The Golden Book of Springfield is a mystic, utopian book by American poet Vachel Lindsay. It is the only extended, narrative work of prose fiction written by Lindsay. Written from 1904 to 1918 and published in 1920, it has historically been classified as a work of utopian fiction. The Golden Book of Springfield is a story about Lindsay's hometown of Springfield, Illinois in 1918 and in 2018, when residents of the city work to transform the city into a utopian paradise-city.
In Lindsay's narrative, social and religious awakenings initiated by the citizens and spiritual influences lead to the transformation of Springfield - and more broadly, America - into a "practical City of God." Writes Lindsay, "This reasonable, non-miraculous millennium is much in the mind of my neighbor, and he tells me again and again of a vision that he has of Springfield a hundred years hence."
In a May 1918 letter to his then-married former sweetheart, Sara Teasdale, Lindsay expressed the importance of what he had inscribed into The Golden Book:
The Golden Book will probably be ready by Christmas. That is, written. That means it will not appear before next spring. I hate to be so slow, but my prose will not be hustled. I am making it the one thought of my life, and hope when it is done, it will be the one book of my life.
The Golden Book of Springfield is framed as a series of visions of the future, experienced both by members of "'The Prognosticators' Club"', and later by Lindsay, who shifts to writing in the first person. It reads much like a dream journal throughout; Lindsay was well known to experience intense religious visions throughout his life.
