blood, dreams.”

Dream Blood Pages Dust Poetry Is Print Thumbs Outlines Sketchbooks

Book:Smoke and steel: Slabs of the sunburnt West. Good morning, America

Source: Smoke and steel: Slabs of the sunburnt West. Good morning, America

“Poetry is a type-font design for an alphabet of fun, hate, love, death.”

Hate Fun Design Type Poetry Is Love Hate Alphabet Love Death Fonts

Book:The Complete Poems of Carl Sandburg

Source: The Complete Poems of Carl Sandburg

“Poetry is the cipher key to the five mystic wishes packed in a hollow silver bullet fed to a flying fish.”

Wish Five Keys Fishes Flying Silver Poetry Is Feds Bullets Hollow Mystic Ciphers Silver Bullets

Book:The Complete Poems of Carl Sandburg

Source: The Complete Poems of Carl Sandburg

“Poetry is a theorem of a yellow-silk handkerchief knotted with riddles, sealed in a balloon tied to the tail of a kite flying in a white wind against a blue sky in spring.”

White Sky Wind Spring Blue Flying Poetry Is Yellow Tied Tails Silk Riddle Balloons Blue Sky Theorems Kites Handkerchiefs

Book:The Complete Poems of Carl Sandburg

Source: The Complete Poems of Carl Sandburg

“Poetry is a dance music measuring buck-and-wing follies along with the gravest and stateliest dead-marches.”

Wings Folly Poetry Is March Bucks Measuring Dance Music

Book:The Complete Poems of Carl Sandburg

Source: The Complete Poems of Carl Sandburg

“Poetry is a mock of a cry at finding a million dollars and a mock of a laugh at losing it.”

Millions Laughing Cry Findings Losing Dollars Poetry Is Million Dollars Mock

Book:The Complete Poems of Carl Sandburg

Source: The Complete Poems of Carl Sandburg

“Poetry is the harnessing of the paradox of earth cradling life and then entombing it.”

Earth Poetry Is Paradox

Book:Harvest Poems: 1910-1960

Source: Harvest Poems: 1910-1960

“Poetry is a fresh morning spider-web telling a story of moonlit hours of weaving and waiting during a night.”

Stories Night Waiting Hours Morning Poetry Is Spiders Weaving Spider Web

Book:The Complete Poems of Carl Sandburg

Source: The Complete Poems of Carl Sandburg

“Poetry is statement of a series of equations, with numbers and symbols changing like the changes of mirrors, pools, skies, the only never-changing sign being the sign of infinity.”

Numbers Sky Mirrors Series Statements Symbols Poetry Is Infinity Pool Equations

Book:The Complete Poems of Carl Sandburg

Source: The Complete Poems of Carl Sandburg

“Poetry is a section of river-fog and moving boat-lights, delivered between bridges and whistles, so one says, 'Oh!' and another, 'How?'”

Light Moving Rivers Boat Bridges Poetry Is Sections Fog

Book:The Complete Poems of Carl Sandburg

Source: The Complete Poems of Carl Sandburg

“Poetry is a kinetic arrangement of static syllables.”

Poetry Is Arrangements Static Syllables

Book:The Complete Poems of Carl Sandburg

Source: The Complete Poems of Carl Sandburg

“Poetry is the arithmetic of the easiest way and the primrose path, matched up with foam-flanked horses, bloody knuckles, and bones, on the hard ways to the stars.”

Way Hard Stars Path Horse Bones Poetry Is Bloody Arithmetic Matched Hard Way Foam Knuckles

Book:The Complete Poems of Carl Sandburg

Source: The Complete Poems of Carl Sandburg

About the Author

Born: January 6, 1878
Died: July 22, 1967
Known for: Writer
Quotes: 286

Related Topics

Poetry Is Literature Men Ifs People Poetry Knows Writing Life Years

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People Ifs Thinking Knows Men World Way Want Love Life Inspirational Needs Giving Feels Should Writing Trying Years Mind Firsts

Books & Sources

The Complete Poems of Carl SandburgRelated source material

Ever the Winds of ChanceRelated source material

Harvest Poems: 1910-1960Related source material

The People, YesRelated source material

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Selected poemsRelated source material

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Remembrance RockRelated source material

Chicago PoemsRelated source material

Chicago Poems: UnabridgedRelated source material

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