"Vachel Lindsay, the Man"

The Vachel Lindsay Association and the Vachel Lindsay Home State Historic Site will present the latest in the "Poets in the Parlor" series, "Vachel Lindsay, the Man," at 2:30 p.m. Saturday, March 10 at the Lindsay Home, 603 South Fifth Street, Springfield, Illinois.

The program will be presented by Marge Deffenbaugh, retired English teacher and Lindsay Home volunteer. Although she has written some poetry, Deffenbaugh's major focus has been on directing, performing and writing plays. The March 10 presentation will offer keen insights into Lindsay and his work.

The event is free and open to the public. Refreshments will be served following the program. Tours of the historic home will be offered both before and after the performance.

The Vachel Lindsay Home State Historic Site, administered by the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency, is the birthplace and longtime residence of poet, author and artist Nicholas Vachel Lindsay, 1879 - 1931. It is open Tuesday through Saturday from noon to 4 p.m. for free public tours.

New acquisition of Lindsayana

Found among stacks of old Life magazines purchased from rummage sales in Spokane, Washington, a collection of Lindsayana recently has been acquired by the Vachel Lindsay Association.

The collection is that of the Lindsays' neighbors during their later Spokane years, Mr. and Mrs. Frank Warburton Guilbert. Judging from the letters to the Guilberts by Vachel and Elizabeth included in the collection, they were great friends.

Here is a complete catalogue of the collection:


Lindsayana:

1. Village Magazine, Fourth Imprint with original envelope. Spine is separating but otherwise excellent condition. The separation of the spine appears to be due to age of adhesive rather than wear, as there are no signs of wear. The envelope is in fair condition with tears at the corners and yellowing around the edges. There are no marks or annotations.
2. Map of the Universe, Second Imprint with original envelope. Signed and numbered #1952. Excellent condition with no yellowing of the paper. The envelope is in good condition with some small tears and a fold line.
3. Litany of Washington Street, pamphlet, signed and numbered #1 of 55. Good condition with some yellowing and a faint, hair-sized mark on the cover. Some wear at the bottom edges of the front and back cover.
4. Litany of Thomas Jefferson’s Violin, pamphlet, signed and numbered #1 of 55. Inscribed to Marion Guilbert. Good condition with some yellowing and slight damage around the edges. The upper staple is off-center and a fold line was created on the cover due to opening against the staple.
5. The Virginians are Coming Again, broadside, signed and numbered #311. Good condition with some wear and damage on the edges. Accompanies August 13, 1929 letter from Elizabeth Lindsay to Mrs. Guilbert.

Periodicals:

1. Palms, March, 1928 edition. Inscribed to Mr. & Mrs. Guilbert, annotated and signed by Vachel Lindsay. Good condition.
2. Forum, January, 1928 edition. Dog-eared with damage on the cover, but otherwise fair condition. Brief Lindsay annotation on cover points reader to page 21, where is found the Elizabeth Conner Lindsay poem, “From the Northwest”. Also found inserted at page 21, a clipping of a Vachel Lindsay’s April 25, 1928 “Hometown Topics” column from the Spokane Chronicle titled, “Dancers and Singers for Spokane”.
3. The London Mercury, July, 1927 edition. Cover annotated and signed by Vachel Lindsay, inscribed to Mrs. Guilbert. Dog-eared cover front and back, otherwise good condition.
4. The Christian, September 22, 1927 edition. Cover annotated and signed by Vachel Lindsay, inscribed to Mrs. Guilbert. Good condition with slight fold lines.
5. The Dearborn Independent, September 17, 1927 edition. Annotated and signed by Vachel Lindsay, inscribed to Mrs. Guilbert. Good condition with slight fold line.
6. McCall’s, December, 1927 edition. Cover annotated and signed by Vachel Lindsay, inscribed to Mr. & Mrs. Guilbert. Fair condition with damage on the upper binding.

