Poetry Audiobooks | Literature

"One of the most distinctive periods in poetry occurred in England early in the 1800s. This is now referred to as the age of romanticism, a movement which rebelled against the neoclassical forms and celebrated the imagination as a spiritual force. John Keats was a prominent shaper of this new movement, and as such, he was not without his critics. 'I think I shall be among the English Poets after my death,' he soberly prophesied. Indeed, Keats suffered an early tragic death of tuberculosis at the age of twenty-five but today is recognized as the archetypal romantic genius who explored the limits of the imagination and celebrated the pleasures of the senses. Unlike Shelley, Keats was not a political poet; his prime passion was for art. His muse was the goddess of beauty and truth, and his worship of her found its finest expression in his immortal odes, which stand unique in literature, unexcelled in perfection. The poems collected here are: 1. 'Oh Chatterton! How Very Sad Thy Fate' 2. 'O Solitude! If I Must with Thee Dwell' 3. 'To One Who Has Been Long in City Pent' 4. 'On First Looking into Chapman's Homer' 5. 'To My Brothers' 6. 'Great Spirits Now on Earth Are Sojourning' 7. 'On the Grasshopper and Cricket' 8. 'After Dark Vapours Have Oppressed Our Plains' 9. 'On Seeing the Elgin Marbles' 10. 'On the Sea' 11. A Selection from 'Endymion' 12. 'To Mrs. Reynolds' Cat' 13. 'On Sitting Down to Read King Lear Once Again' 14. 'When I Have Fears That I May Cease to Be' 15. 'Lines on the Mermaid Tavern' 16. 'O Thou Whose Face Hath Felt the Winter's Wind' 17. 'For There's Bishop's Teign' 18. 'On Visiting the Tomb of Burns' 19. 'Old Meg She Was a Gipsey' 20. 'This Mortal Body of a Thousand Days' 21. 'There Is a Joy in Footing Slow across a Silent Plain' 22. 'The Eve of St. Mark' 23. 'Why Did I Laugh Tonight? No Voice Will Tell' 24. 'Bright Star, Would I Were Stedfast as Thou Art' 25. 'Hyperion: A Fragment' (Book I), II, and III) 26. 'Hyperion: A Fragment' (Book I, continued; Book II, Book III) 27. 'La Belle Dame sans Merci: A Ballad' 28. 'Sonnet to Sleep' 29. 'Ode to Psyche' 30. 'Ode to a Nightingale' 31. 'Ode on a Grecian Urn' 32. 'Ode on Melancholy' 33. 'Ode on Indolence' 34. 'Lamia' (Part I) 35. 'Lamia' (Part I, continued; Part II) 36. 'To Autumn' 37. 'The Fall of Hyperion: A Dream' 38. 'This Living Hand, Now Warm and Capable'"

John Keats (Author), Frederick Davidson (Narrator)

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From Shakespeare, With Love

"Shakespeare's Sonnets, one of the most remarkable collections of poetry, was first published in 1609, 400 years ago by Mr Thomas Thorpe. Naxos AudioBooks marks the occasion with a selection of 80 of the finest, read by leading actors. The selection includes famous ones such as 'Shall I compare thee to a summer's day' as well as lesser well-known sonnets though of equally fine stature."

William Shakespeare (Author), Various (Narrator)

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The Great Poets

"The idiosyncratic Scottish poet William Topaz McGonagall has the unusual reputation as one of the worst poets in the English language with rhymes and rhythms that produce mirth rather than wonder. His masterpiece is The Tay Bridge Disaster. Scottish-born Gregor Fisher, who starred in Love Actually and other film and TV programmes, reads the key poems and passages from the autobiography - and gets deep into character!"

