"LibriVox volunteers bring you 24 recordings of The Despairing Lover by William Walsh. This was the Fortnightly Poetry project for March 11, 2012.
William Walsh was an English poet and critic. It is not as a poet, however, but as the friend and correspondent of Alexander Pope that Walsh is remembered.
"Mr Walsh used to tell me," Pope says, "that there was one way left of excelling; for though we had several great poets, we never had any one great poet that was correct, and he desired me to make that my study and my aim." (Summary from Wikipedia )"
"In celebration of Memorial Day in the United States, 2007, LibriVox volunteers bring you twelve different recordings of Dirge for Two Veterans by Walt Whitman. This was the weekly poetry project for the week of May 27th, 2007 (summary by Karen Savage)."
"Drum Taps is the next collection of poems published by Walt Whitman after his famous Leaves of Grass. This collection is a direct response to Whitman's personal observations of the Civil War, many of which come from his volunteer efforts in wartime hospitals. Despite the miseries of war described, Whitman's poems in Drum Taps assert a steady patriotism in favor of Lincoln's war effort. Interestingly, the 1915 edition used for this reading includes an introduction from the Times Literary Supplement which draws analogies between the Civil War and the current throes of World War I, enlisting Whitman posthumously as a supporter of the Allied campaign against Germany. - Summary by Expatriate"
"LibriVox volunteers bring you 11 recordings of I Saw in Louisiana a Live-Oak Growing by Walt Whitman. This was the Weekly Poetry project for May 26, 2013.
This poem is taken from Book 4 of Leaves of Grass, a collection of poetry which Whitman would continue editing and revising until his death. (Summary from Wikipedia)"
"American poet Walt Whitman’s Leaves of Grass, is a collection of poems notable for its frank delight in and praise of the senses, during a time when such candid displays were considered immoral. Where much previous poetry, especially English, relied on symbolism, allegory, and meditation on the religious and spiritual, Leaves of Grass exalted the body and the material world.
Whitman was inspired to begin Leaves of Grass after reading an essay by Ralph Waldo Emerson which expressed a need for a uniquely American poet. When the book was first published, Whitman sent a copy to Emerson, whose praiseful letter of response helped launch the book to success. Whitman’s hero, Abraham Lincoln, read and enjoyed an early version of Leaves of Grass. Despite such high recommendations, Whitman faced charges of obscenity and immorality for his work, but this only led to increased popularity of the book.
Whitman continually revised and republished Leaves of Grass throughout his lifetime, notably adding the “Drum-Taps” section after Lincoln’s assassination. The book grew from 12 poems in its first publication, which Whitman paid for and typeset himself, to nearly 400 poems in its final, “Death Bed Edition.” This recording is of the final edition. (Summary adapted from wikipedia.org by Annie Coleman)"
"LibriVox volunteers bring you 13 recordings of Longings for Home by Walt Whitman. This was the Weekly Poetry project for August 26, 2012.
Born on Long Island, Whitman worked as a journalist, a teacher, a government clerk, and – in addition to publishing his poetry – was a volunteer nurse during the American Civil War. Early in his career, he also produced a temperance novel, Franklin Evans (1842). Whitman's major work, Leaves of Grass, was first published in 1855 with his own money. The work was an attempt at reaching out to the common person with an American epic. He continued expanding and revising it until his death in 1892. After a stroke towards the end of his life, he moved to Camden, New Jersey, where his health further declined. He died at age 72 and his funeral became a public spectacle. ( Summary from Wikipedia )"
"LibriVox volunteers bring you 15 different recordings of Miracles, by Walt Whitman. This was the weekly poetry project for the week of March 4th, 2007."
"Librivox volunteers bring you eight different readings of Walt Whitman’s A Noiseless Patient Spider, a weekly poetry project. (Summary by Annie Coleman)"
"In honor of President’s Day, LibriVox brings you thirteen versions of O Captain! My Captain! by Walt Whitman. This classic poem was written by Whitman following the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. It appears in Leaves of Grass, Whitman’s masterpiece of a poetry collection and is considered by many to be one of his greatest poems. This was the LibriVox Weekly Poetry Project for the week of February 19th, 2006.
(Summary by Annie Coleman)"
"LibriVox volunteers bring you 11 recordings of Old Chants by Walt Whitman. This was the Fortnightly Poetry project for May 15, 2011.
Walter ""Walt"" Whitman was an American poet, essayist and journalist. A humanist, he was a part of the transition between transcendentalism and realism, incorporating both views in his works. Whitman is among the most influential poets in the American canon, often called the father of free verse. His work was very controversial in its time, particularly his poetry collection Leaves of Grass, which was described as obscene for its overt sexuality.(summary by Wikipedia)
The first edition of Leaves of Grass was very small, collecting only twelve unnamed poems in 95 pages. Whitman continued to expand the editions until the ninth and final edition of almost 400 poems.(summary by David Lawrence)"
"LibriVox volunteers bring you 23 recordings of An Old Man's Thought of School by Walt Whitman. This was the Fortnightly Poetry project for February 12, 2012.
Whitman claimed that after years of competing for "the usual rewards", he determined to become a poet. He first experimented with a variety of popular literary genres which appealed to the cultural tastes of the period. As early as 1850, he began writing what would become Leaves of Grass, a collection of poetry which he would continue editing and revising until his death. ( Summary from Wikipedia )"
