Vachel Lindsay

Nicholas Vachel Lindsay, 1913.

Nicholas Vachel Lindsay (Springfield, November 10, 1879 - December 5, 1931), American poet. The son of a wealthy physician, he studied medicine at Hiram College, Ohio between 1897 and 1900, but did not become interested in this discipline, so he went to Chicago to study drawing at his Art Institute from 1900 to 1903. In 1904 marched to the New York School of Art (now The New School) to continue studying; very soon he began to travel the country singing and dramatizing his own poems, composed mostly in verse, in public readings; preached "the gospel of beauty" and lived on the sale of a book entitled Verses to be changed by bread; thanks to it gave to the poetry new musical rhythms of oral inspiration. In 1913 Chicago's Poetry magazine published two of its patriotic poems, winners of the contest that it had called, in a series that had dedicated to popular figures like Johnny Appleseed, John Peter Altgeld and Alexander Campbell among others. With an unlimited faith in his country, he lived in poverty, suffered a depression and committed suicide at age 52 drinking a bottle of disinfectant. Among his notable books are Rhymes To Be Traded for Bread (1912), General William Booth Enters into Heaven (1913), The Congo and Other Poems (1914) and The Chinese Nightingale (1917). He counted his travels across the country in A Handy Guide for Beggars (1916) and Adventures While Preaching the Gospel of Beauty (1914). He also composed a classic study on the new art of cinema, The Art of the Moving Picture (1915) and a visionary novel, The Golden Book of Springfield (1920).

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