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Publisher's Summary

Adopting the methodology of the music charts, The Classic Hundred Poems presents the "top 100" poems of all time. Determined by a consensus of over 1,000 compilers, and arranged in chronological order, each author's work is illuminated by the informative notes of editor William Harmon, who offers insight into the historical period in which each author lived and the author's choice of verse form, tone, and style. This program is read by an ensemble of contemporary poets, including Alfred Corn, Rita Dove, Cornelius Eady, Jorie Graham, Eamon Grennan, Anthony Hecht, Maureen Howard, and James Merrill.
©1990, 1997 Columbia University Press (P)16 9; 1998 HighBridge Company
Classics Poetry Drama & Plays World Literature
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What listeners say about The Classic Hundred Poems

Average Customer Ratings
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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • James
  • 2004-07-13

A great selection of poetry

There's not enough space to list all the good poems in this collection, but here are some of the best: "Ulysses" by Tennyson, "My Last Duchess" by Robert Browning, "Lycidas" by John Milton, "The Tyger" by William Blake, "Musee des Beaux Arts" by W.H. Auden, and "The Good Morrow" by John Donne.

In general the poems are very well-performed, except for a few that are read by the poet Jorie Graham. She decided to read in a stilted, affectless monotone which I found distracting. That shouldn't stop you from buying this, though, because the rest of the poems are great.

84 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Judith
  • 2005-12-15

Wonderful!!

Some of the greatest poems ever written, read beautifully by poets, and introduced with information about both the poet and the poem. If you like poetry at all you cannot go wrong with this book!

27 people found this helpful

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    4 out of 5 stars
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  • Lesley
  • 2012-10-14

Good selection

Good selection of poetry, but if ever an audible book should be "whisper sync ready" this is it. There is no way to go to a specific poem, I don't read poetry anthologies from beginning to end, I like to pick a poem and go directly to it as the mood strikes.

15 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Laurel
  • 2011-03-15

Mixed bag

I believe a poem is best experienced by hearing it. This selection of poems is a good place to start. I enjoyed the introduction to each poem, placing it in historical context and the touch of biography. What I did not enjoy was the one female reader who chose to remove all life, all emotion, all enjoyment from the poems she read. Even with this flaw, I would recommend this audio book for an overview of English Language poetry.

10 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Chi-Hung
  • 2008-12-30

Relaxing, lovely, but could be improved.

I love poettry, this book is very relaxing, and also has a short introductory note on each poet. However, because there are quite a few narrators, the quality of each narrator differs widely, some better than others.

7 people found this helpful

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  • Gary
  • 2012-08-14

great way to get to know poetry

What did you love best about The Classic Hundred Poems?

The introductions that set the context of the poem are helpful.

Any additional comments?

Most of the readings are good. It would be nice if there table of contents listed the poems so that you could find them easily.

2 people found this helpful

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    2 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
  • peter
  • 2020-08-08

Some terrible readings. Be warned.

The poems are excellent. The readings not so. Like being fed literary gems by Siri or Alexa. Not recommended as overall discouraging. Look further.

1 person found this helpful

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    4 out of 5 stars
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  • Gavin
  • 2015-09-30

Great selection but intros get boring

The poems were nice but sometimes the introductions to the poems were not great or were too long. Makes it less nice to listen to everything twice

1 person found this helpful

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  • doctordoctor
  • 2018-11-01

A poet, I

This is a wonderful selection of great poems by wonderful poets; perhaps I shall join the second hundred. I

2 people found this helpful

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  • Douglas
  • 2008-02-27

Poems are great, but...

The poems are great, and if you enjoy them, by all means get this production. However, the poems are read by poets, and in some cases, these are not very well read.

5 people found this helpful