The Golden Book of Springfield


Read by Chuck Williamson

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 (9 hr 22 min)

Chapters

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