Audiobooks by John Donne

Through the centuries in the solace of a church we hear music. These soaring vaulted often beautiful pieces of architecture have borne witness to hymns that change our emotions and fortify our spirit through life, death and celebrations and memorials of every type in between. Whether you are of a Christian faith or not, it is difficult to deny that these hymns create something stirring something magical which shouldn't be surprising when you hear the original poems. They speak with clarity and purpose, uplifting the heart and the soul, rejoicing God's work and man's pledge to do better in His eyes. But Hymns also have a wider duty to perform as there are many facets, themes and help on how to live lives as ourselves and appreciate each other as well as nature. In listening each of us can be swayed and persuaded on a number of levels.However many poets have called their work 'a Hymn' and have explored its theme and its definition, in different ways. They can be more irreverent and suggest that hymns can come not from churches but other places - even watermelon pavilions.One of the purposes of poems, of verse, of words, is to bring a subject into our view, imbue it with a little understanding and perhaps help us to confirm our opinions or hear in a way we might not have originally thought of it. Seeing and hearing through others can be a way to find more complex ripples of knowledge or to challenge what we hold and adjust that thinking.In this volume we bring you a wide range of Hymns from the religious and the devotional to the humane and the wonderful.

Ann Griffiths, James Thomson, John Donne (Author), Daniela Nardini, Richard Mitchley, William Dufris (Narrator)

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Metaphysical Poems (Unabridged)

Sex, science and spirituality! These were the triad of influences on the poetry of the seventeenth century. Following the golden age of Elizabeth I this century was to be one of great tensions; between Parliament and the Monarchy, Canterbury and Rome, science and religion; a civil war, the beheading of a King, The Republic, The Restoration, and finally, the Glorious Revolution which deposed a King and firmly reasserted the Protestant ascendancy. The role of a poet could be a dangerous one; Milton of course was imprisoned and threatened with execution whilst others dare not publish in their lifetimes. This selection of poetry chosen by Steve Patriarca draws on a group of poets commonly called the Metaphysicals or Metaphysical Poets. Included in the selection is one reading which is not strictly a poem at all but a sermon by John Donne, where Donne uses the characteristics of poetry to make his point about sin and mortality. His images are so striking that they have passed into the common language most of us know the phrase for whom the bell tolls or no man is an island even if we do not know the source. These poems have immense life and drama; they can be at once humorous and deeply emotional. They can also be great fun. But be warned. They can make you think!

Andrew Marvell, Henry King, John Donne (Author), Steve Patriarca (Narrator)

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15 Minutes Of Love Poems - Volume 5

Love. What is love?The question is asked by each of us but the answer remains elusive. Dictionaries summon up many words but none fulfill. Love itself is often ethereal, felt but only seen in a glance, a look, a fleeting touch. Part of Love’s beauty is perhaps in the fact that the question never can be adequately answered; its ephemeral, a chimera of the heart and only felt. Our own experiences are unique and personal to ourselves and of little help defining it for another.Love is perhaps best expressed through poetry. As Plato said 2500 years ago “At the touch of a lover, everyone becomes a poet”. Writing a love poem for ones’ partner is seen as the most romantic of gestures. It opens our hearts to another's. Lovers love.Here, in this volume history’s greatest poets convey thoughts, feelings and sentiments of love to you in quick (or bite-size) conversations of verse that can slip into your day and your partner's heart.

Ella Wheeler Wilcox, John Donne, Ralph Waldo Emerson (Author), Richard Mitchley (Narrator)

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The Poetry of the 17th Century - Volume 1

The Elizabethan age had almost departed and the world had seen the rise of great European empires that continued to hunt with mischief between themselves as they traversed the globe in search of more spoils and territories. In England the Civil War had brought about the Will of Parliament and the replacement of the Crown as the governing body. But with these Puritan times, and the subsequent Restoration, Poetry had entered a golden age. John Milton, John Dryden, Ben Jonson are but a few of the luminaries whose great verse followed in the wake of the immortal William Shakespeare.

