Carl Sandburg
Carl Sandburg, earlier years. Source: Wikimedia Commons
Carl Sandburg (1878-1967) was an American poet, writer, and editor known for his free verse poetry and his biography of Abraham Lincoln. He was born in Galesburg, Illinois, to Swedish immigrant parents. Sandburg's poetry often focused on American life, particularly the experiences of working-class people.
One of Sandburg's notable works is his poem "The Eastland," which was written in response to the SS Eastland disaster in Chicago on July 24, 1915. This tragedy occurred when the passenger ship Eastland capsized while still moored to its dock in the Chicago River, resulting in the deaths of 844 passengers and crew members.
The poem "The Eastland" was published in Sandburg's 1916 collection Chicago Poems. It's a powerful and somber piece that captures the horror and grief of the disaster.
The Eastland by Carl Sandburg, 1878-1967
Source: Illinois Library - Ideals
Let's be honest now
For a couple of minutes
Even though we're in Chicago.
Since you ask me about it,
I let you have it straight;
My guts ain't ticklish about the Eastland.
It was a hell of a job, of course
To dump 2,500 people in their clean picnic clothes
All ready for a whole lot of real fun
Down into the dirty Chicago river without any warning.
Women and kids, wet hair and scared faces,
The coroner hauling truckloads of the dripping dead
To the Second Regiment armory where doctors waited
With useless pulmotors and the eight hundred motionless stiff
Lay ready for their relatives to pick them out on the floor
And take them home and call up the undertaker. . .
Well I was saying
My guts ain't ticklish about it.
I got imagination: I see a pile of three thousand dead people
Killed by the con, tuberculosis, too much work and not enough fresh air and green groceries . . .
A lot of cheap roughnecks and the women and children of wops, and hardly any bankers and
corporation lawyers or their kids, die from the con-three thousand a year in Chicago and a
hundred and fifty thousand a year in the United States-all from the con and not enough
fresh air and green groceries...
If you want to see excitement, more noise and crying than you ever heard in one of these big
disasters the newsboys clean up on,
Go and stack in a high pile all the babies that die in Christian Philadelphia, New York, Boston, and
Chicago in one year before aforesaid babies haven't had enough good milk;
On top the pile put all the little early babies pulled from mothers willing to be torn with abortions
rather than bring more children into the world--
Jesus, that would make a front page picture for the Sunday papers
And you could write under it:
Morning glories
Born from the soil of love,
Yet now perished.
Have you ever stood and watched the kids going to work of a morning? White faces, skinny legs
and arms, slouching along rubbing the sleep out of their eyes on the go to hold their jobs?
Can you imagine a procession of all the whores of a big town, marching and marching with painted
faces and mocking struts, all the women who sleep in faded hotels and furnished rooms
with any man coming along with a dollar or five dollars?
Or all the structual iron workers, railroad men and factory hands in mass formation with stubs of
arms and stumps of legs, bodies broken and hacked while bosses yelled, "Speed-no
slack- go to it!"?
Or two by two all the girls and women who go to the hind doors of restaurants and through the
alleys and on the market street digging into the garbage barrels to get scraps of stuff to eat?
By the living Christ, these would make disaster pictures to paste on the front pages of the
newspapers.
Yes, the Eastland was a dirty bloody job--bah!
I see a dozen Eastlands
Every morning on my way to work
And a dozen more going home at night.
Analysis of Carl Sandburg's "The Eastland"
1. Tone and Style:
The poem begins with a call for honesty, setting a frank and direct tone.
Sandburg uses colloquial language ("guts ain't ticklish") to create an informal, conversational style.
The blunt, almost detached narration contrasts sharply with the tragedy being described.
2. The Eastland Disaster:
Sandburg vividly describes the capsizing of the SS Eastland in the Chicago River.
He emphasizes the scale of the tragedy: "2,500 people in their clean picnic clothes".
The contrast between the victims' expectations ("ready for a whole lot of real fun") and the grim reality is stark.
3. Imagery:
Graphic descriptions create a haunting scene: "wet hair and scared faces", "truckloads of the dripping dead".
The image of bodies laid out for identification is particularly poignant.
4. Social Commentary:
Sandburg uses the Eastland disaster as a springboard to discuss broader societal issues.
He compares the 800 Eastland deaths to 3,000 annual deaths from "the con" (likely referring to consumption, or tuberculosis).
The poem criticizes social inequalities, noting that victims are mostly working-class ("cheap roughnecks", "wops") rather than the wealthy ("bankers and corporation lawyers").
5. Broader Context:
Sandburg expands the scope to include other preventable deaths: babies dying from lack of "good milk", and abortions due to poverty.
He suggests these ongoing tragedies are more significant than sensational disasters, though they receive less attention.
6. Irony and Critique:
The final image of "morning glories" contrasts sharply with the grim subject matter, possibly criticizing how society beautifies or ignores ongoing tragedies.
Sandburg critiques media sensationalism, suggesting that systemic issues causing ongoing deaths would "make a front page picture.”
7. Structure:
The poem is written in free verse, with no regular rhyme or meter.
It moves from the specific (the Eastland disaster) to the general (societal issues), then ends with a powerful, ironic image.
Overall, "The Eastland" is a searing indictment of social inequality and societal indifference to ongoing tragedies, using the Eastland disaster as a starting point for a broader critique.
©2024 Natalie Zett
Sandburg’s early poetry shows another, edgier side of the poet (article from The Palm Beach Post, November 21, 1993)
Back in 1993, a fascinating side of Carl Sandburg was rediscovered, offering a glimpse into his early work that many may not have known. Ironically, I discovered this book just as I was beginning to research the Eastland Disaster—and I’ve never thought of Carl Sandburg in the same way since.
A collection of his poems, Billy Sunday and Other Poems, shows a courageous young Sandburg, unafraid to speak out boldly against the social injustices of his time. These poems, written between 1915 and the 1920s, were considered too raw and controversial to publish while he was alive.
In these works, Sandburg confronts issues like worker exploitation, poverty, and societal ills with powerful, direct language. One particularly striking poem, The Eastland, reflects his outrage over the 1915 Eastland disaster, where more than 800 people tragically lost their lives. Sandburg uses this event as a metaphor for broader issues, including homelessness, untreated diseases, and the struggles of the working class.
George Hendrick, a professor who worked with Sandburg’s papers, points out that these poems reveal a different side of the poet. While Sandburg later became known for his epic volumes on Abraham Lincoln and his more gentle, folksy poetry, these early poems show a man unafraid to challenge the status quo and speak truth to power.
Although many of these poems were rejected by publishers, Hendrick and his wife worked to bring them to light, showing us a Sandburg who used his voice to fight for the causes he believed in. This 1993 discovery enriches our understanding of his evolution as a poet and highlights the courage he displayed early in his career. @2004 Natalie Zett
In this video, we commemorate the 109th anniversary of the Eastland disaster by highlighting the individuals whose stories have been covered in our podcast since November 2023. These untold narratives honor the memory and legacy of those affected by the tragedy. Here is the link to the complete video: https://tinyurl.com/2bps9bvt