William McGonagall (Author), Gregor Fisher, Nicolas Soames (Narrator)

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[Spanish] - La Palabra y Tú

"Audiolibro de Vive el Tiempo. La intérprete nos lleva a recorrer el mundo del sentimiento estético a través de las palabras. Por el camino de la poesía nos lleva no solamente hacia la belleza, sino a reconocer posibilidades para cambiar la vida, la propia y la del entorno, ya que la poesía mueve y conmueve. A partir de los once autores que elige para su interpretación busca llevar al oyente a reconocer la palabra que consagra la experiencia de los hombres y las relaciones entre el hombre y el mundo, entre el hombre y la mujer, entre el hombre y su propia conciencia. A reconocer, con Octavio Paz, que la poesía es un testimonio del éxtasis, del amor dichoso, pero también lo es de la desesperación."

Alfonsina Storni, Jesús Isarrarás, José Antonio Jiménez, José Martí, Mario Benedetti, Tomás Rico Cano, Vidal Cobian (Author), María Cecilia Izarraraz Gutiérrez (Narrator)

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[French] - Le bateau ivre

Arthur Rimbaud (Author), Cédri Zimmerlin, Denis Podalydès, Lorànt Deutsch, Xavier Gallais (Narrator)

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[French] - Une saison en enfer

Arthur Rimbaud (Author), Lorànt Deutsch (Narrator)

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The Great Poets

"Though by profession a doctor (he coined the word anesthesia) Oliver Wendell Holmes (1809-1894) was one of the leading 19th century American poets and a member of the famous Saturday Club with Emerson, Longfellow and Lowell. 2009 is the 200th anniversary of his birth. Here are his major poems, including Old Ironsides and The Last Leaf in a rare audiobook collection read affectingly by Peter Marinker."

Oliver Wendell Holmes (Author), Peter Marinker (Narrator)

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Patriotic Grace

"Peggy Noonan's Wall Street Journal column has been must reading for thoughtful liberals and conservatives alike. Now she issues an urgent, heartfelt call for all Americans to support the next President. Because it is not the threats and challenges we face, but how we face them that defines us as a nation. The terrible events of 9/11 brought us together in a way not seen since World War II. But the stresses and divisions of the Bush years have driven us apart to a point that is unhealthy and dangerous. Today, Noonan argues, the national mood has swung the other way and it is well past time for politicians to catch up. We long for leaders who can summon us to greatness and sacrifice, as they did in the long struggles against fascism and communism. In this timely essay, written in the pamphleteering tradition of Tom Paine's Common Sense, Noonan reminds us that we must face our common challenges together—not by rising above partisanship, but by reaffirming what it means to be American."

Peggy Noonan (Author), Peggy Noonan (Narrator)

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The Great Poets

"Elizabeth Barrett Browning (1806-1861) and Christina Rossetti (1830-1894) were both regarded as the female poet laureates of their time, and between them their writings spanned almost the entire Victorian age, from the end of Romanticism to the beginnings of Modernism. This selection of their shorter works contains all the major themes that animated them - social justice, faith, love and mortality - and some of the best-loved poetry in English, including In The Deep Midwinter and How Do I Love Thee? These poems reflect the changing world in which they were composed, but they also reflect the complex passions of two extraordinary women."

Christina Georgina Rossetti, Elizabeth Browning (Author), Georgina Sutton, Rachel Bavidge (Narrator)

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Classic Erotic Verse

"A witty, bawdy, erotic but classic collection of poetry designed to celebrate the most sensual of human pleasures. Over the ages many poets have put pen to paper in celebration of that most raw and yet most beautiful of human instincts - erotic love. This anthology includes verse by Herrick, Marlowe, Jonson, Byron, Verlaine, Whitman, Yeats, Cummings and, from our own time, John Betjeman. All aspects of erotic love are to be found in these poems - from the bawdy to the sensuous and tender."

