Biography of Carl Sandburg

Biography of Carl Sandburg Carl Sandburg was an American poet who became widely known to the public not only for his poetry but for his multi-volume biography of Abraham Lincoln. As a literary celebrity, Sandburg was familiar to millions. He appeared on the cover of LIFE magazine in 1938, with the accompanying photo essay focused on his sideline as a collector and singer of American folk songs. After Ernest Hemingway was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1954, he remarked that he would have been most happy had Carl Sandburg gotten the award. Fast Facts: Carl Sandburg Known For: Poet, literary celebrity, biographer of Abraham Lincoln, and collector and singer of American folk songsBorn: January 6, 1878 in Galesburg, IllinoisDied: July 22, 1967 in Flat Rock, North CarolinaParents: Clara Mathilda Anderson and August SandbergSpouse: Lillian SteichenEducation: Lombard CollegeAwards: Three Pulitzer prizes, two for poetry (1919 and 1951) and one for history (1940) Early Life and Poetry Carl Sandburg was born January 6, 1878, in Galesburg, Illinois. He was educated in local schools, which he quit in his early teens to work as a laborer. He became a traveling worker, moving throughout the Midwest and developing a great appreciation for the region and its people. After joining the Army during the Spanish-American War, Sandburg returned to his education, enrolling in a college at Galesburg. During that period he wrote his first poetry. He worked as a journalist and as the secretary for the socialist mayor of Milwaukee from 1910 to 1912. He then moved to Chicago and took a job as an editorial writer for the Chicago Daily News. While working in journalism and politics he began writing poetry seriously, contributing to magazines. He published his first book, Chicago Poems, in 1916. Two years later he published another volume, Cornhuskers, which was followed after another two years by Smoke and Steel. A fourth volume, Slabs of the Sunburnt West, was published in 1922. Cornhuskers was awarded a Pulitzer Prize for poetry in 1919. He would later be awarded the Pulitzer Prize for poetry in 1951, for his Complete Poems. The cover of Life magazine features a close-up of American poet Carl August Sandburg (1878 - 1967), February 21, 1938. The LIFE Picture Collection / Getty Images His early poems have been called subliterary, as they tend to use common language and slang of the common people. With his early books he became known for his free verse that was rooted in the industrial Midwest. His plain manner of speaking and writing endeared him to the reading public and helped make him a celebrity. His poem Fog, was known to millions of Americans, and appeared often in schoolbooks. He had married Lillian Steichen, the sister of photographer Edward Steichen, in 1908. The couple had three daughters. The Lincoln Biography In 1926, Sandburg published the first volumes of what would become his massive biography of Abraham Lincoln. The project, which was originally conceived to be the story of Lincoln in Illinois, was influenced not only by Sandburgs own fascination with the Midwest, but with a circumstance of timing. Sandburg had known Civil War veterans and other local people who retained vivid memories of Lincoln. The college Sandburg attended had been the site of one of the 1858 Lincoln-Douglas debates. As a student, Sandburg came to know people who recalled attending the debate five decades earlier. Sandburg engaged in countless hours of research, seeking out Lincoln scholars and collectors. He assembled the mountain of material into artful prose that brought Lincoln to life on the page. The Lincoln biography eventually stretched into six volumes. After writing the two volumes of The Prairie Years, Sandburg felt compelled to continue, writing four volumes of The War Years. In 1940 Sandburgs Abraham Lincoln: The War Years was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for History. He eventually published an abridged edition of the Lincoln biography, and also shorter books on Lincoln for young readers. For many Americans of the mid-20th century, Carl Sandburg and Lincoln were somewhat inseparable. Sandburgs depiction of Lincoln was how countless Americans came to view the 16th president. Carl Sandburg eulogizing Lincoln at a joint session of Congress. Getty Images   Public Acclaim Sandburg put himself in front of the public, at times going on tour playing his guitar and singing folk songs. In the 1930s and 1940s he would appear on the radio, reading poems or essays hed written on American life. During World War II he wrote a regular column about life on the American home front which was carried in a number of newspapers. He continued to write and publish poetry throughout his life, but it was always his association with Lincoln that gained him the greatest respect from the public. On Lincolns 150th birthday, February 12, 1959, Sandburg enjoyed the very rare honor of addressing a joint session of Congress. From the podium in the chamber of the House of Representatives he spoke eloquently of Lincolns struggles during the Civil War and what Lincolns legacy meant to America. Carl Sandburg visiting President Kennedy in the Oval Office. Getty Images In October 1961, Sandburg visited Washington, D.C., from his farm in North Carolina, to help open an exhibit of Civil War artifacts. He stopped by the White House to visit President John F. Kennedy, and the two men spoke of history and, of course, Lincoln. Carl Sandburg died on July 22, 1967, at Flat Rock, North Carolina. His death was front-page news across America, and he was mourned by millions who felt as if they had known the unpretentious poet from the Midwest. Sources: Sandburg, Carl. Gale Contextual Encyclopedia of American Literature, vol. 4, Gale, 2009, pp. 1430-1433. Gale Virtual Reference Library.Allen, Gay Wilson. Sandburg, Carl 1878-1967. American Writers: A Collection of Literary Biographies, edited by Leonard Unger, vol. 3: Archibald MacLeish to George Santayana, Charles Scribners Sons, 1974, pp. 575-598. Gale Virtual Reference Library.Carl Sandburg. Encyclopedia of World Biography, 2nd ed., vol. 13, Gale, 2004, pp. 461-462. Gale Virtual Reference Library.

