The Many Lives of Carl Sandburg
/Sandburg’s playful poem “Pencils” reminds us that even the simplest object can hold surprising depth—much like the man himself.
Pencils
Pencils are to hold when you write.
Pencils come loose unless you hold them.
One pencil writes many thousand words, if
you know the words.
Pencils too pointed break their points and
then laugh at you.
Blunt pencils write big long words for you
even if the words mean nothing.
Proud pencils get furious waiting to be sharpened.
Long pencil stubs say, “I write and I forget and
leave it to the paper to remember.”
Pencils in pockets and boxes shove each other and
nearly come to fighting.
They wait to be found before they write again—
the lost pencils.
JOhn Quinley
When John Quinley volunteered to be a docent at the Carl Sandburg Home Historic Site in 2019, he never imagined that he would author the book Discovering Carl Sandburg three years later. He certainly had no plans to write anything more. As it turned out, that was only the beginning.
The idea for the play The Many Lives of Carl Sandburg originated from a series of short, first-person, informal letters about Sandburg that John wrote, hoping they might become a newspaper series. He submitted a sample to newspapers in the Flat Rock area and in Galesburg, Illinois, where Sandburg was born.
That effort went nowhere; however, the letters were eventually posted by the Sandburg Historical Association in Galesburg, and many have since appeared through the Friends of Carl Sandburg, the Carl Sandburg Home Historic Site, and Flat Rock Together.
When John began to consider whether the letters might provide the foundation for a reader’s theater production, The Many Lives of Carl Sandburg was on its way. He was inspired by The World of Carl Sandburg, a theatrical presentation in the 1950s that ran on Broadway and in seventeen cities around the country; Sandburg Out Loud, a CD that used song, musical transitions, and multiple voices to present Sandburg’s poems and stories; and his own experience using narrative, dramatic readings, and songs in the eight-week Sandburg classes he taught at Furman, UNC-Asheville, and NC State.
John had no prior experience turning written letters into a theatrical script. Still, he worked steadily at it, shaping the material until it felt stage-ready. What began as informal letters gradually took on a different life.
Evolution of the Play
It took several months before the project began to gain traction. He pitched the play to the Flat Rock Theatre, two community theatre groups, and two local colleges—without success. When he sent the script to the theatre group at Furman University’s Osher Lifelong Learning Institute, however, it took only a few hours for them to reply, “We would love to do this play.” Because other productions were already in the works, nearly a year passed before the play was performed there.
Karen Moore
The next stop was Carolina Village in Hendersonville, which had a Reader’s Theater group. Even though John’s writing partner, Rick Rickerson, lived there, assembling a cast was not easy. About half of the group disliked the idea, while others were enthusiastic. In the end, a company came together and became the first to perform the play. Their audience of two hundred remains the largest to date.
A true turning point came when Ellen Sugarman, president of the Friends of Carl Sandburg at Connemara, asked John if he would be interested in speaking with a new member of their board, Karen Moore. Karen had a multifaceted career as an actor, director, playwright, radio host, and theatre educator. “I loved the play from the start,” says Karen. It was her vision and creativity that shaped the Sandburg Players and brought the play fully to life on stage. Her husband, Phil, assisted as stage manager.
Changes were made to the script based on suggestions from the various companies. After Karen observed that a good play should make you think, laugh, and cry, John revisited the script and added a section about Sandburg’s passing, including his final word, “Paula.” Like many creative projects, it went through revisions - and through more than a few printer cartridges along the way.
The Players
(L-R) Butch Adkins, David Leader, CC Blackburn, Meredith Kuhn, Lyn Morton, Eric Young, Judi Adkins
As with any production, the script is only part of the story. It depends on the people who bring it to life. The Sandburg Players - a group with a wide range of backgrounds and experience - have done just that.
