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The Power of Poetry - Poems for Inner Peace
"Life is frenetic. Everything is running faster which usually means we are running later. Everything should have been done 5 minutes ago or better still yesterday. We are slowly falling behind, overwhelmed by busy lives in an ever-exacting world.In these more modern times, time is everything. There’s never enough of it.So how do we slow down and become more comfortable with our lives, how do we find a balance? Life shouldn’t just be one task after another. Yes, a good life has to be worked for, found time for, but life should also be enjoyed and savoured.One answer may lie in the past. Classic poets down the decades and centuries have wisely observed that there are many things, both great and small, that bring a sense of stillness, an aura of calm, a chance to re-engage with our feelings and emotions purely by taking time for moments that matter. With verse and poems from the likes of William Shakespeare, Alexander Pope, Mirabai, Tagore, Rumi and the calming balms of many others that soothe the soul and bring the inner peace we all need."
William Wordsworth (Author), Gideon Wagner (Narrator)
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"William Wordsworth was born on 7 April, 1770 in Cockermouth, in Cumbria, northwest England. Wordsworth spent his early years in his beloved Lake District often with his sister, Dorothy. The English lakes could terrify as well as nurture, and as Wordsworth would write “I grew up fostered alike by beauty and by fear,”After being schooled at Hawkshead he went to St. John’s College, Cambridge but not liking the competitive nature of the place idled his way through saying he “was not for that hour, nor for that place.” Whilst still at Cambridge he travelled to France. He was immediately taken by the Revolutionary fervor and the confluence of a set of great ideals and rallying calls for the people of France.In his early twenties he ventured again to France and fathered an illegitimate child. He would not see that daughter till she was 9 owing to the tensions and hostilities between England and France.There now followed a period of three to four years that plagued Wordsworth with doubt. He was now in his early thirties but had no profession, was rootless and virtually penniless. Although his career was not on track he did manage to publish two volumes, both in 1793; An Evening Walk and Descriptive Sketches.This dark period ended in 1795. A legacy of £900 received from Raisley Calvert enabled Wordsworth to pursue a literary career in earnest. In 1797 he became great friends with a fellow poet, Samuel Taylor Coleridge. They formed a partnership that would change both their lives and the course of English poetry.Their aim was for a decisive break with the strictures of Neoclassical verse. In 1798 the ground breaking Lyrical Ballads was published. Wordsworth wrote in the preface “the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings: it takes its origin from emotion recollected in tranquility.” Most of the poems were dramatic in form, designed to reveal the character of the speaker. Thus the poems set forth a new style, a new vocabulary, and new subjects for poetry.Coleridge had also conceived of an enormous poem to be called “The Brook,” in which he proposed to treat all science, philosophy, and religion, but soon laid the burden of writing it to Wordsworth. To test his powers for that endeavour, Wordsworth began writing the autobiographical poem that would absorb him for the next 40 years, and which was eventually published as The Prelude, or, Growth of a Poet’s Mind. By the 1820s, the critical acclaim for Wordsworth was growing, but perhaps his best years of work were behind him. Nonetheless he continued to write and to revise previous works. With the death is 1843 of his friend and Poet Laureate Robert Southey, Wordsworth was offered the position. He accepted despite saying he wouldn’t write any poetry as Poet Laureate. And indeed he didn’t.Wordsworth died of pleurisy on 23 April 1850. He was buried in St Oswald’s church Grasmere."
William Wordsworth (Author), Gideon Wagner (Narrator)
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Shakespeare. An Ode for His Three-Hundreth Birthday
"Tupper is a neglected poet but his verse on perhaps the greatest of all poets is a knowing and dedicated tribute."
