Volunteers bring you 15 recordings of Stupidity by Amy Lowell. This was the Weekly Poetry project for October 31st, 2010.
Volunteers bring you 16 different recordings of In a Garden by Amy Lowell. This was the weekly poetry project for the week of October 14th, 2007.
Volunteers bring you seven different readings of John McCrae’s In Flanders Field, a weekly poetry project.
Volunteers bring you 17 recordings of My Comforter by anonymous. This was the Weekly Poetry project for November 25, 2012.
Several of La Fontaine's fables, translated into English by W. T. Larned.
Volunteers bring you 38 different recordings of Art and Heart, by Ella Wheeler Wilcox. This poem, originally suggested by Betsie Bush, was chosen for this special collection due to a general concensus that the message of the poem corresponds with the spirit of LibriVox.
The poem asserts that, “It is not art, but heart, that wins the wide world over.”
The Wit and Humor of America is a 10 volume series. In this, the seventh volume, 43 short stories and poems have been gathered from 35 authors. This volume is sure to delight listeners.
Volunteers bring you 24 recordings of A Visit From Saint Nicholas by Clement Clarke Moore. More commonly known today as 'Twas the Night Before Christmas. This was the Fortnightly Poetry project for December 13th, 2009.
Volunteers bring you 9 recordings of The Feast of Lights by Emma Lazarus. This was the Weekly Poetry project for December 18, 2011.
Hanukkah, or the Festival of Lights, is the Jewish festival commemorating the rededication of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem during the 2nd century BCE.
This poem celebrating Hanukkah was written by Emma Lazarus, a Jewish American poet. Emma Lazarus also wrote 'The New Colossus,' a sonnet which is inscribed on a plaque on the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty.
Volunteers bring you 16 recordings of In Harmony with Nature. by Matthew Arnold. This was the Weekly Poetry project for July 8, 2012.
Matthew Arnold was a British poet and cultural critic who worked as an inspector of schools. He was the son of Thomas Arnold, the famed headmaster of Rugby School, and brother to both Tom Arnold, literary professor, and William Delafield Arnold, novelist and colonial administrator. Matthew Arnold has been characterized as a sage writer, a type of writer who chastises and instructs the reader on contemporary social issues.
Arnold is sometimes called the third great Victorian poet, along with Alfred, Lord Tennyson and Robert Browning.
Volunteers bring you 10 recordings of The Great Panjandrum Himself by Samuel Foote. This was the weekly poetry project for May 31st, 2009.
Volunteers bring you 16 recordings of The Best Thing in the World by Elizabeth Barrett Browning. This was the Weekly Poetry project for February 28th, 2010.
Deep in the heart of every parent is the wish, the desire, to have other adults tell us, in an unsolicited way, just how very polite one’s child is! This perhaps was even more the case in 1903, when Gelett Burgess produced his second book on the Goops. With entertaining cartoons - caricatures of misbehaving children - he described many different breaches of tact and good manners.
Burgess wrote several books of poetry on the Goops, each poem describing some significant way in which an unthoughtful or unkind child could offend polite society and often offering the hope that the listener would never behave that way. Ahem! Well, perhaps very few people have succeeded in not acting Goop-like at some point in their lives, but read along with Burgess as he attempts to define, in a humorous fashion, exactly what the differences between “Good” and “Goop” are!
Charlton Miner Lewis' version of Gawayne and the Green Knight, a late 14th century alliterative romance, is written in modern language telling the story of the Green Knight's challenge to Gawayne, and the romance between Sir Gawayne and Lady Elfinheart. The name Gawayne is often also spelled Gawain.
Published in 1903, Gawayne and the Green Knight is a modern-language retelling of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, a 14th-century verse romance following a young knight of the Round Table. During Christmas celebrations, a mysterious, entirely green knight presents a challenge to King Arthur's court: that any may strike the stranger a single blow with his green axe, provided he assent to receiving the same a year later. Gawayne accepts the challenge, and its unexpected outcome leads to a great test of his courage and knighthood. A significant addition to this version is the Lady Elfinhart, whose back-story and romance with Gawayne are tightly interwoven with the plot.
A collection of Tennyson's poetry.
Volunteers bring you 9 recordings of The Song Against Songs by G. K. Chesterton. This was the Fortnightly Poetry project for October 16, 2011.