The six members include:
David S. Leader spent the first sixty years of his life in Illinois, where he dutifully learned about Carl Sandburg in school (a fair trade, since school was closed for his birthday). David is a retired General Adult Psychiatrist and Medical Director. He has acted in productions by NC Stage and the Parkside Playhouse and sings in the Choir and Sacred Music team at Congregation Beth HaTephila in Asheville.
Eric Young has been acting since the turn of the century—the 2000s, not the 1900s. He ran his own theater group for over a decade and still returns to Long Island to present a simulated old-time radio play of A Christmas Carol. Locally, Eric is deeply involved in the theater community. In addition to his work in The Many Lives of Carl Sandburg, he has performed with the Connestee Falls Amateur Theater Society (CATS), participated in Reader’s Theater productions at the Silvermont Senior Center in Brevard, and taken the stage with Bard in Brevard.
CC Blackburn was raised in Palo Alto, California, and studied theatre in college before moving to New York City to chase the dream. After two years of pounding the pavement in search of theatre work, she transitioned into the hospitality industry with the Cunard Line, the TWA Getaway program, and the New York City office of Hong Kong-based Shangri-La Hotels. She is occasionally seen on stage at the Hendersonville Theatre.
Meredith Kuhn grew up in New Jersey, and her passions are acting and singing. She loves being able to do both in The Many Lives of Carl Sandburg. In recent years, Meredith has appeared in several readers’ theatre productions, including Dracula and Arsenic and Old Lace, and portrayed a townswoman in Anne of Green Gables. She is also part of an ensemble of women who perform monologues in the long-running production Mothers of the Bride.
Judi Ingram Adkins is a licensed psychotherapist who was in private practice in Atlanta for almost four decades and continues to see clients in her Hendersonville office. She has recently completed two hundred hours of yoga teacher training.
Lyn Morton was the founder and director of Montessori Early Childhood Center in Kingston, New York, until her retirement in 2003. She has found her post-retirement joy in all aspects of theater - acting, singing, and working backstage in various local productions. Recent credits include Eaddy in Four Old Broads at the Tryon Little Theater, Professor Plum in Clue, and Mort in Mort Landau’s Funeral Home at Hendersonville Theatre.
Butch Adkins lived in Atlanta, Georgia, for fifty-five years. He retired from Delta Airlines as a Senior Systems Engineer and then began a new career as a Senior Project Manager for R.R. Donnelley & Sons. Butch performed music in the Atlanta area for many years in venues ranging from small coffeehouses to the Georgia World Congress Center. He now performs in venues around the Hendersonville area.
Finding a Stage Home(s)
Finding places to perform the play was no small task. John and Karen looked for venues that could provide space at no cost, had established membership groups, and would assist with promotion. John contacted potential sites, pointing out how the Sandburg story related to their missions. While several did not respond, the overall reception was positive.
The Friends of Carl Sandburg at Connemara provided financial support for flyers, posters, and supplies. The Friends also successfully submitted a grant proposal to the North Carolina Arts Council (a division of the Department of Natural and Cultural Resources) to provide modest stipends for the company’s performances in Henderson County.
To date, the Sandburg Players have performed ten times, with nine additional performances planned through June. These include religious centers (UUF Hendersonville, Jewish Community Center, Kanuga Conferences, Agudas Israel, St. John in the Wilderness, First United Methodist, and UUC Asheville); libraries (Hendersonville and Transylvania); schools (UNC-Asheville, Blue Ridge Community College, and Immaculata Catholic School); as well as the Silvermont Senior Center, Treska’s at Highland Lake, and the NC Writers Network at the Brandy Bar.
Audiences have responded warmly, often with standing ovations. Many say they are surprised by the range of Sandburg’s life and struck by how his belief in democracy and social justice still resonates.
Upcoming Performances
The next performance is at St. John in the Wilderness on March 15. Other local performances include Blue Ridge Community College on April 14, First United Methodist Church on April 15, Treska’s at Highland Lake on April 18, and the Carl Sandburg Home Historic Site on May 9.
The company looks forward to continuing the conversation — and to seeing familiar faces in the audience at future performances.
