Next up: Tom Waits reads Charles Bukowski’s poem, The LaughÂing Heart. As Zoran (a readÂer from Greece) observes, Waits reads the poem much like BukowsÂki would have read it himÂself.
Of course, this raisÂes the quesÂtion: How did BukowsÂki read his poetÂry? The Secret of My Endurance holds the answer.
Thanks Zoran…
William CarÂlos Williams – docÂtor by day, poet by night, and cerÂtainÂly one of AmerÂiÂca’s finest. In this 1954 audio clip, we hear Williams readÂing his own poetÂry at the stoÂried 92nd Street Y in New York City. Poems include: “A Sort of a Song,” “The ManeuÂver,” “SeaÂfarÂer,” “The Three Graces,” “PaterÂson, Episode 17,” “The Descent” and “Fish.” The reads are now added to the PoetÂry secÂtion of our Free Audio Books ColÂlecÂtion.
PoetÂry lovers take note: PeoÂple ReadÂing Poems is a very new web site where users can come to hear recordÂings of peoÂple readÂing poems they love, and also to share their own favorite poems. It’s all comÂpleteÂly free and easy to use. If you have a free moment, pay it a visÂit and help the site grow.
AnothÂer great New York City moment. In the spring of 2009, conÂstrucÂtion workÂers buildÂing the new home for Poets House were treatÂed to a short poetÂry readÂing by the actor Bill MurÂray. We iniÂtialÂly encounter MurÂray (at the 59 secÂond mark) readÂing lines from BilÂly Collins’ AnothÂer ReaÂson I Don’t Keep a Gun in the House. Next up? Lorine NiedeckÂer’s very pithy poem, Poets Work, and then, of course, a litÂtle EmiÂly DickÂinÂson.
For more free poetÂry, visÂit our colÂlecÂtion of Free Audio Books.
LookÂing for free, proÂfesÂÂsionÂalÂÂly-read audio books from Audible.com? Here’s a great, no-strings-attached deal. If you start a 30 day free triÂal with Audible.com, you can downÂload two free audio books of your choice. Get more details on the offer here.
RelatÂed ConÂtent:
Bill MurÂray Gives a DelightÂful ReadÂing of Twain’sHuckleberry Finn (1996)
Watch Bill MurÂray PerÂform a SatirÂiÂcal Anti-TechÂnolÂoÂgy Rant (1982)
WritÂing in The Guardian, VicÂtor KeeÂgan, a longÂtime jourÂnalÂist and poet, talks about his new iPhone app, City Poems. The newÂly released app will run you $2.99 on iTunes, which makes it less than open, I know. (Have you seen our free app, by the way?) But it’s admitÂtedÂly a pretÂty nice conÂcept for the culÂturÂal crowd, enough to jusÂtiÂfy givÂing it a quick menÂtion here. About City Poems, KeeÂgan says:
City Poems – pubÂlished today – … uses satelÂlite navÂiÂgaÂtion to guide culÂture vulÂtures and tourists alike through the streets of cenÂtral LonÂdon poem by poem. After weeks of researchÂing poems about the city, I realised that you can learn more about the past life of a city from poems than from most guide books and hisÂtoÂries. WherÂevÂer you are standÂing in LonÂdon (or New York for that matÂter) with an iPhone (or iPod Touch or iPad) in your hand it will tell you how many metres you are away from places and events that poems have been writÂten about.
They include the exeÂcuÂtion of the crimÂiÂnal Jonathan Wild (one of the inspiÂraÂtions for John Gay’s The BegÂgar’s Opera), pubÂlic burnÂings in SmithÂfield (“His guts filled a barÂrel”) or the curiÂous stoÂries behind the statÂues in TrafalÂgar Square, which I had passed by in ignoÂrance for many decades…
Like I said, an intriguÂing conÂcept, and it seems as though KeeÂgan has plans to bring this mateÂrÂiÂal to othÂer mobile platÂforms. You can grab the app on iTunes here.
T.S. Eliot reads from The WasteÂland, one of the great poems of the last cenÂtuÂry. It begins famousÂly:
APRIL is the cruÂellest month, breedÂing
Lilacs out of the dead land, mixÂing
MemÂoÂry and desire, stirÂring
Dull roots with spring rain.
WinÂter kept us warm, covÂerÂing
Earth in forÂgetÂful snow, feedÂing
A litÂtle life with dried tubers.
SumÂmer surÂprised us, comÂing over the StarnÂbergÂersee
With a showÂer of rain; we stopped in the colonÂnade,
And went on in sunÂlight, into the HofÂgarten,
And drank cofÂfee, and talked for an hour.
Bin gar keine Russin, stamm’ aus Litauen, echt deutsch.
And when we were chilÂdren, stayÂing at the archÂduke’s,
My cousÂin’s, he took me out on a sled,
And I was frightÂened. He said, Marie,
Marie, hold on tight. And down we went.
In the mounÂtains, there you feel free.
I read, much of the night, and go south in the winÂter.
Get the full text here.
What’s My Line? aired on CBS from 1950 to 1967, makÂing it the longest-runÂning game show in AmerÂiÂcan teleÂviÂsion hisÂtoÂry. DurÂing its eighÂteen seaÂsons, the show feaÂtured hunÂdreds of celebriÂties, includÂing some of AmerÂiÂca’s leadÂing culÂturÂal figÂures. The clip above dusts off the 1960 appearÂance made by Carl SandÂburg, the poet, writer, and three time winÂner of the Pulitzer Prize. And now for a video that’s not all fun and games: here’s audio of SandÂburg readÂing his antiÂwar poem Grass. (You can also get more free audio recordÂings of SandÂburg’s poetÂry over at the InterÂnet Archive.)
T.S. Eliot’s 1922 poem, The Waste Land, is often conÂsidÂered one of the great poems of the 20th cenÂtuÂry. Above, you can lisÂten to Eliot himÂself readÂing his modÂernist masÂterÂpiece (text here). And, if you want more, how about Eliot readÂing The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock, anothÂer major work, against the backÂdrop of PorÂtishead? SacÂriÂlege, I know.
You can find both poems in our extenÂsive Free Audio Book colÂlecÂtion, which conÂtains hunÂdreds of clasÂsic works. FicÂtion, non-ficÂtion, and poetÂry. It’s all there, and all free.
RelatÂed ConÂtent:
James Joyce ReadÂing from Finnegans Wake
Tchaikovsky’s Voice CapÂtured on an EdiÂson CylinÂder (1899)
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