Poet program Saturday at Vachel Lindsay Home to feature the Lindsay-Masters relationship

[October 23, 2012]  SPRINGFIELD -- The relationship between two of Illinois' most well-known poets, Vachel Lindsay and Edgar Lee Masters, will be explored during the next program in the "Poets in the Parlor" series. Masters biographer Herbert Russell will give the presentation on Saturday at 2 p.m. at the Vachel Lindsay Home State Historic Site, 603 S. Fifth St. in Springfield.

Russell completed his doctorate with a dissertation on Masters' post-"Spoon River Anthology" life and career. In 1991, Edgar Lee Masters' son, Hilary, encouraged Russell to write the authorized biography of his father. Published by the University of Illinois Press as "Edgar Lee Masters: A Biography" in 2001, the book makes use of Masters' letters, diaries and unpublished chapters from his autobiography. Portions of the book discuss the friendship of Lindsay and Masters.

Edgar Lee Masters and Vachel Lindsay knew and admired each other's work for parts of three decades. Masters knew Lindsay was as loyal to the Springfield area as Masters was to his own Spoon River country. Both men enjoyed the praise of the Eastern literary establishment for several years at the time of World War I and later. And both men are indelibly associated with the literary coming-of-age known as the Chicago Renaissance.

Both men also encountered realities they had difficulty dealing with -- which will be the subject of the discussion Saturday. Masters was flattered to be held in high regard by Lindsay; and Lindsay knew he could depend on Masters for help.

Russell's most recent work is "The State of Southern Illinois: An Illustrated History," published by SIU Press earlier this year. Richly illustrated, "The State of Southern Illinois" is the most accurate account of the 28-county area known as "Egypt," which is sometimes regarded as a state within a state.

Russell and his wife, Thyra, live near Carbondale.

The free program Saturday is sponsored by the Vachel Lindsay Association and the Vachel Lindsay Home State Historic Site.

Limited seating is available. Refreshments and tours of the Lindsay Home will follow.

The Vachel Lindsay Home State Historic Site is the birthplace and longtime residence of poet, author and artist Nicholas Vachel Lindsay, 1879-1931. It is open Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. for free public tours.

[Text from file received from the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency]