Carl Sandburg is arguably one of the 20th century's greatest poets. His images of the working class in Chicago have helped to define the way we see the city, both then and now. This website serves as a tribute to Sandburg's vision of the "City of Big Shoulders." Below, you will find navigation tools for reading about his life, his poetry, and the images he has helped create.
Within the biography section, you will find a concise biography and timeline of his life; in the poetry and analysis sections, you'll find some of his more famous Chicago poems and a student's analysis of each one; in the tour section, we'll take you on a photo tour of the city so you can visually see the Chicago Sandburg wrote about and the one we see today.
Be sure to carefully read his poetry and hopefully by the time you leave this site, you will have gained a strong appreciation for the great city of Chicago.
This section contains a biography of Carl Sandburg. You can find out more about his life through a brief description and a timeline of important events.
Carl Sandburg's poetry is truly vivid in its imagery. You can find some of his selected poems here, as well as analysis from a student's perspective.
This section contains a photo tour of the city and a map of locations mentioned in various Sandburg poems.