Chesterton was a large man, standing 6 feet 4 inches (1.93 m) and weighing around 21 stone (130 kg; 290 lb). His girth gave rise to a famous anecdote. During World War I a lady in London asked why he was not 'out at the Front'; he replied, 'If you go round to the side, you will see that I am.' On another occasion he remarked to his friend George Bernard Shaw: "To look at you, anyone would think a famine had struck England". Shaw retorted, "To look at you, anyone would think you have caused it". P. G. Wodehouse once described a very loud crash as "a sound like Chesterton falling onto a sheet of tin."(
A collection of 16 poems by G.K. Chesterton. All of the poems in this book, except for "The Strange Ascetic" are taken from "The Flying Inn", a book by the same author.
Volunteers bring you 11 recordings of The Frost Spirit by John Greenleaf Whittier. This was the Fortnightly Poetry project for October 28, 2012.
John Greenleaf Whittier was an influential American Quaker poet. He is considered one of the Fireside Poets and was influenced by Roberet Burns.
Volunteers bring you 10 recordings of Up The Line by Will Carleton. This was the Fortnightly Poetry project for February 7th, 2010.
Volunteers bring you 13 recordings of How Betsey and I Made Up by Will Carleton. This was the fortnightly poetry project for May 3rd, 2009.
Volunteers bring you 5 recordings of To the Man of the High North by Robert Service. This was the Fortnightly Poetry project for November 28, 2010.
Robert William Service (January 16, 1874 – September 11, 1958) was a poet and writer, sometimes referred to as "the Bard of the Yukon".
His writing was so expressive that his readers took him for a hard-bitten old Klondike prospector, not the later-arriving bank clerk he actually was.
In addition to his Yukon works, Service also wrote poetry set in locales as diverse as South Africa, Afghanistan, and New Zealand.
These twelve poems are taken from Ballads of a Cheechako which was Robert W. Service's third book of Yukon poems, published in 1909. The word Cheechako, from Chinook Jargon, originated in the United States (Alaska) and Canada (Yukon) and was imported into local English during the Yukon gold rush that began in 1896. Cheechako, is a non derogatory word meaning "newcomer" or "tenderfoot." The derivation looks something like this: chee new cha come ko home.
Published in 1899, just a year before his death, War Is Kind by Stephen Crane evokes again the dark imagery of war which made his fortune in The Red Badge Of Courage. Unlike that book, this collection leaves the battlefield itself behind to explore the damage war does to people’s hearts and minds. Reeking of dashed hopes, simultaneously sympathetic with the victims of war and cynical about the purposes of war, Crane implicitly criticizes the image of the romantic hero and asks if Love can survive.
The poetic voice is one of an old and wearied soul, stark and disillusioned, which is all the more intriguing since Crane was dead before he reached his 30th birthday. His work calls to mind the Beat Poets of the mid 20th century in its powerful use of language and bleak idiomatic landscape. It is poetry on the cusp of the fin de siècle; echoing the passing age and presaging the newborn century.
Volunteers bring you eight different recordings of Psalm 133, to celebrate United Nations Day. This was the weekly poetry project for the week of October 22nd, 2006.
17 recordings of Let Us Make Each Day Our Birthday by S.A.R., from The California Birthday Book (1909).
Two young people, the epitome of young masculine and feminine beauty, fall in love at first sight, but their union is forbidden by the tyranny of their guardians and of geography itself, for they live on opposite sides of the Hellespont. To enjoy one night of love, Leander dares to swim this formidable strait, unluckily meeting the god Neptune along the way. Unaware of the resentment he has aroused by rejecting the advances of this old queen of the sea, the lad gains the shore and, once past the shock of appearing naked on his lover's doorstep, finds his way into her bed. There the young couple, although ignorant of the facts of life (Hero is a "nun" in the temple of Venus!), discover "all that elder lovers know" by (awkward) trial and (hilarious) error. The unfinished poem ends with one lover having fallen out of bed, the long return journey across the Hellespont still to come and an angry Neptune lying in wait. Although George Chapman continued the poem after Marlowe's death, this reading is of Marlowe's original only.
Volunteers bring you 8 recordings of January by Helen Hunt Jackson. This was the Weekly Poetry project for January 13, 2013.
