News

'The Many Lives of Carl Sandburg' to be staged at Kanuga

By Lightning Reports, Published: December 25, 2025

Kanuga Conference Center will host a performance on Sunday, Jan. 11, of John W. Quinley’s “The Many Lives of Carl Sandburg,” a play celebrating the late American poet and journalist who spent the last 22 years of his life in Flat Rock.

The event includes a pre-show brunch beginning at 12:30 p.m. prior to the 2 p.m. performance.

Written by the author of “Discovering Carl Sandburg” and directed by Karen J. Moore, “The Many Lives of Carl Sandburg” brings six different players to the stage to tell the life story of its namesake through dramatic and humorous readings of poetry, prose and songs from Sandburg’s “American Songbag.”

The one-act play is as informative as it is entertaining and thought-provoking: Since its debut in summer 2025, the play has been performed eight times to full houses with standing ovations from the audiences.

“We are so excited to bring this production to Kanuga,” says Aimee Bostwick, senior advisor for program innovation at Kanuga. “The performance in the historic chapel at Kanuga offers a serene, forested backdrop in the Blue Ridge Mountains — the same natural surroundings Sandburg called home — during the Pulitzer Prize winner’s birthday week.”

The day begins with a brunch at 12:30 p.m. in Kanuga’s dining hall, with an exquisite menu created by Kanuga’s executive chef especially in honor of Carl Sandburg’s birthday and his home of Connemara in Flat Rock. The menu includes cherry jubilee French toast, housemade brioche, red pepper and artichoke frittatas, Southern hashbrown casserole, bacon-wrapped andouille sausage, fruit salad, brunch salad with roasted sweet potatoes and poached apples, vegan butternut bisque and sweet potato beignets.

Tickets are $50 (plus tax and fees) and include the pre-show buffet brunch in Kanuga's dining hall, the performance in the chapel, plus a post-show coffee, birthday cake and conversation with the playwright and cast in Kanuga’s fireplace lounge. Tickets available here.