READINGS BY AMERICAN POET

Mr. Vachel Lindsay, the young American author, whose very original and musical poetry has been attracting widespread attention recently, entertained the College by readings from his own works at a special smoke-talk on the evening of March 3. Mr. Lindsay's poems are of great variety, ranging from fanciful lyrics for children about moons and kittens to a religious poem from the point of view of the Salvation Army called, "General William Booth Enters Into Heaven"; from a restrained and sympathetic war poem, "Abraham Lincoln Walks at Midnight", to an exuberantly onomatopoetic interpretation of the spirit of the negro, in what is undoubtedly Mr. Lindsay's masterpiece, "The Congo."

Mr. Lindsay's method of reading is as unusual as is the subject matter of his poetry. Half chanting, half reciting, now low and drawling, now swift and shouting, Mr. Lindsay adapts his voice with all its shades and tones to the quick changes of his rhythm with remarkable effect. All the while the motion of his whole body as well as the expression of his face and the gestures of his hands help his hearers to follow with him the music as well as the meaning of his poems. He seems while reading to be himself the spirit incarnate of his decisively marked rhythms. The dining room of College Hall was crowded with undergraduates eager to hear him, and their continued and enthusiastic applause indicated their pleasure in his entertainment.