Vechel Lindsay (Lindsay Vachel)

(1879-1931)
Born November 10, 1879 in Springfield (pc. Illinois). Under the influence of the atmosphere that prevailed at his home, early felt the urge to poetry and the arts. After studying three years at Hiram College (Chicago), disillusioned with the academic routine and in 1900 moved to the Chicago Art Institute.
In 1906, Lindsay made the first of its hikes with 'rhymes in exchange for bread' (the name of a collection of poems 1912), preaching the gospel of beauty. Upon returning to Springfield tried to arouse the citizens a sense of beauty, the consciousness of their responsibilities towards society and the taste for poetry. Collection of General William Booth goes to heaven (General William Booth Enters into Heaven, 1913) brought Lindsay recognition and made popular readings of poetry. His ecstatic, full of visions of poetry Lindsay read with great art, but his inspiration dried up due to work beyond their strength, and relentless boredom. In the collections of the Congo (Congo, 1914), The Chinese Nightingale (The Chinese Nightingale, 1917) and Golden Whales of California (The Golden Whales of California, 1920) collected all the best that he created. Exhausted by ill health, loss of the creative forces of the oppressed, Lindsay committed suicide on Dec. 5, 1931.