VLA 2006 Annual Meeting

This year's annual meeting of the Vachel Lindsay Association will be held Sunday, November 12 at noon at the PAC Restaurant at the University of Illinois at Springfield. Brunch will be served and the featured speaker will be Lee Gurga, author of Haiku: A Poet's Guide.

Mr. Gurga was the winner of the Haiku Society of America's Best Book of Criticism, 2004. He is a former editor of Modern Haiku, the longest-running journal of Haiku and Haiku studies in English. He is current editor of Modern Haiku Press. He recently received the 2006 Cultural Award from the Japan-America Society of Chicago. He is a former member of the VLA Board of Directors.

Lindsay subject of conference session in Springfield

Springfield, Illinois - On October 13, 2006, a session of the IHPA's 8th annual Conference on Illinois History was devoted to Vachel Lindsay and it was my honor to present a paper at the session. My paper discussed the newly-discovered Lindsay annotations on Cram and Lindsay's utopian vision for Springfield as presented by the poet to my great-grandmother, Lyna Souther.

The session was titled, "Walled Towns to Pre-Urban Giants: Topographical Town Scenes in Vachel Lindsay's Universe." Samuel J. Rogal presented a paper titled, "Vachel Lindsay's Chicago," while mine was titled, "Vachel Lindsay and 'Walled Towns'". Dan Guillory moderated the session and commented on the papers.

100 years ago

100 years ago on September 4, 1906, on the last night of the return crossing from the European tour he took with his parents, Vachel Lindsay had one his visions. Quoting Ruggles:

"Last night," he wrote, "I saw Immanuel singing in the New Heaven . . . in a bright grassy place . . . singing almost alone . . . singing wonderfully, as become a son of David. He was almost as simple a shepherd as David, and his robe was Angelico red. His lips scarcely sng at all, it was his harp that sang. And some one listening behind me said. 'It is Immanuel.'"

Harriet Monroe

It would be difficult to overstate the importance of Harriet Monroe (left) in Vachel Lindsay's career. In 1912, as she was researching prospective contributors for her brainchild magazine, Poetry, she found Vachel in an issue of the American and contacted him through that magazine.

Lindsay, fresh from the road on his last great tramp, responded with a large envelope full of verses including General William Booth Enters into Heaven. The appearance of that poem in Monroe's magazine in January, 1913 was the break-through event that secured Lindsay's place in American letters. Monroe later called it "a great event in the art."

Monroe remained a loyal friend and ally of Lindsay's for the rest of his life.

Lindsay home featured in Heartland Magazine

Heartland Magazine, the weekly pullout in The State Journal-Register, featured the Vachel Lindsay Home in its September 8, 2006 edition. The story, titled "Where Time Stands Still", was written by DiAnne Crown with photographs by Shannon Kirschner.

Feature stories such as this appear in the local newspapers from time to time serving to remind Springfield of the unique imprint left on the town by Lindsay, but this particular story features some of the best and most artistically conceived images of the interior of the home and its treasures ever presented in print.

The Vachel Lindsay Association is always deeply appreciative of the attention paid to Lindsay by the media, and we are excited to see Lindsay and the VL Home presented in such an attractive light.

About the image

We don't know who photographed the image above, a stunning take on the Vachel Lindsay bust by Adrien Voisin, but we found it at http://www.poetryfoundation.org/. We'll devote other posts to Poetry, Harriet Monroe and the Voisin bust.

Neighborhood walk photos

The 4th annual Vachel Lindsay Home Neighborhood walk was a great success by all accounts. These photos were sent to me by Jennie Battles, Site Administrator of the VL Home, and were taken by her husband. That's me addressing the throng in front of the First Christian Church.

Below, we are gathered on the front steps of the Elijah Iles House on the corner of Seventh and Cook Streets, just one block from its original location on Sixth and Cook where the First Christian Church now stands.

Walking tour of Lindsay's neighborhood

Just a quick note to say I'll be speaking at the Vachel Lindsay Home neighborhood walk tomorrow morning at 9:15 A.M. The first stop after gathering at the Lindsay home will be the First Christian Church (pictured here). This was the church where the Lindsay family worshipped and where Lindsay gave his last public recital. This Gothic Revival structure was built in 1912 on the southwest corner of Sixth and Cook Streets, the original site of the Elijah Iles House. I found the image of the church here, along with a reference to one of my great-great-great-grandfathers, Richard Latham.

