Poetry Audiobooks | Literature

A Rare Recording of Poet John Ciardi Reading His Own Writing

"John Anthony Ciardi (June 24, 1916 - March 30, 1986) was an American poet, translator, and etymologist. While primarily known as a poet, Ciardi pursued etymology, contributed to the Saturday Review as a columnist and long-time poetry editor, directed the Bread Loaf Writers' Conference in Vermont, and recorded commentaries for National Public Radio. In 1959, Ciardi published a book on how to read, write, and teach poetry, How Does a Poem Mean?, which has proven to be among the most-used books of its kind. In the following recordings, Ciardi reads "And They Lived Happily Ever After For Awhile," “To Judith, I,” “Happiness,” and “The Lamb.”"

John Ciardi (Author), John Ciardi (Narrator)

Audiobook

A Rare Recording of Poet John Ciardi

"John Anthony Ciardi (June 24, 1916 - March 30, 1986) was an American poet, translator, and etymologist. While primarily known as a poet, Ciardi pursued etymology, contributed to the Saturday Review as a columnist and long-time poetry editor, directed the Bread Loaf Writers' Conference in Vermont, and recorded commentaries for National Public Radio. In 1959, Ciardi published a book on how to read, write, and teach poetry, How Does a Poem Mean?, which has proven to be among the most-used books of its kind. The following recording is from a speech Ciardi gave in 1965."

John Ciardi (Author), John Ciardi (Narrator)

Audiobook

A Rare Recording of Lawrence Ferlinghetti Reading His Own Poems

"Lawrence Monsanto Ferlinghetti (March 24, 1919 - February 22, 2021), born in Yonkers, NY, was an American poet, painter, social activist, and co-founder of City Lights Booksellers & Publishers. An author of poetry, translations, fiction, theatre, art criticism, and film narration, Ferlinghetti was best known for his second collection of poems, A Coney Island of the Mind (1958), which has been translated into nine languages and sold over a million copies. The following recording includes Ferlinghetti reading the poems, Baseball Canto, Travels in America Deserta, See It Was Like This When, and Underwear."

Lawrence Ferlinghetti (Author), Lawrence Ferlinghetti (Narrator)

Audiobook

A Rare Recording of William Morris Meredith Jr. Reading His Own Poems

"William Morris Meredith Jr. (January 9, 1919 - May 30, 2007), born in New York City, was an American poet and educator. He was Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress from 1978 to 1980, and the recipient of the 1988 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry. In the following recordings Mederdith reads his poems "The Wreck of the Thresher," "Parents From The Cheer," "The Illiterate," and "Crossing Over.""

William Morris Meredith Jr. (Author), William Morris Meredith Jr. (Narrator)

Audiobook

GAZA Today: Would You Turn Your Back

"GAZA Today: Would You Turn Your Back. (Harmony-Join Book 4) Everyone knows what Gaza is. A strip of land in the Middle East, being vociferously fought over. I don't want to get into the Politics of it, but at least a brush with it is unavoidable if you attempt any kind of dialogue or description of the occurrences that are happening there - truly awful. This poem is a short one, and keeps to the suffering of its people, and not delving too much into sides of the Political spectrum. I think the suffering in a modern day scenario with instant and graphic footage of this one-sided war is horrific. Regardless of who did what to who, and who did it first etc, it should be focused on the humanitarian side in any conflict lest we lose sight of what we maybe fighting for - I think the focus on humanity has been totally lost. Are we to Turn Our Back on these people. The West should push for extreme Sanctions to reign in the seemingly unstoppable gungho aggression of the combatants - There is a Geneva convention you know. It can only mean something if it is enforced... Footnote: This Poem is all about the kids in this conflict. Whose right and whose wrong, shouldn't come into it on the humanitarian field of view."

Mike Blake (Author), Mike Blake (Narrator)

Audiobook

[Italian] - La pioggia nel pineto

Gabriele D'Annunzio (Author), Valerio Di Stefano (Narrator)

Audiobook

Echoes Of My Mind.: Poems From Life's Journey

"This audiobook is narrated by an AI Voice. Echoes of My Mind: Poems from Life’s Journey by Glenn S. Duquette is a heartfelt collection of poetry that captures the essence of love, loss, resilience, and the simple beauty of life’s moments. Through vivid imagery and poignant verses, Duquette reflects on the trials and triumphs of the human spirit, weaving themes of hope, connection, and the enduring power of love. From tender dedications to lost loved ones to lyrical musings on nature, relationships, and personal growth, this collection speaks to the universal experiences that shape us all. Whether you're seeking solace, inspiration, or a deeper understanding of life's complexities, Echoes of My Mind invites you on a journey of introspection and emotional discovery. Perfect for lovers of poetry and those who find comfort in words that resonate with the heart, this book serves as a testament to the power of expression and the enduring strength of the human soul."