Helen Maria Hunt Jackson, born Helen Fiske was an Amewrican writer and activist for the improvement of treatment of the Native Americans by the U.S. government. Her books A Century of Dishonor and Ramona both attracted considerable attention to her cause.
Helen Hunt Jackson is probably most famous for her work on behalf of Native Americans’ rights. However, this short volume presents a sonnet for each month of the year, devoted simply and beautifully to the shifting wonder of nature through the seasons.
In this DIRECTORY you'll see just what you never ought to be; and so, it should direct your way to Good Behavior, every day. The children of whose faults I tell are known by other names, as well, so see that you aren't in this group of Naughty Ones. Don't be a Goop!
An alphabet of historical characters presented in poetical form! In their original form, the contents of this
book appeared in the Chicago Sunday Tribune,
which newspaper is hereby thanked for
the privilege of reproducing this Alphabet
An alphabet of historical characters presented in poetical form!
Volunteers bring you 10 recordings of The Christmas Tree by Anonymous. This was the Weekly Poetry project for December 19, 2010
This poem taken from Christmas Entertainments by Alice Maude Kellogg, contianing fancy drills, acrostics, motion songs, tableaux, short plays, recitations in costume for children of five to fifteen years. (from book introduction)
The Wit and Humor of America is a 10 volume series. In this, the fourth volume, 40 short stories and poems have been gathered from 33 authors. This volume is sure to delight listeners.
Volunteers bring you 20 recordings of Best Way to Read a Book by Edgar A. Guest. This was the Fortnightly Poetry project for September 12th, 2010.
Volunteers bring you 11 recordings of Impartiality by James Russell Lowell. This was the Weekly Poetry project for January 16, 2011.
James Russell Lowell was an American Romantic poet, critic, editor, and diplomat. He is associated with the Fireside Poets, a group of New England writers who were among the first American poets who rivaled the popularity of British poets. These poets usually used conventional forms and meters in their poetry, making them suitable for families entertaining at their fireside.
This book contains verse for young and old. It is full of fantastic stories, breathtaking images, and brilliant rhymes. Including classics from "The Duel" to "The Delectable Ballad of Walter Lot," the author, a devout Christian, keeps his religious overtones to a minimum. When listening, please keep in mind that the text was originally written in the 1800s. -
Volunteers bring you 26 recordings of The Disagreeable Man by Sir W. S. Gilbert. This was the Fortnightly Poetry project for June 10, 2012.
The Bab Ballads are a collection of light verse by W. S. Gilbert, illustrated with his own comic drawings. Gilbert wrote the Ballads before he became famous for his comic opera librettos with Arthur Sullivan. In writing the Bab Ballads, Gilbert developed his unique "topsy-turvy" style, where the humour was derived by setting up a ridiculous premise and working out its logical consequences, however absurd. The Ballads also reveal Gilbert's cynical and satirical approach to humour. They became famous on their own, as well as being a source for plot elements, characters and songs that Gilbert would recycle in the Gilbert and Sullivan operas. The Bab Ballads take their name from Gilbert's childhood nickname, and he later began to sign his illustrations "Bab".
Nothing else quite like the Ballads has ever been produced in the English language. They contain both satire and nonsense, as well as a great deal of utter absurdity. The Ballads were read aloud at private dinner-parties, public banquets and even in the House of Lords. The ballads have been much published, and there are even recordings of readings of some of them.
Volunteers bring you 14 recordings of The Snowman in the Yard by Joyce Kilmer. This was the Fortnightly Poetry project for February 26, 2012.
Alfred Joyce Kilmer was an American journalist, poet, literary critic, lecturer, and editor. Though a prolific poet whose works celebrated the common beauty of the natural world as well as his religious faith, Kilmer is remembered most for a short poem titled "Trees" (1913), which was published in the collection Trees and Other Poems in 1914.
At the time of his deployment to Europe during World War I (1914–1918), Kilmer was considered the leading American Catholic poet and lecturer of his generation, whom critics often compared to British contemporaries G. K. Chesterton (1874–1936) and Hilaire Belloc (1870–1953). A sergeant in the 165th U.S. Infantry Regiment (better known as 'The Fighting 69th), Kilmer was killed at the Second Battle of the Marne in 1918 at the age of 31.
