cover image Old Troubadour: Carl Sandburg with His Guitar Friends

Old Troubadour: Carl Sandburg with His Guitar Friends

Gregory Dalessio. Walker & Company, $18.95 (196pp) ISBN 978-0-8027-0966-0

A New York syndicated cartoonist, art teacher and guitarist lovingly recalls his 20-year friendship with Carl Sandburg, who often stayed in his home in Manhattan's Yorkville. The aging poet, having been a longtime admirer of Andres Segovia, got in touch with members of the Society of the Classic Guitar in 1948 and contributed some texts for their Guitar Review, which d'Alessio edited. The book celebrates Sandburg's ruggedness and ""aw-shucks'' simplicity; his great pleasure in singing, playing and listening to the guitar; his acquaintance with Tallulah Bankhead and Marilyn Monroe; and his adventures in acquiring many guitars. Hitherto unpublished photographs and drawings of Sandburg and his friends add to the charm of this memoir. (July 29)