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1Congo

By Vachel Lindsay

<em>The Congo</em> is one of the best-known poems by American poet Vachel Lindsay (1879-1931). It was revolutionary in its use of sounds and rhythms — as sounds and rhythms — and includes elaborate annotations to guide its spoken performance. Lindsay categorized <em>The Congo</em> as “higher Vaudeville” and was famous for his exuberant performances of it. The poem’s imagery is racist, but Lindsay was a product of his time — born 14 years after the end of the American Civil War in Abraham Lincoln’s hometown, he revered Lincoln and viewed himself as a friend and supporter of African-American culture.<br />(Summary by Kathy Thile)

LibriVox volunteers bring you 9 different recordings of Abraham Lincoln Walks at Midnight by Vachel Lindsay. This was the weekly poetry project for the week of February 18th, 2007.

3Moon is a Painter

By Vachel Lindsay

LibriVox volunteers bring you 10 recordings of <em>The Moon is a Painter</em> by Vachel Lindsay. This was the weekly poetry project for February 1st, 2009.

4Traveller-heart

By Vachel Lindsay

LibriVox volunteers bring you 15 recordings of <em>The Traveller-heart</em> by Vachel Lindsay. This was the weekly poetry project for February 22nd, 2009.

5Potato's Dance

By Vachel Lindsay

LibriVox volunteers bring you 16 recordings of <em>The Potato's Dance</em> by Vachel Lindsay. This was the weekly poetry project for March 22nd, 2009.

6Voyage to Arcturus

By David Lindsay

<i>A Voyage to Arcturus</i> is a novel by Scottish writer David Lindsay, first published in 1920. It combines fantasy, philosophy, and science fiction in an exploration of the nature of good and evil and their relationship with existence. It has been described by critic and philosopher Colin Wilson as the "greatest novel of the twentieth century" and was a central influence on C. S. Lewis' Space Trilogy. (Introduction from Wikipedia)

7Magic Pudding

By Norman Lindsay

Bunyip Bluegum the koala sets out on his travels taking only a walking stick. At about lunchtime, feeling more than slightly peckish, he meets Bill Barnacle the sailor and Sam Sawnoff the penguin who are eating a pudding. The pudding is a magic one which, no matter how much you eat it, always reforms into a whole pudding again. He is called Albert, has thin arms and legs and is a bad-tempered, ill-mannered so-and-so into the bargain. His only pleasure is being eaten. The book is divided into four "slices" instead of chapters. (Introduction by Wikipedia)

8Art of the Moving Picture

By Vachel Lindsay

"This 1922 book by poet and sometime cultural critic Vachel Lindsay might have been the first to treat the then-new medium of moving pictures as an art form, one that was potentially as rich, complex, mysterious as far older ones, and whose physical and aesthetic properties were only starting to be understood. The highlight of the book might be “The Motion Picture of Fairy Splendor,” which examines the relationship between film storytelling, magic, myths, legends and bedtime stories. It’s discombobulating, in a good way, to read Lindsay’s attempts to grapple with what, precisely, cinema is. Being supposedly sophisticated 21st century people, we all feel as though we know what cinema is, and don’t need to have the basics explained to us, but this is really just vanity and ignorance talking. Bottom line: You haven’t really, seriously thought about movies — what they are, and what they can and cannot do, and become — until you’ve read this book." (Salon.com)

9Story-teller

By Maud Lindsay

Are you a story teller? Almost all of us are, you know. Well, these 12 stories were written by Maud Lindsay to be told by someone who can weave the magic thread of speech into a performance that will hold the children spellbound. And we don't need to be perfect, just willing to tell a story; that is really all children ask, someone willing to tell a story. 8 of LibriVox's Story tellers have volunteered to tell these enchanting tales (and sometimes sing the sweet little melodies that are included.) "It was a glad day in the olden time when the Story Teller came to cottage or hall. At Christmas, or New Year; when the May pole stood on the village green; or the chestnuts were roasting in the coals on All hallows eve; come when he would, he was always welcome; and if, when he was least expected, he knocked at the door, what joy there was!Perhaps the story brought with it laughter, or perhaps a tear, but Life, said the Story Teller, is made up of smiles and tears; and the little ones, listening to him, learned to rejoice with those whose joy was great, and to mourn with the sorrowful; and were the better and not the worse for it. And so in due time grew into noble men and good women.Open the door and let him come in, give him a seat by the fire and gather close about him. And then you shall hear!" (Summary by Phil Chenevert and the author's foreword)

10Mother Stories

By Maud Lindsay

"I have endeavored to write, for mothers and dear little children, a few simple stories, embodying some of the truths of Froebel's Mother Play...Most of these stories have been told and retold to little children, and are surrounded, in my eyes, by a halo of listening faces" from the Preface to Mother Stories by Maud Lindsay (Summary by Greg Giordano)

LibriVox volunteers bring you 14 recordings of <i>The Conscientious Deacon</i> by Vachel Lindsay. This was the Weekly Poetry project for May 5th, 2013.<br /><br />Vachel Lindsay described this poem as "a song to be syncopated as you please". According to Wikipedia he is considered the father of modern singing poetry (as he referred to it) in which verses are meant to be sung or chanted. His extensive correspondence with the poet Yeats details his intentions to revive the musical qualities in poetry as had been practised by the ancient Greeks. (Introduction by Ruth Golding)

12Chinese Nightingale and Other Poems

By Vachel Lindsay

This is a collection of poems on various topics by Vachel Lindsay.<br> Please note that the Booker T. Washington trilogy had to be omitted from this collection. - Summary by Carolin Nov. 2024. The Booker Washington Trilogy is now available <a href="https://librivox.org/the-booker-washington-trilogy-by-vachel-lindsay/">here</a>.