SAT Mathematics Level 2 Subject Test Information

SAT Mathematics Level 2 Subject Test Information The SAT Mathematics Level 2 Subject Test challenges you in the same areas as the Math Level 1 Subject Test with the addition of more difficult trigonometry and precalculus. If youre a rock star when it comes to all things math, then this is the test for you. Its designed to put you in your best light for those admissions counselors to see. The SAT Math Level 2 Test is one of many SAT Subject Tests offered by the College Board. These puppies are not the same thing as the good old   SAT. SAT Mathematics Level 2 Subject Test Basics After you register for this bad boy, youre going to need to know what youre up against. Here are the basics: 60 minutes50 multiple-choice questions200-800 points possibleYou may use a graphing or scientific calculator on the exam, and just like with the Mathematics Level 1 Subject test, youre not required to clear the memory before it begins in case you want to add formulas. Cell phone, tablet, or computer calculators are not allowed. SAT Mathematics Level 2 Subject Test Content Numbers and Operations Operations, ratio and proportion, complex numbers, counting, elementary number theory, matrices, sequences, series, vectors: Approximately 5-7 questions Algebra and Functions Expressions, equations, inequalities, representation and modeling, properties of functions (linear, polynomial, rational, exponential, logarithmic, trigonometric, inverse trigonometric, periodic, piecewise, recursive, parametric): Approximately 19 – 21 questions Geometry and Measurement Coordinate (lines, parabolas, circles, ellipses, hyperbolas, symmetry, transformations, polar coordinates): Approximately 5 – 7 questionsThree-dimensional (solids, surface area and volume of cylinders, cones, pyramids, spheres, and prisms along with coordinates in three dimensions): Approximately 2 – 3 questionsTrigonometry: (right triangles, identities, radian measure, the law of cosines, law of sines, equations, double angle formulas): Approximately 6 – 8 questions Data Analysis, Stats, and Probability Mean, median, mode, range, interquartile range, standard deviation, graphs and plots, least squares regression (linear, quadratic, exponential), probability: Approximately 4 – 6 questions Why Take the SAT Mathematics Level 2 Subject Test? Because you can. This test is for those of you shining stars out there who find math pretty easy. Its also for those of you headed into math-related fields like economics, finance, business, engineering, computer science, etc. and typically those two types of people are one and the same. If your future career relies on mathematics and numbers, then youre going to want to showcase your talents, especially if youre trying to get into a competitive school. In some cases, youll be required to take this test if youre headed into a mathematics field, so be prepared! How to Prepare for the SAT Mathematics Level 2 Subject Test The College Board recommends more than three years of college-preparatory mathematics, including two years of algebra, one year of geometry, and elementary functions (precalculus) or trigonometry or both. In other words, they recommend that you major in math in high school. The test is definitely difficult but is really the tip of the iceberg if youre headed into one of those fields. To get yourself prepared, make sure youve taken and scored at the top of your class in the courses above. Sample SAT Mathematics Level 2 Question Speaking of the College Board, this question, and others like it, are available for free. They also provide a detailed explanation of each answer. By the way, the questions are ranked in order of difficulty in their question pamphlet from 1 to 5, where 1 is the least difficult and 5 is the most. The question below is marked as a difficulty level of 4. For some real number t, the first three terms of an arithmetic sequence are 2t, 5t - 1, and 6t 2. What is the numerical value of the fourth term? (A) 4(B) 8(C) 10(D) 16(E) 19 Answer: Choice (E) is correct. To determine the numerical value of the fourth term, first determine the value of t and then apply the common difference. Since 2t, 5t − 1, and 6t 2 are the first three terms of an arithmetic sequence, it must be true that (6t 2) − (5t − 1) (5t − 1) − 2t, that is, t 3 3t − 1. Solving t 3 3t − 1 for t gives t 2. Substituting 2 for t in the expressions of the three first terms of the sequence, one sees that they are 4, 9 and 14, respectively. The common difference between consecutive terms for this arithmetic sequence is 5 14 − 9 9 − 4, and therefore, the fourth term is 14 5 19. Good luck!