Vachel Lindsay

Nicholas Vachel Lindsay (1879–1931) was an American poet and performance artist known for promoting “singing” or chanted poetry. Born in Springfield, Illinois, he studied at Hiram College and later at the Art Institute of Chicago and the New York School of Art. Lindsay gained wide attention with *General William Booth Enters into Heaven* (1913) and other rhythmic, dramatic poems intended for oral delivery. He traveled extensively, sometimes trading poems for food and lodging, and became a popular public reader in the 1910s. His work blended vernacular speech, religious imagery, and social themes, and he is often linked to early 20th-century modernist experimentation.