The Iles House, Springfield's oldest surviving structure by 1910, was going to be demolished to make way for the new church. Recognizing the historical importance of the house, Latham and Lyna Souther purchased the structure and moved it to another location, making it their home for the rest of their lives and saving it for future generations.

Souther's family had been members of the church and were family friends of the Lindsay's for many years. Latham, who followed his father in the banking business, became the trust officer of the estate of Vachel's father and was intimately involved in the Lindsay family finances. His wife, Lyna Souther, was a good friend of Vachel's and collaborated with him in the creation of Springfield's municipal flag.

The next stop on the walking tour will be the Elijah Iles House, which has been moved back closer to its original location. I'll discuss Lindsay's visit to the house sometime around 1920, and discuss the book he gave to Lyna filled with critical annotations on his vision for Springfield.

The Ford Garage

This is a "before" shot of the Ford Garage in Springfield taken in the Spring of 2005. The building now has been restored to the tune of $5 million according to a story by Lisa Kernek in the State-Journal Register on June 28, 2006.

Its owner, Illinois National Bank, could have simply renovated the structure for far less money. Instead, they restored the building to meet the standards of the National Register of Historic Places.

Vachel Lindsay knew and loved this building. It was built right around the corner from his house, on the northwest corner of 4th and Jackson Streets.

In annotations he left in a copy of Walled Towns by R.A. Cram, Lindsay listed the Ford Garage in Springfield along with Bush Terminal Building, the Times Building, the Golden Door of the Transportation Building, by Louis Sullivan, and the Dana-Thomas House, by Frank Lloyd Wright, as examples of an architectural spirit in the tradition of John Ruskin, an architecture born of the soil like the Gothic in Europe.

"All these are modern forms, born in this soil, yet capable of development in the spirit of Cram's book, or Ruskin's wonderful description of the nature of Gothic," wrote Lindsay around 1920.

The Elijah Iles House and Vachel

Newer research reveals historic connections between The Vachel Lindsay Home and The Elijah Iles House (shown here) in Springfield, Illinois. For instance, the purchaser of the Iles House who rescued it from destruction in 1910, Latham T. Souther, was the trust officer of the Lindsay family estate. Latham's wife, Lyna Souther, was a leading figure in the Springfield Art Association who worked with Lindsay on the design contest for Springfield's municipal flag. Lindsay was known to have visited Lyna at the Iles House, probably to present her with a book by another author which he had filled with critical annotations on the subject of Utopia.

Lyna and Latham Souther are remembered and honored today for their forward-looking investment in the Elijah Iles House without which Springfield would have lost this precious jewel in her crown.

The Elijah Iles House is now the home of The Farrell and Ann Gay Museum of Springfield History, the first-ever museum dedicated to Springfield history. The premier exhibit is "A Time to Remember," featuring Mr. Gay's own extensive collection of Illinois watches and Illinois Watch Company memorabilia. The curators of the exhibit are Ed Russo and the Vachel Lindsay Association's own Corrine Frisch and they have done a fantastic job indeed.

Vachel Lindsay made specific reference to the Illinois Watch Company in The Golden Book of Springfield. The watch company had its own observatory during Lindsay's time, which explains why Lindsay describes it in 2018 as a place where microscope and telescope lenses are made. "A Time to Remember" features a beautiful display of the observatory.

VLA Board member pens new title

Dan Guillory, a longtime member of the Vachel Lindsay Association Board of Directors as well as an author and historian, has produced a new volume of Images of America entitled Wartime Decatur 1832-1945.

Dan examines the town's wartime experiences from the Black Hawk War to World War Two. These experiences include the founding of the Grand Army of the Republic and the tradition of the Decatur Canteen. Dan discovered a cache of photographs and documents from World War One locked away in a library while researching the book, providing an excellent resource for his work.

Dan was a professor of English for 37 years, earning his Ph.D. at Tulane University in 1972. He is presently Professor Emeritus of English at Millikin University in Decatur.

Dan's other titles include Decatur (Images of America: Illinois), Living With Lincoln: Life and Art in the Heartland, When the Waters Recede: Rescue and Recovery During the Great Flood, and The Alligator Inventions.

