Talk:Vachel Lindsay
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Hi... I am not sure this is the right page to respond, but I wrote the original Vachel Lindsay article. I have material to back up comments... but honestly this is the first time that I have written something that has been critiqued in this way... so I would welcome some guidance of what you are actually suggesting that we add here. Much has been written on Lindsay; it just struck me as amazing that nobody had written on him here. Regarding the quotation of the poems, I can give the citations. Regarding the racism allegations, I tried to hit a balance between those critics who have lambasted Lindsay for racism with those who, like me, feel he was fairly enlightened for his time and was a fine poet. If I erred here, help me in cleaning this up. As a professor, I tried to tone down the scholarly aspect of my usual writing... that said, if I toned it down so much that this has become unacceptable as material, I would be happy to modify it. I simply need some direction that is a bit clearer than "Every single part of it qualifies as original research"... In short, what DOES qualify as reliable source material... I can provide this to whatever extent and in whichever format the wiki editors suggest. David A. Victor 14:34, 23 February 2007 (UTC)David A. VictorDavid A. Victor 14:34, 23 February 2007 (UTC)
Started this cleanup list at 01:43, 23 February 2007 (UTC). Add to it. Move stuff around. Cross it off. Post regular talk messages below as before.
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[edit] Improvement
This article is riddled with POV and uncited, unverified claims. I tagged the crap out of it. I will post a to do list that anyone can add to, it's above, add to it as you see stuff to work on. This work is kind of an offshoot to an improvement drive for Springfield, Illinois So let's get at it. It looks like at least one comment is recent, everything else is mostly unsigned. If there is anything good in there I will grab it and put it in the to do list or an appropriate talk section, otherwise I will soon delete any of the unsigned stuff that isn't part of a current discussion.A mcmurray 01:35, 23 February 2007 (UTC)
[edit] The Congo
Too much politically correct breast-beating about this poem. It is what it is. Ur a retard!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
This last is hardly brilliant commentary... this rather lowers the credibility of your other comments... which on the whole are quite reasonable. DV
I might not agree with Ur a retard!!!!!, but I agree with the general idea--there's far too much about perceived racism. F. Scott Fitzgerald used the word "buck" in Tender is the Night, released in 1934, and yet there isn't a fifth of his wikipedia entry devoted to it. --Dan Moore 20:12, 9 February 2007 (UTC)
[edit] Lindsay article as a whole
This article is replete with errors, some of which will demand more than just a simple correction of words--an effort I, quite frankly, haven't the time to do. I thought I'd leave this list for another more ambitious than I.
Comment on the preceding sentence: For someone unwilling to edit the article yourself, you have spent more than enough words commenting here. Pity.
Introduction:
Lindsay was not "an early advocate of jazz poetry." This is a persistent myth born of an unfortunate comment made by Louis Untermeyer which Lindsay resented. None of Lindsay's poems were inspired by jazz. Lindsay never recited to jazz (or any other accompaniment). Lindsay hated jazz; he considered it the worst of American music.
This last comment is open to serious question.
Early Years:
Lindsay's father was Vachel Thomas Lindsay.
"considerable means" is open to interpretation. The family was not what most would consider "wealthy"
title should be "The Eagle that is Forgotten"
"Rhymes to be Traded for Bread" was printed in 1912. It was never sold (It was not intended for sale but, as its title testifies, as currency in place of money for his third tramp.)
Lindsay's first tramp was from Jacksonville, Florida to Kentucky. He made no attempt to sell poems on this tramp nor on his second tramp from New York to Ohio.
Lindsay carried the self-published "Rhymes to be Traded for Bread" on his third tramp. He used the sheaf of poems as currency for food and lodging.
Lindsay composed "General William Booth Enters into Heaven" on his third tramp. "The Congo" was composed at his home a year later.
Dr. Mc
[edit] addendum to above
This article assumes that Lindsay's suicide was a result of financial pressure. This is a speculation posited in Edgar Lee Masters's biography. It is open to debate and by no means universally accepted by scholars.
Lindsay's last words, spoken to his wife, were "They tried to get me. I got them first." However, he did not leave a suicide note.
Dr. Mc