Martin Farquhar Tupper (Author), Gideon Wagner (Narrator)
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"John Milton was born in Bread Street, London, on December 9th, 1608. His early years were privately tutored before gaining a place at St Paul’s School and in 1625 he matriculated at Christ's College, Cambridge, earning a BA in 1629 and an MA in 1632. At Cambridge he had developed a reputation for poetic skill but also experienced alienation from his peers and university life as a whole. The next 6 years were spent in private study. He read both ancient and modern works of theology, philosophy, history, politics, literature and science, in preparation for a poetical career. Milton mastered Latin, Greek, Hebrew, French, Spanish, and Italian. To these he would add Old English (whilst researching his History of Britain) and also acquired more than a passing acquaintance in Dutch. Although he was studying, some of his poetry from this time is remarkable; L’Allegro and Il Penseroso in 1631 and Lycidias in 1638.In May 1638, Milton embarked upon a 15 month tour of France and Italy. These travels added a new and direct experience of artistic and religious traditions, especially Roman Catholicism. He cut the journey short to return home during the summer of 1639 because of what he claimed were "sad tidings of civil war in England." Once home, Milton wrote prose tracts against episcopacy, in the service of the Puritan and Parliamentary cause. He married 16-year-old Mary Powell in June 1643 but she left him after only a few months during which he wrote and published several writings on divorce. Mary did return after 3 years and their life thereafter seemed harmonious. Milton received a hostile response to the divorce tracts and drove him to write Areopagitica, his celebrated attack on pre-printing censorship. With the parliamentary victory in the Civil War, Milton wrote The Tenure of Kings and Magistrates (1649) which defended popular government and implicitly sanctioned the regicide which led to his appointment as Secretary for Foreign Tongues by the Council of State. On 24 February 1652 Milton published his Latin defense of the English People, Defensio Pro Populo Anglicano, also known as the First Defense. Milton's Latin prose and intellectual sweep, quickly gained him a European reputation. Tragically his first wife, Mary, died on May 5th, 1652 following the birth of their fourth child. The following year Milton had become totally blind, probably due to glaucoma. He then had to dictate his verse and prose to helpers, one of whom was the poet Andrew Marvell. He married again to Katherine Woodcock but she died in February 1658, less than four months after giving birth to a daughter, who also tragically died. Though Cromwell’s death in 1658 caused the English Republic to collapse Milton stubbornly clung to his beliefs and in 1659 he published A Treatise of Civil Power, attacking the concept of a state-dominated church. Upon the Restoration in May 1660, Milton went into hiding for his life. An arrest warrant was issued and his writings burnt. He re-emerged after a general pardon was issued, but was nevertheless arrested and briefly imprisoned before influential friends, such as Marvell, now an MP, intervenedHis third marriage was to Elizabeth Mynshull. Despite a 31-year age gap, the marriage seemed happy and Milton spent the remaining decade of his life living quietly in London, apart from a short spell in Chalfont St. Giles, during the Great Plague of London. Milton was to now publish his greatest works, which had been gestating for many years. Paradise Lost, perhaps the classic English Epic poem was originally published in 10 books in 1667. This was followed by Paradise Regained and Samson Agonistes in 1671. Because of his anti-monarchy views their reception was muted but over the centuries since Milton has established himself as second only to Shakespeare. He died of kidney failure on November 8th, 1674 and was buried in the church of St Giles Cripplegate."
John Milton (Author), Gideon Wagner (Narrator)
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Born in England – Exploring English Poetry - Oxford University
"Poetry. A form of words that seems so elegantly simple in one verse and so cleverly complex in another. Each poet has a particular style, an individual and unique way with words and yet each of us seems to recognise the path and destination of where the verses lead, even if sometimes the full comprehension may be a little beyond us.Through the centuries every culture has produced verse to symbolize and to describe everything from everyday life, natural wonders, the human condition and even in its more hubristic moments, the crushing triumph of an enemy.In the volumes of this series, we take a look at poetry through the prism of individual regions of England, or sometimes more quaintly known as ‘Albion’, or ‘Blighty’, through the centuries of its gloried history.England, despite its perception of reserve and under-statement has, in reality, strode the global stage at various time in many things, both good and bad, from Empire to long distance running. Here our focus in on its literature. Famed for its fiction and dramas, it is equally admired for its plethora of gifted poets and the dazzling verse which has added so much to its artistic legacy. These classic poets are wonders of their age and of their art. Genius is written in their names.In this volume we explore the poets of Oxford. A small city, with its famed university, with an enviable historical grandeur and roll-call of poets who dazzle, humble and inspire us all in ways that only a poet can. Our poets include A E Housman, Gerard Manley Hopkins, Michael Drayton, Percy Bysshe Shelley and a host of other timeless greats."