Letters:

1. September 24, 1927, from Elizabeth Lindsay to Mrs. Guilbert, with envelope, thanking her and Mr. Guilbert for entertaining Vachel one evening.
2. December 17, 1928, from Vachel Lindsay to Mr. & Mrs. Guilbert, on Drake Hotel stationery, no envelope.
3. December 31, 1928, from E.L. to The Guilberts, with envelope, thank-you note for Christmas gifts.
4. January 6, 1929, from E.L. to Mrs. Guilbert, no envelope, thank-you note for Christmas gifts.
5. April 26, 1929, from E.L. to Mrs. Guilbert, with envelope, advising of the Lindsay’s arrival in Springfield.
6. June 10, 1929, from E.L. to Mrs. Guilbert, with envelope and accompanying advertisement for The Litany of Washington Street and a clipping from the May 29, 1929 issue of The Christian Science Monitor with an article on the Lindsays’ return to Illinois from Spokane.
7. August 13, 1929, From E.L. to Mrs. Guilbert on Lindsay stationery, with envelope and accompanying broadside, The Virginians are Coming Again (see Lindsayana item #5 above), mentions reception given in the Lindsays’ honor by Carl and Julia Vrooman.
8. October 10, 1929, from E.L. to Mrs. Guilbert on Lindsay stationery, with envelope, discussing the Lindsays’ welcome back to Springfield and Vachel’s upcoming speaking tours.

Photographs:

1. 3x5 print of Vachel wearing hat and suitcoat, outdoors, facing camera, holding paper. Stamped “Frank W. Guilbert, Spokane Washington” on back.
2. 4x6 print of Vachel, Elizabeth and baby Susan outdoors in residential setting. Vachel is wearing same outfit and suitcoat as in the other pictures, hat in hand.
3. 4x6 print of Vachel wearing hat and suitcoat, outdoors, facing camera, hands in coat pockets, slightly out of focus.
4. 4x6 print of Vachel, same pose as photograph #3, off-center in frame.
5. 4x6 print of Vachel wearing suitcoat, in a greenhouse, surrounded by zinnias, hat in hand.

A west-going heart

Erin Hicks, an artist who blogs here, stopped over in Springfield several weeks ago to take in the Lincoln sites and she discovered Vachel. She blogs about her visit here. She made the watercolor paintings above during her travels.

Check out more of her work at her blog. She really has a lot of talent.

Some snippets

Would that I might link some poetry for you all.

"Vachel Lindsay's Women"

Springfield - The Vachel Lindsay Association and the Vachel Lindsay Home State Hitoric Site will present the next in the monthly 2007 "Poets in the Parlor" series, "Vachel Lindsay's Women," at 2:30 p.m. Saturday, February 10th at the Lindsay Home, 603 South Fifth Street.

Maurine Magliocco, Ph.D., who taught English and Journalism for 37 years at Western Illinois University, will be the presenter.

The event is free and open to the public. Refreshments will be served following the 30-45 minute program.

Tours of the historic home will be offered both before and after the performance. The video "Look Into Your Heart: The Challenge of Vachel Lindsay" may be viewed throughout the day and will also be available for purchase.

Immortal butterflies

Lew Jaffe, a collector of bookplates and a blogger, recently posted this image of an original pen and ink illustration by Vachel Lindsay.

According to Mr. Jaffe, Lindsay's obit (didn't say which newspaper) reported that the Rev. Clark Walter Cummings officiated at Lindsay's funeral. The sketch is dated 1931, the year Lindsay died.

Along either edge of the page Lindsay wrote the words, "Fine books are immortal butterflies that sweep the skies."

No indication is given as to what book this drawing was made in, but it probably wasn't a Lindsay title.

Poetry reading tonight

In the spirit of Lindsay's tramps across America, the Vachel Lindsay Association is proud to host an evening with internationally renowned poet Simon Pettet tonight at 7:00 in the Art Gallery at the Hoogland Center for the Arts. The public is invited to attend.

Mr. Pettet, an English-born poet, is a long time resident of New York’s Lower East Side. His new book of poems is called More Winnowed Fragments. Robert Creeley says of Pettet: “He sounds those same simplicities of profound music Blake also knew. He moves with a deft and practiced quiet. He speaks the truth. One critic describes the book as “Magical, revivifying, masterful — how many adjectives can dance on the tip of a pin?”