The Vernal Equinox signals the time when the winter’s cold mantle begins to succumb to the warming influences of the oncoming spring. Fay Inchfawn (nee Elizabeth Rebecca Ward) took the springtime of 1920 as her inspiration for the bright promise of beauty and new life described in Early Spring. Volunteers bring you eight different readings of this magical work to celebrate the Vernal Equinox.
Ring Lardner is a typical parent when his first child is born, full of wonder and the rest of the usual emotions as he watches his little son grow. He wrote a series of 29 short poems on various facets of parenthood.
Volunteers bring you 12 recordings of Long Ago by Christina G. Rossetti. This was the Weekly Poetry project for December 9, 2012.
Christina Georgina Rossetti (5 December 1830 – 29 December 1894) was an English poet who wrote a variety of romantic, devotional, and children's poems. She is perhaps best known for her long poem Goblin Market, her love poem Remember, and for the words of the Christmas carol In the Bleak Midwinter.
Volunteers bring you 11 recordings of Echoes of Love’s House by William Morris. This was the Weekly Poetry project for January 9th, 2011.
William Morris was an English textile designer, artist, writer, and socialist associated with the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood and the English Arts and Crafts Movement. Morris wrote and published poetry, fiction, and translations of ancient and medieval texts throughout his life.
Today, Morris's poetry is little-read. His fantasy romances languished out of print for decades until their rediscovery amid the great fantasy revival of the late 1960s following the phenomenal success of Tolkien's Lord of the Rings. But his textile and wallpaper designs remain a staple of the Arts and Crafts Revival of the turn of the 21st century, and the reproduction of Morris designs as fabric, wrapping paper, and craft kits of all sorts is testament to the enduring appeal of his work. The William Morris Societies in Britain, the US, and Canada are active in preserving Morris's work and ideas.
Volunteers bring you 13 recordings of Christmas Morning by Eugene Field. This was the Fortnightly Poetry project for December 12, 2010.
Eugene Field, Sr. (September 2, 1850 – November 4, 1895) was an American writer, best known for his children's poetry and humorous essays.
This is a small collection of whimsical poems by the American physician and author Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr. "The Deacon's Masterpiece" describes the "logical" outcome of building an object (in this case, a two-wheeled carriage called a shay) that has no weak points. The economic term "one hoss shay," referring to a certain model of depreciation, derives its name from this poem. "How the Old Horse Won the Bet" is a lighthearted look at a horse race. Finally, "The Broomstick Train" is a wonderfully Halloween-y explanation of how an electric tram really works.
This collection of lyric poems evokes the sea in every line, from birth (A Son of the Sea) to death (Outbound). The smells, sights and sounds of the Canada's East Coast feature prominently.
Book of 31 short poems dedicated to Soldierboys.
Volunteers bring you 17 recordings of Thrice Welcome from Poor Robin's Almanac. This was the Weekly Poetry project for December 11, 2011.
Poor Robin's Almanac first appeared in England in the 17th century. It ran until sometime in the 18th century.
It was originally a satirical publication, although over the years it became less humorous and more of a source for traditional homilies.
Poor Robin is a pseudonym whose original user is unknown. William Winstanley and Robert Herrick are both possible candidates. More works were published under this pseudonym in America in the 1800s.
Volunteers bring you 9 recordings of At the End of the Feast by Anonymous.
A traditional English Christmas Carol, first published in New Christmas Carols in 1642.
This poem was the Weekly Poetry Project for the week beginning December 25th 2011.
Volunteers bring you 18 recordings of Faded Pictures by William Vaughn Moody. This was the Weekly Poetry project for September 2, 2012.
"I really liked this one. It reminded me of Browning's monologues. Absolutely lovely...and dark at the same time." (Caprisha Page)
William Vaughn Moody was a United States dramatist and poet. Author of The Great Divide, first presented under the title of The Sabine Woman at the Garrick Theatre in Chicago on April 12, 1906. Moody's poetic dramas included The Masque of Judgment (1900), The Fire Bringer (1904), and The Death of Eve (left undone at his death).
Volunteers bring you 19 recordings of Forgiveness by George William Russell. This was the weekly poetry project for June 7th, 2009.