2 h 0 minAudiobook9 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at cost
Audiobook edition · 2 h 0 minPaperback · 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
This book suits readers who love poetry that sounds like music, performers and teachers who want verse to read aloud, and anyone curious about early twentieth century America.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- Lindsay wrote these poems to be chanted aloud
- The Congo mixes jazz rhythm with stereotype
- Sound poems turn roads and fires into music
- Children's chants and dances show playful craft
- Poems for causes and cities speak to their time
- The Incense section dreams of a better city
- Love poems face grief, marriage and doubt
- The moon poems turn one image into twenty
- War poems break the music with anger and pity
Formats and delivery
- eBook
- On your phone, tablet or computer, once the book texts are online.
- Large-print eBook
- The same book in bigger, clearer type, once the book texts are online.
- Audiobook
- Read by Lucas Linden, complete. It opens once the recording is online.
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas in about 9 minutes, to read today.
- Paperback
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Hardcover
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print paperback
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print hardcover
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
Every printed copy is made when you order it and shipped worldwide; shipping is shown at checkout. The eBook and the audiobook open when the book texts go online.
How it works
- Start free. Nothing to pay today; the eBook of this book is yours to keep.
- Read, listen and print. 200,000+ classics as eBook, large-print eBook, audiobook and 15-minute summary, and any book printed at cost as a paperback, hardcover or large print, 5 accounts for the price of one.
- We remind you first. Free for 3 months, and we email you 7 days before your first payment. Then USD 0.14 a day in your first year on the yearly plan and USD 0.27 a day after, or USD 0.66 a day on the monthly plan. Cancel online in two clicks.
Bought on its own? Every eBook, audiobook and printed book you buy without the plan carries our 30-day money-back guarantee.
The Congo, and Other Poems
by Vachel Lindsay · 1914
Drums, car horns and fire bells turn the poems of Vachel Lindsay into music written for the voice.
Medium level2–5 hours to readEnglish
Excellent
- Read or listen
- Print and large print at cost
- 5 accounts for the price of one
Free for 3 months · starts right away, on any device
Read free3 months free · cancel anytimeFree for 3 months, then USD 0.14 a dayCancel anytimeHow it works
In short
Picture a room of men pounding an empty barrel with a broom handle while a voice chants a whole river into being. That is how The Congo begins, and it sets the method of the whole book.
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
Lindsay wrote these poems to be chanted aloud
Lindsay builds this book for the voice before the eye. Its first section is headed as poems to be read aloud or chanted, and the margins are full of directions. One passage must be whispered.
The tools are simple and strong. Sounds such as boom, clang and sweet pile up into a beat. Refrains return again and again, so a listener can almost join in. Speed changes within many chants, giving them loud and quiet passages like band music.
Free for 3 months · Cancel anytime
You looked at
Which edition is right for me
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas of the whole book in about 9 minutes. A good first look, or a refresher.
Details
- First published
- 1914
- Language
- English
- Reading time
- 1 h 15 min
- Level
- Medium level
Cite this edition
Lindsay, Vachel. The Congo, and Other Poems. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-congo-and-other-poems.
Lindsay, V. (2026). The Congo, and other poems. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-congo-and-other-poems (Original work published 1914)
Lindsay, Vachel. The Congo, and Other Poems. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-congo-and-other-poems.
@book{lindsay2026congo,
author = {Lindsay, Vachel},
title = {The Congo, and Other Poems},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-congo-and-other-poems},
note = {First published 1914}
}
Free gifts
USD 580 in free gifts when you start
Every book in every format and in 25 languages, 5 accounts for the price of one. Nothing to pay today.
- 200,000+ classic eBooksIn 25 languages, side by side
USD 170FREE - Every audiobookIn 25 languages, any device
USD 120FREE - 15-minute summariesRead or listen, in 25 languages
USD 60FREE - Print at cost, no markupPaperback, hardcover, large print
USD 60FREE - 5 accounts for the price of oneA shelf for everyone at home
USD 170FREE - A part in rebuilding the libraryNew languages and books for all
FREE
Questions about The Congo, and Other Poems
Can I read it free?
Yes. The first key idea of the 15-minute summary is free with no sign-up. Start free and the whole book is yours for 3 months, with the eBook to keep, plus 200,000+ more classics and any book printed at cost as a paperback, hardcover or large print. Nothing to pay today: we email you 7 days before your first payment, and you can cancel online in two clicks.
Can I buy the printed book?
Soon. The paperback, hardcover and large print editions are being prepared. Choose Paperback or Hardcover above, leave your email, and we tell you the day you can order it, printed at cost.
How many accounts do I get?
Five, for the price of one: you and 4 more people, each with their own login, shelf and their own place in every book.
Can I cancel anytime?
Yes. Cancel online in two clicks at any time and nothing more is charged. Nothing is charged in your first 3 months, and we email you 7 days before your first payment.
What is The Congo and Other Poems about?
It is a collection of performance poems by Vachel Lindsay, from chants like The Congo and The Santa Fe Trail to children's dances, moon poems, love poems, tributes to actresses and war poems from 1914.
How should you read The Congo aloud?
Follow the marginal directions Lindsay prints beside the lines. They tell you when to use a heavy bass, a whisper, a shout or a quickening pace, so the poem works like a musical score.
Why is The Congo criticised today?
Its three parts use stereotypes of Black people and Africa that were common in popular entertainment of the time. Readers praise its rhythm and its protest against King Leopold, yet question its racial portrait.
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.
More like this
Our mission
The library burned once. We are building it back.
Every great book, in every language and every format, for every family. Every plan helps pay for new languages, new audiobooks and books for readers who have never had them. Join the movement.
Read our story- Every language25 languages today, side by side, and more every year
- No wastePrinted on demand: no warehouses, no unsold stock, no pulped copies
- For everyonePaperback, hardcover and large print at the cost of printing