Joining Mr. Pettet this evening is Eero Ruuttila. Mr. Ruuttila manages Nesenkeag Farm and is the organizer of the annual Farm Day Poetry Reading series held on the banks of the Merrimack River where Thoreau camped, outside of Litchfield, New Hampshire. In addition to reading poems and stories from his travel and farm journals, Ruuttila travels with a simply framed photography show.

photo courtesy of www.jonbidwell.com

Major blog features Lindsay at poetry slam

Daily Kos, considered by many to be one of the most influential blogs on the Internet, was the scene of a virtual poetry slam hosted by blogger Darrell J. Gahm on Saturday, December 23, 2006. Gahm kicked off the event with "The Congo," "What the Moon Saw," and "The Doll on the Topmost Bough," all by Vachel Lindsay.

Knowing the essence of Lindsay's work, Gahm made an audio version of his own recitation of "The Congo" available at the blog.

Gahm referred to Lindsay as "relatively obscure". He appears to have come to him (or was reminded of him) by the new biography of King Leopold, "King Leopold's Ghost," that takes its title from "The Congo".

Looking back on the many blog entries mentioning Lindsay in 2006, the blogoshere may well breathe new life into interest not just in Vachel's poetry, but in all poetry.

Lindsay letter garners front page coverage

On Thursday, November 9, 2006, The State Journal-Register published a front page story by Pete Sherman about a 1928 typewritten letter from Vachel Lindsay to his Springfield High School English teacher and mentor, Susan Wilcox. The letter, which also contains handwritten annotations by Lindsay, was almost discarded but was saved by an errant breeze. The letter was offered to The Vachel Lindsay Association last September, but with so many libraries and museums around where it could be cared for properly, we had to decline it.

At the suggestion of former VLA President Bill Furry, the letter instead was presented to the Springfield High School Library on November 9, 2006. Read the SJ-R story here. A copy of the letter itself can be seen here (requires pdf reader).

The letter contains a reference to another important SHS alum and student of Miss Wilcox, Robert S. Fitzgerald, who would later become a renowned translator of the classics.

"Elizabeth and I were especially interested in the brilliant work of young Fitzgerald," Lindsay wrote of The Venture, a literary journal put together by Wilcox and her students.

Happy Birthday

100 years ago today, 27-year-old Vachel Lindsay celebrated his birthday in New York City by commencing the making of his poem, I Heard Emmanuel Singing. The poem was his interpretation of the startling dream he had the previous September. It was finished on Christmas Day.

Although one of the earliest of his poems, it bears many of the unique hallmarks that would appear throughout his body of work. The rhyme and meter of the poem is based on a familiar song or hymn and it includes directions from Lindsay on how to perform it. It is a rather long poem. The beginning of it is presented here.

I HEARD EMMANUEL SINGING

The poem shows the Master with his work done, singing to free his heart in Heaven.

This poem is intended to be half said, half sung, very softly, to the well-known tune:-

"Last night I lay a-sleeping,
There came a dream so fair,
I stood in Old Jerusalem
Beside the temple there,-" etc.

Yet this tune is not to be fitted on arbitrarily. It is here given to suggest the manner of handling rather than determine it.

I heard Immanuel singing
Within his own good lands,
I saw him bend above his harp.
I watched his wandering hands
Lost amid the harp-strings;
Sweet, sweet I heard him play.
His wounds were altogether healed.
Old things had passed away.

Join the VLA

Join The Vachel Lindsay Association today and support our mission to keep the spirit of this great American poet and dreamer alive for all generations.

Our annual membership dues are $25.00 for Individuals, $35.00 for Family membership, $50.00 for Patrons and $100.00 Sustaining. We publish a quarterly newsletter and hold an annual meeting and banquet each November near Lindsay's birthday. We support activities at the Vachel Lindsay Home State Historic Site and special functions in the community. Your membership this year will help us to restore the "Rose and Lotus" mural in Downtown Springfield.

Send your check made payable to The Vachel Lindsay Association to:

The Vachel Lindsay Association

P.O. Box 9356

Springfield, IL 62791-9356

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.