Aphra Behn, John Donne, John Dryden (Author), Ghizela Rowe, Gideon Wagner, Richard Mitchley (Narrator)

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The Caroline Poets

The Caroline era was dominated by the growing religious, political and social conflict between the King and his supporters; the Royalists and it's Puritan opposition; the Roundheads.In contrast to the wars raging across Europe at the time, the Caroline period in Britain was an uneasy peace, as a dark shadow of civil conflict between King and Parliament worsened toward the latter part of Charles’ reign.Whilst Theatre unquestionably fell from its glittering peak achievements of William Shakespeare and Ben Jonson, in Poetry the standard was perhaps only just shy of this bar.This Caroline period saw the flourishing of the Cavalier poets including Thomas Carew, Richard Lovelace and Sir John Suckling and the Metaphysical poets including George Herbert, Henry Vaughan and Katherine Phillip. These movements had also given birth to the talents of the masterful John Donne, as well as lyrically satisfying artists like Robert Herrick. To this heady, yet eclectic mix we can add the early work of John Milton.In this volume we demonstrate that these poets, quite rightly, make the Caroline Age one of the glories of poetry.

Abraham Cowley, Andrew Marvell, John Donne (Author), Ghizela Rowe, Gideon Wagner, Richard Mitchley (Narrator)

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The Poetry Hour - Volume 14

Poetry is often cited as our greatest use of words. The English language has well over a million of them and poets down the ages seem, at times, to make use of every single one. But often they use them in simple ways to describe anything and everything from landscapes to all aspects of the human condition. Poems can evoke within us an individual response that takes us by surprise; that opens our ears and eyes to very personal feelings.Forget the idea of classic poetry being somehow dull and boring and best kept to children’s textbooks. It still has life, vibrancy and relevance to our lives today. Where to start? How to do that? Poetry can be difficult. We’ve put together some very eclectic Poetry Hours, with a broad range of poets and themes, to entice you and seduce you with all manner of temptations. In this hour we introduce poets of the quality and breadth of John Donne and Jane Austen as well as themes on November, The Female Poet, Westminster Memorials and more.All of them are from Portable Poetry, a dedicated poetry publisher. We believe that poetry should be a part of our everyday lives, uplifting the soul & reaching the parts that other arts can’t. Our range of audiobooks and ebooks cover volumes on some of our greatest poets to anthologies of seasons, months, places and a wide range of themes. Portable Poetry can found at iTunes, Audible, the digital music section on Amazon and most other digital stores. This audio book is also duplicated in print as an ebook. Same title. Same words. Perhaps a different experience. But with Amazon’s whispersync you can pick up and put down on any device – start on audio, continue in print and any which way after that. Portable poetry – Let us join you for the journey.The Poetry Hour – Volume 14 - An IntroductionJohn Donne – An IntroductionDeath Be Not Proud by John DonneThe Good Morrow by John DonneThe Expiration by John DonneA Valediction Forbidding Mourning by John DonneWestminster Memorials – An IntroductionLonging by Matthew ArnoldLondon by William BlakeHeaven by Rupert BrookeApostasy by Charlotte BronteWhen We Two Parted by Lord ByronHe That is Down Needs Fear No Fall by John BunyanTurtle Soup by Lewis CarrollA Thought For A Lonely Death Bed by Elizabeth Barrett BrowningNovemberNovember by Thomas hoodNovember by Amy LowellNovember by John PayneA November Night by Sara TeasdaleAt Day Close In November by Thomas HardyThe Poetry of William Shakespeare - An IntroductionIf Music Be the Food of Love, from Twelfth Night by William ShakespeareHow Like A Winter Hath My Absence Been (Sonnet 97) by William ShakespeareShall I Compare Thee to A Summers Day (Sonnet 18) by William ShakespeareThe Witches Spell by William ShakespeareFull Fathom Five by William ShakespeareNo Longer Mourn For Me by William ShakespeareSonnet 116 by William Shakespeare The Female Poet – An Introduction. Volume 2No Coward Soul is Mine by Emily Bronte If Thou Must Love Me Let It Be For Nought by Elizabeth Barrett Browning If Infinite Worlds, Infinite Centres by Margaret Cavendish Isabella Valancy Crawford – We Parted in SilenceWhen My Love Did What I Would Not, What I Would Not by Mary Elizabeth Coleridge I’m Ceded – I’ve Stopped Being Theirs by Emily Dickenson Ah, Silly Pug by Queen Elizabeth I Sweet Evenings Come and Go Love by George Eliot The Poets of 19th Century America. An Introduction – Volume 2Heaven is What I Cannot Reach by Emily Dickinson Knee Deep in June by James Whitcomb Riley Prologue by Oliver Wendell HolmesSummer Wing by William Cullen BryantGoodbye by Ralph Waldo EmersonJane Austen – An IntroductionWhen Stretch'd on One's Bed by Jane AustenMy Dearest Frank, I Wish You Joy by Jane Austen

Jane Austen, John Donne, William Shakespeare (Author), Ghizela Rowe, Gideon Wagner, Richard Mitchley (Narrator)

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The Poetry Of Light - From Dawn To Dusk

The night begins its surrender to the first gleamings of the day.The day falls into the inky embrace of night.Within these two periods Nature interplays light and dark creating magical glancing rays and soft somnolent blankets of ever-changing coloured light.Dawn, sunrise, Dusk, twilight, sunset. We are held in captive awe as the fruit of the sun waxes and wanes....wanes and waxes.Our classic poets, with their imagination and word-play, capture these times in wondrous verse.

