Classic Poetry

Elliott Gould, Burt Reynolds, Meryl Streep, and a host of other celebrities read over 100 poems by four of America's greatest poets. Walt Whitman celebrates the brash and rugged individualism of his country in exuberant language. The spare, precise language of Emily Dickinson conveys her penetrating vision of the natural world and an acute understanding of the most profound human truths.

Songs of Innocence and of Experience is a collection of 45 poems by English poet William Blake. "Songs of Innocence" is the first part of the collection and appeared in 1789 with engraved illustrations by Blake. The second part, "Songs of Experience", also illustrated, was added in 1794 when Blake published the whole under the full title of Songs of Innocence and Experience Showing the Two Contrary States of the Human Soul.

Award-winning narrator Mike Vendetti recites Shakespeare's "Sonnet 16".

An anthology of verse by women poets writing in Persian, most of whom have never been translated into English before, from acclaimed scholar and translator Dick Davis. From Rabe'eh in the 10th century to Fatemeh Ekhtesari in the 21st, the women poets found in The Mirror of My Heart write across the millennium on such universal topics as marriage, children, political climate, death, and emancipation, recreating life from hundreds of years ago that is strikingly similar to our own today and giving insight into their experiences as women.

Edgar Allan Poe was one of the greatest lyric poets of the English language. But his early work as a writer went unrecognized, and he was forced to earn his living in the newspaper business, working as an editor in Richmond, Philadelphia, and New York. Although he was respected as a literary critic, his poetry and short stories were neglected until the publication of The Raven and Other Poems in 1845, which propelled him to instant fame.

The Irish Classics Collection is a wide-ranging collection of 9 classic works of fiction and poetry by Irish authors, read by an award-winning cast of narrators. Included here are stories by some of the greatest writers of all time, including James Joyce; Bram Stoker; Oscar Wilde; W.B. Yeats; Elizabeth Bowen; and more.

The beloved poem from the great Rudyard Kipling. If you can follow these precepts, you will indeed be a man, my son.

Educated in Lebanon, United States, and France, Gibran was influenced by the European modernists of the late 19th century, but even more by Francis Marrash, who introduced poetic prose and prose poetry in the Arab world. Gibran's style of writing and ideas he wrote about are believed to have been greatly influenced by Marrash, particularly the concept of universal love.

Presenting a delightful collection of children's favorite Mother Goose rhymes by Tomie dePaola. Young listeners and their parents will enjoy meeting up with familiar friends, including Old King Cole, Little Bo-Peep, Jack and Jill, and many more in an audiobook that is sure to be a story-hour favorite.

Paradise Lost is an epic poem in blank verse by the 17th-century English poet John Milton. Originally published in 1667 in ten books and later revised to twelve, here Anthony Quayle reads book 1 and book 4.

A collection of Rosetti's most well known and loved poetry. Alongside the famous beauty of Rosetti's 'In the Bleak Midwinter', 'Goblin Market' is a deceptively simple poem. The story of two sisters and their temptation, punishment and redemption, written in Christina Rosetti's characteristically songlike poetry, is easily passed over as a fable or fairy story. But there are several layers more to discover in this most intriguing of poems.

Climb up the beanstalk with Jack, march with the Duke of York and visit the bears with Goldilocks in Nursery Stories and Rhymes! These popular tales and rhymes read and sung by well-known children's TV presenters Floella Benjamin and Derek Griffiths, with added sound effects and music, will keep children listening again and again, at home or in the car.

Dylan Thomas made several recordings in the early 1950s of other poets' works. Captured here is a collection of poems written by William Butler Yeats.

The Aeneid is one of the greatest works in all of world literature. It is filled with mythology, history, and archaeology; it is infused with patriotism, religious feeling, and pathos; it is rich in adventure and romance. As the story begins, a storm shipwrecks Aeneas and his Trojan followers near Carthage in North Africa. There, Aeneas falls in love with Dido, queen of Carthage. But the gods order him to leave for Italy. In despair, Dido commits suicide. Upon finally reaching Italy, Aeneas goes down into the lower world and learns about his future descendants, the Romans.

Homer's masterpiece tells the story of Odysseus, the ideal Greek hero, as he travels home to Ithaca after the Trojan War, a journey of 10 years and countless thrilling adventures. Rich in Greek folklore and myth, featuring gods and goddesses, monsters and sorceresses, The Odyssey has enchanted listeners around the world for thousands of years.

From the vast and colorful imagination of Mary Engelbreit springs a Mother Goose world bursting with warmth and humor. All the favorite time-honored characters are here: Little Bo-Peep, Humpty Dumpty, Old King Cole, Jack and Jill, and many, many more, along with such treats as a mouse running up the clock, piggies going to market, and children dancing round the mulberry bush.

The finest voices reading a wonderful selection of poetry accompanied by selected classical music.

Along with Virgil, Horace (Quintus Horatius Flaccus) was the greatest poet produced by Rome, and in many ways his work has had arguably an even greater impact. His brilliant expression and astonishing acumen continue to amaze readers today, either in their original Latin or in innumerable worldwide translations. Shakespeare's debt to Horace is incalculable, and it is difficult to read his Sonnets today without immediately being reminded of the famous Odes.

This is a story from the Chilling Ghost Stories collection. The Raven, by Edgar Allan Poe, tells of a talking raven's mysterious visit to a distraught lover, tracing the man's slow fall into madness. First published in January 1845, the poem is often noted for its musicality, stylized language, and supernatural atmosphere.

This audiobook contains the most exciting and essential parts of the Iliad, capturing the final 50 days of the Trojan war and bringing to life ancient men and heroic battles. It provides an integral beginning to the infamous journey of Odysseus. Translated by Stanley Lombardo.