Various Authors (Author), Various (Narrator)

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[German] - Krneta, Greis & Apfelböck: Winnetou Bühler

"Hier treffen zwei auf den ersten Blick unterschiedliche Künstler aufeinander: der Schriftsteller Guy Krneta und der Rapper Greis. Gemeinsam mit dem Musiker Jakob Apfelböck entsteht dabei weder Rap noch Literatur, sondern beides zuammen: Literaptur. Erzählt wird die Legende von Winnetou Bühler, Sohn der Comic-Zeichnerin Maya Bühler und des legendären Polit-Aktivisten San Leutenegger. Mit dem Bonus-Track 'Umgekehrti Täler' nach Albrecht von Haller setzen Krneta, Greis & Apfelböck neue Massstäbe in der Spoken-Word-Literatur! Seit einigen Jahren treten der Schriftsteller Krneta, der Rapper Greis und der Musiker Apfelböck gemeinsam auf. Im Laufe der Zeit entwickelten sich gemeinsame Geschichten, und vor allem kristallisierte sich eine Figur heraus: Winnetou Bühler. Dieser steht gewissermassen zwischen den Generationen, er ist ein aus der Zeit Gefallener, oder - pathetisch gesagt - 'der letzte Bewegte'. Rund um Winnetou und seine Mutter Maya Bühler entstanden eine Reihe von Texten, die in diesem Spoken-Word-Download versammelt sind. Die beiden Autoren nähern sich assoziativ und mosaikartig den Themen und Geschichten. Ausgelotet werden mit vielfältigen poetischen Mitteln und Methoden - ob mehr Rap oder mehr Spoken Word - die Möglichkeiten des Erzählens."

Guy Krneta, Jakob Apfelböck (Author), Jakob Apfelböck (Narrator)

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[German] - Mund auf, Wort raus: 10 Jahre Poetry Slam in der Schweiz

"Ein Land, ein Wort: Poetry Slam in der Schweiz: Seit Ende der 1990er-Jahre lesen auch in der Schweiz Poetinnen und Poeten an Poetry Slams um die Wette. Inzwischen ist der Dichterwettstreit eine Selbst- verständlichkeit im Kulturbetrieb, die Szene so gross wie noch nie. Von Aarau bis Zofingen, in grossen Städten und kleinen Dörfern finden regelmässig Poetry Slams statt. Der vorliegende Download dokumentiert zum ersten Mal in dieser Breite die Slam-Szene der Schweiz. Selbstredend, dass er lange nicht für alle Poet/innen der Schweizer Slam-Bühnen ausreicht. Aber es finden sich immerhin 29 Slammerinnen und Slamer darauf! Unter anderem vereint er die 'Hits' und 'Stars' vor allem aus früheren Jahren und auch Slammer/innen, die sich inzwischen von der Slam-Bühne ver- abschiedet haben. Der zweite Teil des Downloads bietet mit einer Aufnahme aus der Grabenhalle St. Gallen 2008 einen Überblick über die aktuelle, junge Slam-Szene."

Ato Meiler, Constantin Seibt, Daniel Ryser, Daniela Dill, Dari Hunziker, Elsa Fitzgerald, Etrit Hasler, Gabriel Vetter, Ivo Engeler, Jürg Halter, Lara Stoll, Marguerite Meyer, Mathias Frei, Patrick Armbruster, Patrick Savolainen, Pedro Lenz, Ralf Schlatter, Renato Kaiser, Richi Küttel, Sandra Künzi, Simon Chen, Simon Libsig, Stefanie Grob, Tom Combo (Author), Ato Meiler, Constantin Seibt, Daniel Ryser, Daniela Dill, Dari Hunziker, Elsa Fitzgerald, Etrit Hasler, Gabriel Vetter, Ivo Engeler, Jürg Halter, Lara Stoll, Marguerite Meyer, Mathias Frei, Patrick Armbruster, Patrick Savolainen, Pedro Lenz, Ralf Schlatter, Renato Kaiser, Richi Küttel, Sandra Künzi, Simon Chen, Simon Libsig, Stefanie Grob, Tom Combo (Narrator)

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Poetry Audiobooks in Literature