“The Life and Work of Vachel Lindsay”

418 South Illinois Avenue,Carbondale IL 62901

22 April, 2023

Description

The film, produced by The Storyteller Studios and commissioned by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources and State Historic Sites Springfield, tells the story of Springfield poet Vachel Lindsay. It was directed and produced by Kevin Christensen of The Storyteller Studios. The April 22 screening begins at 7 p.m. Doors and the Varsity Bar open at 6. Admission is free, however donations will be welcome. Cobden resident Kevin Purcell – an actor, director and Lindsay expert who is featured in the documentary – will moderate discussion with the audience after the screening. Lindsay (Nov. 10, 1879 - Dec. 5, 1931) 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. From 1906 through 1912, Lindsay traveled by foot across hundreds of miles in the U.S., trading his poems for food and lodging. By 1913, he had become well known as a modern version of a medieval troubadour. Part of the success and great fame Lindsay achieved was because of the manner in which he presented his poetry, "fundamentally as a performance, as an aural and temporal experience ... to be chanted, whispered, belted out, sung, amplified by gesticulation and movement, and punctuated by shouts and whoops." The documentary includes poetry performances by Aasne Daniels, James Daniels, Purcell, Jack Drea, Alina Johnson, Asher Paris and Sterling Paris. Vachel Lindsay experts interviewed during filming include Jennifer Caldwell, David Logan, Purcell, Sheila Ryan, and Ian Winterbauer.