The Golden Book of Springfield
The Golden Book of Springfield is a mystic, utopian book by American poet Vachel Lindsay. It is the only extended, narrative work of prose fiction written by Lindsay. Written from 1904 to 1918 and published in 1920, it has historically been classified as a work of utopian fiction. The Golden Book of Springfield is a story about Lindsay's hometown of Springfield, Illinois in 1918 and in 2018, when residents of the city work to transform the city into a utopian paradise-city.
In Lindsay's narrative, social and religious awakenings initiated by the citizens and spiritual influences lead to the transformation of Springfield - and more broadly, America - into a "practical City of God." Writes Lindsay, "This reasonable, non-miraculous millennium is much in the mind of my neighbor, and he tells me again and again of a vision that he has of Springfield a hundred years hence."
In a May 1918 letter to his then-married former sweetheart, Sara Teasdale, Lindsay expressed the importance of what he had inscribed into The Golden Book:
Plot
The Golden Book of Springfield is framed as a series of visions of the future, experienced both by members of "'The Prognosticators' Club"', and later by Lindsay, who shifts to writing in the first person. It reads much like a dream journal throughout; Lindsay was well known to experience intense religious visions throughout his life.The Prognosticators' Club
The book opens in 1920 with a gathering of the Prognosticators’ Club, which consists of, among others, a Campbellite minister, a Jewish boy, a black woman, and a skeptic, who offer a vision of Springfield in 2018 in prose derived from such varied sources as the Bible, Swedenborg, and Marx. The Prognosticators meet to discuss their visions of a modern Springfield achieving improvements in areas such as education, civility, technology, and spirituality.The Arrival of ''The Golden Book of Springfield''
The Golden Book of Springfield describes in many different voices the arrival of the fictional The Golden Book of Springfield, first describing this event through the eyes of David Carson, the Campbellite minister of the Prognosticator's Club who imagines himself "reborn three or four generations in the future."The Flying Machine Riots
The major conflict in The Golden Book of Springfield revolves around the "Flying Machine Riots" Lindsay summarizes the conflict as such:Lindsay tells the story of the monopolization of "flying machines," and the quick resolution of the issue by means of cooperation and peaceful discourse. St. Friend, among others, leads the public through the hidden conflict, and tells the people of their future - in which they travel to the stars in "airships of the mind."
St. Friend and the Church of Springfield
St. Friend is known as the "Giver of Bread," and is the religious reformer who unites all the religions of the world into "The Church of Springfield", or "The Church of the Plant and the Flower."The Church of Springfield is incarnated as a "blessed community of faith" with no "fences of creed." St. Friend describes it as such:
In the same speech St. Friend delivers his vision of the events occurring, and the bright future he envisions for Springfield:
Redemption
In Chapter 3, Lindsay mythologizes the history of Springfield, Illinois, describing Hunter Kelly's pact with the Devil:Ascension
In Chapter XV Lindsay describes how "when I am my American self the Thibetan boy takes me beyond the North Star and shows me the true Buddha.": This tale describes the experience of cosmic consciousness, a focal point of the New Age, or Golden Age movement, and the central tenet of Tibetan buddhism. This experience is, according to Lindsay, the means by which "the body of Christ, the whole human race, will be raised from the dead."Context
Vachel Lindsay is often referred to as the most intensely romantic American poet of his generation. Notably, Lindsay's career and personal life took a downturn after publication of The Golden Book in 1920. After rising in popularity during the 1910s for his rhythmic, musical brand of poetry performance, the poet published his utopian vision and expected his career to turn in a similar direction. Though British critics praised the work, The Golden Book received little to no critical attention in the United States, as American readers dismissed the work as "tedious and incomprehensible." Lindsay was forced to continue performing his poems across the country to support his family. Vachel's inability to turn his audiences’ focus towards the future, along with his deteriorating health and personal life, led to a severe decline that culminated in Lindsay's suicide in 1931.In 1999, the Charles H. Kerr Publishing Company reprinted The Golden Book, along with a preface by William Furry and an extended introduction by Ron Sakolsky. The Kerr Company's synopsis is as follows:
Thematic elements
Religious message
The overarching messages of both The Golden Book of Springfield and the fictional The Golden Book of Springfield are that of religious unity. The book opens with mention of the "Early Campbellites", followers of Thomas and Alexander Campbell.Throughout the book, Lindsay incorporates aspects from nearly all the religions of the world. He promotes the "Pilgrimage of the Hundred Shrines of the Hundred Religions" and writes of the influence of "Thibetan" philosophies on St. Friend and the Church of Springfield, noting the importance of these teachings in the ascension of humanity to Heaven.