2 h 0 minAudiobook8 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at costPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
What if a poem asks you not to sit quietly, but to feel its beat in your feet?
Vachel Lindsay treats poetry as something a crowd can hear, clap to, and feel. In The Congo, and Other Poems, rhythm drives the verse forward. The title poem unfolds in three movements, while The Santa-Fe Trail turns toward the American road and West.
In Abraham Lincoln Walks at Midnight, the dead president walks Springfield's streets, troubled by the world's wars. Alongside public tributes and spiritual hunger, the collection brings difficult questions. The Congo's images of Black people and Africa carry dated racial attitudes that call for a critical eye as well as an attentive ear.
What you’ll discover
- Poetry with a pulse Discover verse that invites your voice to follow its beat rather than hurry past.
- The title poem's drumbeat Follow three movements of rolling rhythm, while questioning the assumptions behind their images.
- The American road Turn to The Santa-Fe Trail for a humoresque rooted in the American landscape.
- Lincoln in the night Meet an imagined Lincoln walking Springfield, burdened by wars beyond its streets.
- Words to read aloud Start slowly and let the rhythm catch you as you explore Lindsay's verse.
Who will love it
For readers who love poetry as sound, early twentieth century American verse, and reading aloud, with strong beats, refrains and poems of the American road and West.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A poet who wanted to be heard
- The Congo sets a drumbeat in three movements
- Hard questions the title poem raises
- Poems of the American road and West
- Tributes to people and spiritual hunger
- How to read the poems aloud
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- Audiobook
- 2 h 0 min, complete, read by Lucas Linden.
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas in about 8 minutes, to read or to hear.
- Paperback
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Hardcover
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- Large print paperback
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print hardcover
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The Congo, and Other Poems
by Vachel Lindsay · 1914
Lindsay turns verse into a crowd's drumbeat, carrying voices onto the open road and into the American West.
Medium level2–5 hours to read25 languages
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In short
The Congo, and Other Poems is a book of verse by Vachel Lindsay, an American poet from Springfield, Illinois. It came out in 1914, after his first success with a poem about the Salvation Army founder William Booth.
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A poet who wanted to be heard
Vachel Lindsay grew up in Springfield, Illinois, the town where Abraham Lincoln had lived. He studied art as a young man, but poetry took over his life. In the years before this book he walked across parts of the country as a wandering poet, offering his rhymes to farm families in exchange for food and a bed. That habit shaped his ear. He learned to read to ordinary people who had no patience for polite, hushed verse.
Lindsay called his idea of poetry something close to a new folk art. He believed American poems should belong to the whole public, to churches, street corners and county fairs. He thought a poem should be spoken or even sung, with a beat that a listener could not ignore. He often compared his aim to the old minstrels who carried songs from town to town.
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Questions about The Congo, and Other Poems
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What is The Congo by Vachel Lindsay about?
The Congo is a rhythmic poem in three sections that moves from a rowdy barroom to an imagined African jungle and then to a slower, hopeful close. It is meant to be chanted aloud, with a strong drumbeat.
Is The Congo by Vachel Lindsay racist?
Many readers today find its images of Black people and Africa stereotyped, even though Lindsay meant to honor Black culture. It reflects the attitudes of a white American writer in 1914, so it is best read with a critical ear.
When was The Congo and Other Poems published?
The collection was published in 1914. It followed Lindsay's first success, General William Booth Enters into Heaven, and helped make him a popular figure on lecture tours across the United States.
The author
Vachel Lindsay
1879–1931 · American poet
Vachel Lindsay was an American poet born in Springfield, Illinois, in 1879. He wrote poetry intended to be spoken aloud and gave public readings. His collections include General William Booth Enters into Heaven and Other Poems (1913) and The Congo and Other Poems (1914). He died in Springfield in 1931.
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