The VLA is lucky to have such a talent on the Board.

Navigating the Maze

The Vachel Lindsay Association has been a proud co-sponsor of the Poets and Writers Literary Forum's annual anthology of poetry by young people, Navigating the Maze, for the past couple of years. We're really impressed by the quality of the work by the contributors.

Local Lindsay interpreter Job Conger, who served as the first president of the P&WLF, blogs here on the recent reading from this year's edition at the Hoogland Center in Springfield.

Visit the Lindsay home online!

The Vachel Lindsay Home is an Illinois state historic site and a national treasure. If you live in or around Springfield and haven't visited the house, you're really missing out. "When glad vacation time" begins and you're planning to visit Springfield, perhaps to see the Abraham Lincoln home or presidential museum, you really should make it a point to drop by the Lindsay home and take a free tour. After all, don't you really know all there is to know about Lincoln already? Do what Lindsay would do and get the best hotel room in town and stay an extra day just to see this gem of a home.

If it is utterly impossible for you make it to the Lindsay home, or you simply want to avoid the hoards of philistine tourists (ha!), the next best thing is to treat yourself to a virtual tour on your computer, especially if you have a high-speed connection. Even if you still are struggling with a dial-up connection (like myself), the download time is well worth the wait. It takes longer for me to download the virtual tour than to get in my car and drive there, but that's not saying a lot.

The virtual tour consists of several 360 degree panoramic images inside and outside the house, upstairs and downstairs. The first image will show the great difference between the appearance of the house today compared to the image shown on this post. See the gorgeous furniture and zoom in on the splendid reproductions of Lindsay's original artwork, such as the Shield of Lucifer or the Wedding of the Rose and the Lotus. Let the virtual tour entice you into making a pilgrimage to this shrine of American poetry.

Thanks to the good offices of the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency, the virtual tour of the Lindsay home is available 24 hours a day, 365 days of the year. And you won't have to worry about tracking in mud on the carpet or your kid knocking over some priceless Lindsay heirloom. And it's always a sunny day at the virtual Lindsay home, only without the heat, glare and dangerous UV ray exposure of actual sunshine.

Visit NOW!

One hundred years ago today

It was Sunday morning in the middle of March. I was stranded in Jacksonville, Florida. After breakfast I had five cents left. Joyously I purchased a sack of peanuts, then started northwest on the railway ties straight toward that part of Georgia marked "Swamp" on the map.

Sunset found me in a pine forest. I decided to ask for a meal and lodging at the white house looming half a mile ahead just by the track. I prepared a speech to this effect: - "I am the peddler of dreams. I am the sole active member of the ancient brotherhood of the troubadours. It is against the rules of our order to receive money. We have a habit of asking a night's lodging in exchange for repeating verses and fairy tales."

Vachel Lindsay, A Handy Guide for Beggars

One hundred years ago today

On March 3, 1906, Vachel Lindsay left New York City on a boat to Florida. He planned to walk all the way from Jacksonville, Florida to his parent's home in Springfield with nothing more than a letter of recommendation from the YMCA and some printed copies of The Tree of Laughing Bells bound in red covers.

It was the start of his career as a tramp, which fueled his best writing over the years. He would walk across the countryside by day and toward evening would seek the hospitality of strangers, "trading rhymes for bread." To Lindsay, these encounters evoked the spirit of Christ.

THE TRAMP'S EXCUSE

My Goddess is the road.
Behold her wings outspread,
Her robe of sunny floss
And the stars about her head.

I am her spider-slave,
Too frail to aid her fame.
I spin an endless thread
In her embroidery frame.

The framework is the Town,
The web, a coil of friends -
Endless it seems, and yet
I know when Winter ends,

The road will be my bride
The road will set me free:
Strangers with magic bread
Will make a man of me.

Mentions of the week

A fan of the late Gen. William Booth has 'GENERAL WILLIAM BOOTH ENTERS INTO HEAVEN' posted here. This was Lindsay's 'breakthrough' poem. It appeared in Harriett Monroe's magazine, Poetry, in 1913. Monroe later called it "a geat event in art."

'THE DANDELION' is posted here.

