The Golden Book of Springfield

Vachel Lindsay (1879 - 1931)

The Golden Book of Springfield is American poet Vachel Lindsay's strange and mystical odyssey through the Springfield, Illinois of 2018, where the residents of that city strive to turn their home into a democratic utopia. It is a "Springfield a hundred years hence," a dreamlike space of spiritual and social awakenings. But when the threat of international war begins to loom over the horizon, the citizens of Springfield must find new ways to protect their city and keep it a "practical City of God."

This is Vachel Lindsay's only long-form narrative work and a fascinating entry into the utopian fiction subgenre that came about after the publication of Edward Bellamy's Looking Backward. - Summary by Chuck Williamson

Genre(s): Culture & Heritage Fiction, Fantasy Fiction

Language: English

Section Chapter Reader Time
Play 01 Chapter I - The Campbellite, the Florist, and the Hostess Chuck Williamson
00:11:21
Play 02 Chapter II - The Prognosticator's Club Chuck Williamson
00:13:38
Play 03 Chapter III - How People in 1920 Think the Book Will Come, in 2018 Chuck Williamson
00:49:24
Play 04 Chapter IV - History of the Michaels Chuck Williamson
00:27:33
Play 05 Chapter V - I Myself Enter into the Springfield of 2018 Chuck Williamson
00:39:21
Play 06 Chapter VI - Kopensky versus Boone Chuck Williamson
00:20:13
Play 07 Chapter VII - The Drug Stores, Coffee Houses, and Dance Halls Chuck Williamson
00:22:21
Play 08 Chapter VIII - The Springfield Flag Chuck Williamson
00:32:56
Play 09 Chapter IX - The Beginning of the Flying Machine Riots Chuck Williamson
00:28:30
Play 10 Chapter X - The End of the Flying Machine Riots Chuck Williamson
00:29:02
Play 11 Chapter XI - St. Friend, and His Two Religious Orders Chuck Williamson
00:36:12
Play 12 Chapter XII - The Yellow Dance Halls Are Abolished Chuck Williamson
00:31:39
Play 13 Chapter XIII - Surto Hurdenburg is Lynched Chuck Williamson
00:30:14
Play 14 Chapter XIV - In the House of the Man From Singapore Chuck Williamson
00:29:40
Play 15 Chapter XV - Further Experiences in That Strange Mansion Chuck Williamson
00:43:00
Play 16 Chapter XVI - The Return of Joseph Bartholdi Michael Chuck Williamson
00:37:51
Play 17 Chapter XVII - The Lynching of Boone. The Interregnum of the Diary. The Golden Book Appears Chuck Williamson
00:33:27
Play 18 Chapter XVIII - St. Friend and Avanel Read From the Golden Book Chuck Williamson
00:23:46
Play 19 Chapter XIX - Avanel and I Ascend to the Jungles of Heaven Chuck Williamson
00:22:10