A E Houseman, Algernon Charles Swinburne, Edward Thomas, Gerard Manley Hopkins, John Donne, Laurence Binyon, Lewis Carroll, Matthew Arnold, Michael Drayton, Percy Bysshe Shelley, Robert Seymour Bridges, Robert Southey, Sir Philip Sidney, William Morris (Author), Ghizela Rowe, Gideon Wagner, Richard Mitchley (Narrator)
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A Rhyme A Dozen - 12 Poets, 12 Poems, 1 Topic ? Churchyards
"'A dime a dozen' as known in America, is perhaps equal to the English 'cheap as chips' but whatever the lingua franca of your choice in this series we hereby submit 'A Rhyme a Dozen' as 12 poems on many given subjects that are a well-rounded gathering, maybe even an essential guide, from the knowing pens of classic poets and their beautifully spoken verse to the comfort of your ears. 1 - A Rhyme A Dozen - 12 Poems, 12 Poets, 1 Topic - Churchyards - An Introduction 2 - Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard by Thomas Gray 3 - In Kirkonnel Old Churchyard by Alexander Anderson 4 - Contemplative Verses on the Tombs in Drumcondra Church Yard by Thomas Dermody 5 - Reflections in a Churchyard by Jane Timbury 6 - Lines Written Beneath An Elm in the Churchyard of Harrow On The Hill Sept 2nd 1807 by George Gordon Byron 7 - A Summer Evening Churchyard by Percy Bsysshe Shelley 8 - Scenes in London IV - The City Churchyard by Letitia Elizabeth Landon 9 - Elegy - Supposed To Be Written in Barnet Churchyard by George Townsend 10 - In a Christian Churchyard by James Thomson 11 - Eastnor Churchyard by Radclyffe Hall 12 - Epitaph for a Roman Catholic Churchyard by John Kenyon 13 - Church Monuments by George Herbert"
Alexander Anderson, George Herbert, George Townsend, James Thomson, Jane Timbury, John Kenyon, Letitia Elizabeth Landon, Lord Byron, Percy Bsysshe Shelley, Radclyffe Hall, Thomas Dermody, Thomas Gray (Author), Gideon Wagner, Jake Urry, Sean Barrett (Narrator)
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A Rhyme A Dozen - 12 Poets, 12 Poems, 1 Topic ? Geographical Features
"'A dime a dozen' as known in America, is perhaps equal to the English 'cheap as chips' but whatever the lingua franca of your choice in this series we hereby submit 'A Rhyme a Dozen' as 12 poems on many given subjects that are a well-rounded gathering, maybe even an essential guide, from the knowing pens of classic poets and their beautifully spoken verse to the comfort of your ears. 1 - 01 - A Rhyme A Dozen - 12 Poems, 12 Poets, 1 Topic - Geographical Features - An Introduction 2 - On the Desert by Stephen Crane 3 - Mist In The Valley by Edna St Vincent Millay 4 - The Lake Isle of Inisfree by William Butler Yeats 5 - The River and Its Waves Are One by Kabir 6 - The Awakening River by Katherine Mansfield 7 - In the Forest by Sarojini Naidu 8 - Woods in Winter by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow 9 - The Waterfall by Henry Vaughan 10 - Aurora Borealis by Herman Melville 11 - The Cloud on the Mountain by Alama Iqbal 12 - Alone Looking at the Mountain by Li Po 13 - How the Old Mountains Drip with Sunset by Emily Dickinson"
Alama Iqbal, Edna St Vincent Millay, Emily Dickinson, Henry Vaughan, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Herman Melville, Kabir, Katherine Mansfield, Li Po, Sarojini Naidu, Stephen Crane, William Butler Yeats (Author), Gideon Wagner, Kelly Burke, Patricia Rodriguez (Narrator)
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The Top 10 Short Stories - War
"Short stories have always been a sort of instant access into an author's brain, their soul and heart. A few pages can lift our lives into locations, people and experiences with a sweep of landscape, narration, feelings and emotions that is difficult to achieve elsewhere.In this series we try to offer up tried and trusted 'Top Tens' across many different themes and authors. But any anthology will immediately throw up the questions - Why that story? Why that author? The theme itself will form the boundaries for our stories which range from well-known classics, newly told, to stories that modern times have overlooked but perfectly exemplify the theme. Throughout the volume our authors whether of instant recognition or new to you are all leviathans of literature.Some you may disagree with but they will get you thinking; about our choices and about those you would have made. If this volume takes you on a path to discover more of these miniature masterpieces then we have all gained something.In this volume our authors take on War, the destroyer of humanity. Our literary masters bring the true scale of the horror in sometimes tiny fragments of peoples lives to reveal its true and deep-felt effects.01 - The Top 10 - War - An Introduction02 - Two Friends by Guy de Maupassant03 - War by Luigi Pirandello04 - The Locket by Kate Chopin05 - Three Wars by Emile Zola06 - Them Others by Stacy Aumonier07 - An Occurrence At Owl Creek Bridge by Ambrose Bierce08 - The Siege of Berlin by Alphonse Daudet09 - The Bowmen by Arthur Machen10 - My First Goose by Isaac Babel11 - The German Spy by William Hope Hodgson"