13Haunted Woman

By David Lindsay

Isabel Loment is engaged to the affectionate, but unemotional, Marshall Stokes. House-hunting for her aunt, she comes to Runhill Court, an ancient home with a mysterious staircase that is only visible to those with eyes to see it. Ascending the staircase, she meets Henry Judge, the owner of Runhill Court, and a passionate relationship develops, which neither can recall once they have descended the staircase and returned to the everyday world. The Haunted Woman was Lindsay's attempt to write a more commercial novel than its fantasy predecessor, A Voyage to Arcturus. Though neither book was successful in its day, both became cult classics. The Haunted Woman was reprinted as the fourth volume of the celebrated Newcastle Forgotten Fantasy Library. (Phil Benson)

<i>The Golden Book of Springfield</i> is American poet Vachel Lindsay's strange and mystical odyssey through the Springfield, Illinois of 2018, where the residents of that city strive to turn their home into a democratic utopia. It is a "Springfield a hundred years hence," a dreamlike space of spiritual and social awakenings. But when the threat of international war begins to loom over the horizon, the citizens of Springfield must find new ways to protect their city and keep it a "practical City of God."<br><br> This is Vachel Lindsay's only long-form narrative work and a fascinating entry into the utopian fiction subgenre that came about after the publication of Edward Bellamy's <i>Looking Backward</i>. - Summary by Chuck Williamson

15Sunshine

By Vachel Lindsay

It is hardly necessary, perhaps, to mention Mr. Lindsay's loyalty to the people of his place and hour, or the training in sympathy with their aims and ideals which he has achieved through vagabondish wanderings in the Middle West. And we may permit time to decide how far he expresses their emotion. But it may be opportune to emphasize his plea for poetry as a song art, an art appealing to the ear rather than the eye. THE CONGO AND OTHER POEMS; Introduction by Harriet Monroe (1860 - 1936)

Born in Scotland, Alexander Dunlop Lindsay was a teacher of philosophy at a number of universities in England in the early 1900s. This brief commentary on Kant's philosophy is a work that focuses solely on some of the main ideas Kant put forth in the three Critiques. Although not comprehensive, the narrative style of this volume makes it a pleasant read and will be a valuable "break-in" point (or introduction to) the complex philosophy of Immanuel Kant. (Summary by SKwanlada)

LibriVox volunteers bring you 11 recordings of Ring the Bells by Caroline Blanche Elizabeth Lindsay.<br> This was the Weekly Poetry project for December 4, 2022. <br> ------<br> Caroline Blanche Elizabeth Lindsay was a poet, novelist, painter, musician and patron of the arts. She provided most of the funding for the founding of the Grosvenor Gallery. - Summary by Newgatenovelist

LibriVox volunteers bring you 10 recordings of December Song by Lady Caroline Blanche Elizabeth Lindsay.<br> This was the Weekly Poetry project for December 11, 2022. <br> ------<br> This selection is taken from A Christmas posy of carols, songs, and other pieces by Lindsay, Lady (Caroline Blanche Elizabeth). - Summary by David Lawrence

19Apology for the Bottle Volcanic

By Vachel Lindsay

LibriVox volunteers bring you 28 recordings of An Apology for the Bottle Volcanic by Vachel Lindsay.<br> This was the Weekly Poetry project for January 29, 2023. <br> ------<br> And here we blame the writer for the words and ideas! - Summary by David Lawrence

20Rhyme about an Electrical Advertising Sign

By Vachel Lindsay

LibriVox volunteers bring you 18 recordings of A Rhyme about an Electrical Advertising Sign by Vachel Lindsay.<br> This was the Weekly Poetry project for February 19, 2023. <br> ------<br> This poem is taken from The Congo and Other Poems By Vachel Lindsay (1914). Nicholas Vachel Lindsay was an American poet. He is considered a founder of modern singing poetry, as he referred to it, in which verses are meant to be sung or chanted. - Summary from Wikipedia

A Memorial to Booker T. Washington. A Trilogy here recorded in dramatic form to complete <a href="https://librivox.org/the-chinese-nightingale-and-other-poems-by-vachel-lindsay/">The Chinese Nightingale and Other Poems</a> already in the catalogue. - Summary by Rapunzelina Cast of voices: Narrator: <a href="https://librivox.org/reader/8425">Larry Wilson</a> Simon Legree: <a href="https://librivox.org/reader/18543">Agnes Robert Behr</a> Devil, Chorus, Congregation: <a href="https://librivox.org/reader/7170">Alan Mapstone</a> Men's Leader: <a href="https://librivox.org/reader/6924">Rapunzelina</a> Women's Leader: <a href="https://librivox.org/reader/19584">ShrimpPhish</a>

22Song of the Garden-Toad

By Vachel Lindsay

LibriVox volunteers bring you 11 recordings of The Song of the Garden-Toad by Vachel Lindsay.<br> This was the Weekly Poetry project for October 27, 2024. <br> ------<br> Nicholas Vachel Lindsay was an American poet. He is considered a founder of modern singing poetry, as he referred to it, in which verses are meant to be sung or chanted. - Summary by Wikipedia

23Sweetheart Winter

By Vachel Lindsay

LibriVox volunteers bring you 17 recordings of Sweetheart Winter by Vachel Lindsay.<br> This was the Weekly Poetry project for January 5, 2025. <br> ------<br> While in New York in 1905 Lindsay turned to poetry in earnest. He tried to sell his poems on the streets. Self-printing his poems, he began to barter a pamphlet titled Rhymes To Be Traded For Bread, which he traded for food as a self-perceived modern version of a medieval troubadour. (Summary by Wikipedia)