Previously Unknown Sandburg Poem Discovered at U of I

A previously unpublished and unknown poem by Illinois poet Carl Sandburg was discovered last week in the University of Illinois’ Sandburg Archives.  The subject of the poem is guns.

The undated poem is entitled “A Revolver," and the university said  it was discovered last week by retired professor Ernie Gullerud, who has been indexing the Sandburg collection.

The short poem begins with the words: “Here is a revolver,” and ends, “And nothing in human philosophy persists more strangely than the old belief that God is always on the side of those who have the most revolvers.”

Valerie Hotchkiss, the head of the U of I’s Rare Book and Manuscript Library, says she’s sure of the poem’s authenticity, even though it is undated and unsigned. She says the smudgy small “f” and capital “A” on the page match other poems typed out by Sandburg.