The Congo and Other Poems
- SIGNED Hardcover
- New York: The Macmillan Company, 1915
New York: The Macmillan Company, 1915. Reprint. Hardcover. Very good -. INSCRIBED. 159pp. Small octavo [19.5 cm] Yellowish brown cloth covered boards with gilt stamped titles and decorative red and blue ink stamped designs on the front cover. There are several ink stains on the front cover, most notably a 3 cm long red smudge on the front cover near bottom corner. Spine slightly rolled, corners bumped and scuffed. Inscribed by the author in black ink on front free end paper, "Merry Christmas- this year- next year- and every year better- is my wish for Miss Harriet [?] -- Sincerely, Nicholas Vachel Lindsay. Springfield, Illinois, December 25, [1917?]".
Recent literature has criticized this work as engaging in "romantic racism", in which blacks are both lauded for their musical prowess while also demeaned for perceived drunkenness, violence, and savagery. While Lindsay posited that the third section of "The Congo" was a revolutionary message of hope for goodwill between races, his work was criticized by Dubois for its ignorance of black complexity while purporting itself to be an important work on the black experience.
Recent literature has criticized this work as engaging in "romantic racism", in which blacks are both lauded for their musical prowess while also demeaned for perceived drunkenness, violence, and savagery. While Lindsay posited that the third section of "The Congo" was a revolutionary message of hope for goodwill between races, his work was criticized by Dubois for its ignorance of black complexity while purporting itself to be an important work on the black experience.