Alphonse Daudet, Ambrose Bierce, Arthur Machen, Emile Zola, Guy De Maupassant, Isaac Babel, Kate Chopin, Luigi Pirandello, Stacy Aumonier, William Hope Hodgson (Author), David Shaw-Parker, Gideon Wagner, Richard Mitchley (Narrator)
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"'A dime a dozen' as known in America, is perhaps equal to the English 'cheap as chips' but whatever the lingua franca of your choice in this series we hereby submit 'A Rhyme a Dozen' as 12 poems on many given subjects that are a well-rounded gathering, maybe even an essential guide, from the knowing pens of classic poets and their beautifully spoken verse to the comfort of your ears.1 - A Rhyme A Dozen - 12 Poems, 12 Poets, 1 Topic - Autumn - An Introduction2 - The Name of it is Autumn by Emily Dickinson3 - Autumn by Khalil Gibran4 - In Autumn Moonlight by Robert Seymour Bridges5 - The Autumn by Elizabeth Barrett Browning6 - Autumn in the Garden by Fredegond Shove7 - An Autumn Rain Scene by Thomas Hardy8 - Love in Autumn by Sara Teasdale9 - Autumn in Cornwall by Algernon Charles Swinburne10 - To Autumn by William Blake11 - Autumn Dawn by Charles Sorley12 - Autumn Elegy by Leslie Norris13 - Autumn - A Dirge by Percy Bysshe Shelley"
Emily Dickenson, Khalil Gibran (Author), Gideon Wagner (Narrator)
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"The year reaches its end with the Twelfth month. The landscape may be bleak, a sculpture of lines, monochrome dominates. The air carries the sounds of winter; wind, storms, silence. Our classic poets flex their lexicons with verse that describes all manner of events, sights and sounds. Among their ranks are Hardy, Shakespeare, Rossetti, Nesbit, Burns and a wealth of others, who, with their thoughts and desires express the world in lines of inky marvel."
Christina Georgina Rossetti, Thomas Hardy, William Shakespeare (Author), Ghizela Rowe, Gideon Wagner, Richard Mitchley (Narrator)
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"Over the centuries the Christian festival of the celebration of Christ has lost much of its religious element as it has morphed into becoming a convenient date for mass marketing and the consumption of excess food, drink and material goods to a now global audience.But look below the glossy veneer of commercialism and we find a truer meaning, a moral message and guidance that whilst we may all want it watered down a little in these more secular times does contain some truths and principles for us all to enjoy better lives and better relationships with those around us.In this volume of fifty poems our classic poets bring us everything from the tried and trusted view to the irreverent but mainly focus on their faith that can rejoice at this festival and makes us all part of the human race, its ideals and its joys. From Dickinson, Chesterton, Hardy, Yeats, Jonson, Rossetti and many others, come welcome lines of humanity that give us all cause to celebrate."
Charlotte Bronte, Sara Teasdale, William Shakespeare (Author), Ghizela Rowe, Gideon Wagner, Richard Mitchley (Narrator)
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Fifty Shades of the British Landscape
"Over many centuries poets have drawn inspiration and solace from the land that surrounds us. From mountain high to valley floor from sea cliffs to sandy shore through wood and field, across rivers, brooks and streams through sunlight, raging storms and the cloak of night these shores have some of the most beautiful natural treasures to be found anywhere.Our poets including William Wordsworth, Robert Bridges and A E Houseman to Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Radclyffe Hall and Emily Bronte with mere words help convey the splendour of this British Landscape in fifty classic poems."
A. E. Housman, Radclyffe Hall, William Wordsworth (Author), Ghizela Rowe, Gideon Wagner, Richard Mitchley (Narrator)
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