A bit of "TO GLORIANA" is posted here.

For the full moon, Claudia in England posted "WHAT THE GRAY-WINGED FAIRY SAID" here.

The Lindsay-Teasdale courtship is recounted here.

Bob's Blog of Poetry lists Lindsay as an inspiration here.

"Poets in the Parlor" to feature Dr. Marcellus Leonard

Poet Professor Marcellus Leonard, author of Shake Down the Thunder, will give a performance of his work at a "Poets in the Parlor" appearance at the Vachel Lindsay Home State Historic Site on Saturday, February 11, at 2:30 in the afternoon.

Leonard is an Associate Professor of English at the University of Illinois at Springfield as well as the University Ombudsman. He holds a PhD in Teaching Writing from Illinois State University.

This will be Dr. Leonard's second appearance at the Vachel Lindsay Home. His singular rendition of Lindsay's "The Congo" at his first appearance gave a whole new dimension to the piece. First published in 1914, the poem bills itself as "A Study of the Negro Race" and its first subheading reads, "On Their Basic Savagery." It's still Lindsay's most famous work, but it has always been controversial. Lindsay grew to detest the poem and the incessant calls for him to perform it, sensing that much of his audiences' appreciation for it was basically racist.

Leonard's own work is the real draw, though. His poetry is lyrical and sensuous, subtle yet honest. Come experience the warmth and vitality of the man and his talent.

VLA Prez interviews famous historian

Corrine Frisch, President of the Vachel Lindsay Association, interviews historian Doris Kearns Goodwin, author of the new bestseller, Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln, in this week's Illinois Times. This is not to be missed.

Goodwin will appear in Springfield for book signings and talks on Saturday, February 11, both at the Old State Capitol and at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum. I'm hoping to get a book signed myself. How about you?

Mentions of the Week

Lindsay is mentioned in blog post of biographical information on the poet Robert Frost here:

1918 - Meets Vachel Lindsay, Sara Teasdale, and James Oppenheim. Pleased when Lesley leaves college after her freshman year to do war work in an aircraft factory. During national epidemic, Frost suffers severe case of influenza that lasts for months.

Lindsay is mentioned in an arty blog post about the Beat poet, Jack Micheline, here, that connects Lindsay to the Beats in an important way. I call the post "arty" because the font is black and the background also is black. To see the text you have to change the text color, and the easiest way is to do that is to select the text with your cursor (Ctrl+A is good keyboard command for PCs for this). Sigh. I'll do you the favor of quoting it here:

He began his travelling at the age of seventeen and didn't stop until he was twenty-six. Now he found a home in the streets of Greenwich Village, where he lived the next five years. Rapidly Micheline identified himself with the tradition of American street poets, such as Vachel Lindsay and Maxvell Bodenheim. He walked the streets of the Village and Harlem listening to jazz, digging the vitality and humanity amongst poor people. He found a friend in the black poet Langston Hughes who encouraged him in his writing.

Speaking of the Beats, a poem by Allen Ginsburg that mentions Lindsay is posted here.

A teenager posted "Abraham Lincoln Walks at Midnight" here.

The Langston Hughes discovery once again is recounted here.

Mention of the day

The story of Lindsay's discovery of the Harlem Renaissance poet Langston Hughes at the Wardman Park Hotel in Washington, D.C. is recounted here today.

Also, on Tuesday, a French language blog cited Lindsay's 1915 book, The Art of the Motion Picture (about a third of the way down the page).

100 years ago

One of the self-appointed tasks of this blog will be to chronicle Lindsay's life "100 years ago today." Without ready access to his diaries and notebooks, the biographies will have to serve as the source of these proposed entries.

The West-Going Heart: A Life of Vachel Lindsay by Eleanor Ruggles remains the definitive Lindsay biography. Ruggles provides plenty of dates, but there are some long gaps such the one between December 23, 1905 and March 3, 1906.

One hundred years ago today, Lindsay was living in New York City, working by day for the Nicholls Gas Tubing Works and teaching art by night at the YMCA. He and some of his friends had formed a club for the purpose of sharing nightly suppers. The fact that they engaged a cook and a young boy to serve them dinner brought a stern rebuke from Lindsay's father, who didn't approve of the direction Lindsay's life was taking.