Glenn S Duquette (Author), Synthesized voice – unspecified (Narrator)

Audiobook

My Childhood in Pieces: A Stand-Up Comedy, a Skokie Elegy

"From the award-winning poet, dark comic microbursts of prose deliver a whole childhood, at the hands of an aspiring middle-class Jewish family whose hard-boiled American values and wit were the forge of a poet's coming-of-age. "My grandparents taught me to write my sins on paper and cast them into the water. . . . They didn't expect an entire book," Hirsch says in the "prologue" to this glorious festival of knife-sharp observations. In microchapters-sometimes only a single scathing sentence long-with titles like "Call to Breakfast," "Pay Cash," "The Sorrow of Manly Sports," and "Aristotle on Lawrence Avenue," Eddie's gambling father, Ruby, son of a white metal smelter, schools him and his sister in blackjack; Eddie's mom bangs pots to wake the kids to a breakfast of cold cereal; Uncle Bob, in the collection business, is heard threatening people on the phone; and nobody suffers fools. In this household, Eddie learned to jab with his left and cross with his right, never to kid a kidder, and how to sneak out at night. Affectionate, deadpan, and exuberant, steeped in Yiddishkeit and Midwestern practicality, Hirsch's laugh-and-cry performance animates a heartbreaking odyssey, from the cradle to the day he leaves home, armed with sorrow and a huge store of poetic wit."

Edward Hirsch (Author), Edward Hirsch (Narrator)

Audiobook

Ocean of Clouds: Poems

"In his fourth book of poems, award-winning poet Garrett Hongo sees coastlines and waters, skylines and ancestral lines for what they inspire and teach. In a surpassingly beautiful collection of poems, with his characteristic long-lined, rolling music, Hongo is alert to the possibilities of individual moments of perception and grace in the landscapes of his life, whether waiting for a ferry in Balboa after a writing workshop ("An oil slick from a yacht . . . / Spread rainbows on the water, an aleph / curving toward us") or hanging out and playing LPs with the late, great poet Michael Harper, or watching his daughter in the sun with a halo of messy twelve-year-old's hair, or listening to the sea, which speaks to him in so many places: at the Wai'ōpae Tidepools, at Cassis, at Divi Bay in Saint Martin, where, he tells us, "I thought of writing to the soul of Nâzim Hikmet, / saying loving a woman was like writing a book- / . . . it is love's body on which you write a page of kisses . . ." These poems of cloudy moons and sandstone cliffsides, the black glass of lava shattered into sands, waves surging, and stories of a poet's gratitude for the journey he has made, come together to make a paean against forgetting."

Garrett Hongo (Author), Garrett Hongo (Narrator)

Audiobook

[German] - Kasperle und das gestohlene Ei

"Willkommen in dieser ersten Folge der brandneuen Hörspielserie aus dem Kasperledorf. Was tut man wenn man Hunger hat, aber nichts zum Essen da hat? Vor diesem Dilemma sieht sich unser Rabe Kruifax, als er einen Riesenappetit auf ein Ei hat, welches im Nest der Frau Henne liegt. Gelingt es ihm das Ei zu stehlen? Was passiert dabei mit Frau Henne? Und wie geht am Ende doch noch alles gut aus? Eine lustige Abenteuergeschichte aus dem Kasperleland mit Herz, Spannung und gewürzt mit einer schönen Prise Humor."

Ruth Sprachmann (Author), Hagen Sprachmann, Naomi Sprachmann, Ruth Sprachmann (Narrator)

Audiobook

[Swedish] - Du ska tacka: Klassiska Dikter

"DU SKA TACKA | KARIN BOYE 'Du ska tacka' är en stark och existentiell dikt ur Karin Boyes diktsamling Gömda land från 1924, där hon uppmanar till tacksamhet för livets prövningar – för det är genom smärta och vilsenhet vi finner vår inre styrka och sanna jag. - Om författaren: Karin Boye var en svensk författare och poet som föddes i Göteborg 1900 och dog i Stockholm 1941. Hon är mest känd för sina diktsamlingar 'Kallocain' och 'Hemligheter', men skrev även romaner och essäer. Boye var en föregångare inom den modernistiska rörelsen i Sverige och hennes verk präglas av en stark individualism och en längtan efter frihet."

Karin Boye (Author), Klassiska Dikter (Narrator)

Audiobook

[Swedish] - Viken: Klassiska Dikter

"VIKEN | GUSTAF FRÖDING Dikten Viken av Gustaf Fröding ingår i samlingen Gitarr och dragharmonika (1891) och är en stämningsmättad skildring av en höststorm över en vik, där naturens förändring speglar diktjagets inre känslor av sorg, förlust och livets förgänglighet. - Om författaren: Gustaf Fröding var en svensk poet och författare, född den 22 augusti 1860 i Alsters socken, Värmland, och avled den 8 februari 1911. Han betraktas som en av Sveriges främsta lyriker och var en centralgestalt inom svensk litteratur under slutet av 1800-talet."

Gustaf Fröding (Author), Klassiska Dikter (Narrator)

Audiobook

Poetry Audiobooks in Literature