Poetry Speaks: Hear Great Poets Read Their Work from Tennyson to Plath

Poetry Speaks is a collection of dead poets (so that their entire body of work could be considered) who were recorded reading their own work. (The earliest recordings are from the end of the 19th century: Tennyson, Browning, & Whitman.) Not every poem is included on the accompanying CDs, and after my ancient CD player started crapping out on me, I turned to YouTube to find recordings, which lead to some interesting finds, like multiple recordings of Allen Ginsberg reading "Howl," with completely different inflections. (I much prefer young & earnest Ginsberg in this respect.) Also included are biographical information about each poet and an essay by a contemporary poet, the style, content, & quality of which vary wildly.

I "won" this book show more at an education workshop at least 15 years ago. I used the CDs when I was still teaching high school, to bring to life the poems in common between this anthology and the literature textbooks I used. (That was pre-YouTube, where most of these recordings and more are now available.) This was, however, the first time I actually read through the entire anthology (the beginning of my resolution to read more poetry), and it ended up being an even bigger undertaking than I'd expected.

Of the poets included in this anthology, I plan to read more from the following. (*indicates a poet who wasn't familiar to me before reading this anthology):

Walt Whitman
W.B. Yeats
Robert Frost (later poems)
William Carlos Williams
*Robinson Jeffers
T.S. Eliot ([b:The Wasteland, Prufrock and Other Poems|2325390|The Wasteland, Prufrock and Other Poems|T.S. Eliot|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1347600421l/2325390._SY75_.jpg|14685966])
Edna St. Vincent Millay
Dorothy Parker
e.e. cummings
Langston Hughes (esp. [b:Let America Be America Again: And Other Poems|1159440|Let America Be America Again And Other Poems|Langston Hughes|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1320488559l/1159440._SX50_.jpg|1147045])
W.H. Auden
*Louis MacNeice
Elizabeth Bishop (complete poems)
Robert Hayden (late poems)
*Muriel Rukesyer
*William Stafford
Denise Levertov
Allen Ginsberg
Anne Sexton (esp. [b:Transformations|47734|Transformations|Anne Sexton|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1441747420l/47734._SY75_.jpg|46724]) show less

This is a must-have volume for poetry lovers. Not only do you get to read about the lives of the best 20th century poets, but you get to hear them reading their own work on three CDs. It's amazing. In addition, I loved learning new things through the biographical sketches on each poet. Also a plus were the personal essays from some of today's best-known poets—though some were a bit too analytical (I liked the personal insights best, such as the piece on Muriel Rukeyser by Sharon Olds) and some I thought could have been researched a bit better (had Molly Peacock read SAVAGE BEAUTY by Nancy Milford, I doubt she would think of Edna St. Vincent Millay's childhood days as "ideal.") If you are in need of a poetry fix, read POETRY SPEAKS.

What a wonderful collection of poetry with the added attraction of spoken verse. Each poet reads their own poetry as recorded on three CDs. The introductions and commentary by some of our finest poets complement the verses making them all the more valuable and perhaps just a bit more understandable.

The collection of poetry contained in this book are blissfully entertaining. The emotions proviked by these great works range anywhere from joy to despair allowing many opportunities to relate to one of more poet or piece of work. There's definitely something for everyone.

It's especially amazing to hear Tennyson read!

Book with poetry readings on CD. Includes Ginsberg reading 'Howl.'

The splendor of words.