H. P. Lovecraft, John Donne, Willa Cather (Author), Ghizela Rowe, Gideon Wagner, Richard Mitchley (Narrator)

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The Poetry of John Donne

John Donne was born on 22nd January 1572 in London into a Roman Catholic family when Catholicism was illegal in England and there was turbulence and unrest with both state and church throughout much of Europe. His father, also named John, died when he was 4 and his mother, Elizabeth Heywood married a wealthy widower, ensuring the family were looked after. He received a good education in both Oxford and Cambridge but was unable to obtain a degree without taking the Oath of Supremacy, which as a Catholic, he refused to do.During the 1590's Donne wrote a wide range of verse including both erotic and sacred poems, creating two major volumes of work. His strong, vivacious and sensual style fusing intellect and passion as well as inventive use of subtle argument and syntax provided a new radical perspective that reached beyond his contemporaries and continues to chime and charm poetry lovers throughout the ages.Difficult to believe that with this enormous talent, Donne, lived in poverty for many years, exacerbated by his secret marriage to Ann More, which meant no dowry, and their having twelve children. Later he served in Parliament and became Dean of St Pauls in 1621, noted for his learned and charismatic sermons.John Donne died in London on 31st March, 1631 but leaves an enormous legacy of many splendid and influential poems. He was known as the founder of the Metaphysical Poets and is widely regarded as one of Britain's best loved poets.This volume comes to you from Portable Poetry, a specialized imprint from Deadtree Publishing. Our range is large and growing and covers single poets, themes, and many compilations.

John Donne (Author), Ghizela Rowe, Gideon Wagner, Richard Mitchley (Narrator)

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The Elizabethan Poets

Elizabethan Poetry - An Introduction. Queen Elizabeth the First reigned from 1558 until 1603 and this first Elizabethan age is seen as a golden age not only of commerce, ambitions of empire but also of culture. Of poetry, painting and drama. In this volume of poetry we have collected together some of the finest examples from its illustrious creators spanning this important time in British history. From Shakespeare and Marlowe to Donne, Jonson and Spenser our wordsmiths muse and clarify their thoughts into beautiful, evocative verse.

John Donne, Sir Francis Bacon, Thomas Campion (Author), Ghizela Rowe, Richard Mitchley (Narrator)

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The Metaphysical Poets

Samuel Johnson wrote in reference to the beginning of the seventeenth century that there "appeared a race of writers that may be termed the metaphysical poets". Widely regarded in the years since as a distinct Poetical movement it is interesting to note that from what we now know the Metaphysical poets did not, in the main, read or know one another. Samuel Johnson was not an admirer of the group as he decried their distinct lack of the decorum of the day and stylistic impurity but the poems here testify that it bands together a wonderful group of poets and their poems in an inspiring and thought provoking volume.

Anne Bradstreet, John Donne, Thomas Carew (Author), Ghizela Rowe, Richard Mitchley, Tim Graham (Narrator)

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The Renaissance Poets - Volume 2

For our Renaissance Poets we start with the coming to the throne of Henry 8th in 1519. From then until its end, with the crumbling of the English Republic under Cromwell, in 1659 these poets capture a time when the World as they knew it then underwent tumultuous change. Within their ranks were Spenser, Donne, Milton, Shakespeare, Sidney, Jonson, Marvell, Drayton. It is a list rich and sumptuous, long and gloried. In these volumes we bring all these poets and others together to illustrate this poetical canon.

John Donne, Katherine Phillips, Michael Drayton (Author), Ghizela Rowe, Gideon Wagner, Richard Mitchley (Narrator)

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The Love Poetry Of John Donne

John Donne (1572 - 1631) was an English poet, preacher, and a major representative of the metaphysical poets of the period. His works are notable for their realistic and sensual style and include sonnets, love poetry, religious poems, Latin translations, epigrams, elegies, songs, satires, and sermons. His poetry is noted for its vibrancy of language and inventiveness of metaphor, especially as compared to those of his contemporaries.

John Donne (Author), Richard Burton (Narrator)

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