Vachel Lindsay (1879-1931), American Socialist poet

[Joe Chi Minh]

In one of Joe Bageant's articles on his blog, "joebageant.com", I came across a passage from a sublime poem written by a man who, I've just discovered, was an American poet; a poet, moreover, commended by no less a poet than W B Yeats. The passage is so sublimely beautiful, and the perfect rebuttal of the wrong-wing jibe about champagne Socialists we hear a lot in the UK, that I append it here, without further ado:

"I am unjust, but I can strive for justice.
My life's unkind, but I can vote for kindness.
I, the unloving, say life should be lovely.
I, that am blind, cry out against my blindness.
Come, let us vote against our human nature,
Crying to God in all the polling places
To heal our everlasting sinfulness
And make us sages with transfigured faces.
-- From “Why I voted the Socialist Ticket,” by Vachel Lindsay

Anyway, I thought I'd look up Vachel Lindsay on Wikipedia, and was further astonished to find no reference whatsoever to his obviously strong Socialist commitment. Furthermore, in the list of his Selected Works, no reference was made to this poem, or indeed any other with a reference to Socialism. Maybe, it's the only one. But I wouldn't bank on it.

So, I remedied the omission of the poem, inserting it in the list. I also added a sentence/paragraph to the author's initial sentence/paragraph relating Lindsay's suicide and his possible reasons, with a further suggestion of my own:

"Crushed by financial worry, in failing health from his six-month road trip, Lindsey sunk into depression, on December 5, 1931, Lindsay committed suicide by drinking a bottle of Lysol. His last words were, 'They tried to get me - I got them first!'"

"Since, in the US, Socialism was anathema to the political classes in that epoch (and, indeed, not tolerated today in the mainstream), it is surely not improbable that Lindsay's reference to their "trying to get him first" referred to an agency of the panoply of the State. Paul Robeson was never free of the close attentions of the FBI, certainly, in his later years.

I am not optimistic that my contribution will remain, though it is tiny.

[roughsatori]

1. Here is an Allen Ginsberg poem: "To Lindsay."

I love Vachel Lindsay's poetry and poetics. Here is a little known Ginsberg poem that I have always kept in mind. Lindsay Suicided by drinking Lysol. Ginsberg was well aware of that fact. Ginsberg's Mom was a Communist and his BEST poem "Kaddish" tells her story. Thank you for mentioning one of my imaginary friends Vachel.


"To Lindsay"


Vachel, the stars are out
dusk has fallen on the Colorado road
a car crawls slowly across the plain
In the dim light the radio blares its jazz
the heartbroken salesman lights another cigarette
In another city 27 years ago
I see your shadow on the wall
You're sitting in your suspenders on the bed
The shadow hand lifts up a pistol to your head
Your shade falls over on the floor


Allen Ginsberg 1926 - 1997