Showing titles in Poetry

Two archive BBC Radio programmes in which Judi Dench and Michael Williams, accompanied by friends John Moffatt and Alec McCowen, read a cornucopia of poetry and prose. In this enchanting pair of programmes from 1991 and 1996, Dame Judi Dench and husband Michael Williams shared an eclectic selection of pieces that they loved, admired or simply found entertaining.

Ya puedes escuchar El evangelio según Jesucristo, que tanto sorprendió al mundo católico, presenta una visión mundana de los hechos relativos a Jesús: las circunstancias de su nacimiento, el descubrimiento del amor junto a María Magdalena, la angustia por saber cuál es el verdadero sentido de su existencia ante los ojos de Dios....

The origins, history and authorship of Beowulf are shrouded in uncertainty. This heroic epic probably began, as most do, with a wandering troubadour strumming a stringed instrument, sitting before a hearth-fire, and singing the verses to a spellbound audience arrayed before him. Beowulf is a rousing adventure story, filled with intrepid heroes, monsters and fire-breathing dragons, which can be listened to for the sheer enjoyment of the tale.

'The Waste Land' is a landmark in 20th-century poetry. Here it is read by the late Poet Laureate Ted Hughes. Published in 1922, it is a brilliant exploration of a faithless, immoral society trying to rebuild itself after the devastation of the Great War. Rich in literary references and steeped in allusive and evocative imagery, 'The Waste Land' is widely considered to be the pinnacle of modernist poetry.

Claudia Rankine's bold new audiobook recounts mounting racial aggressions in ongoing encounters in 21st-century daily life and in the media. Some of these encounters are slights, seeming slips of the tongue, and some are intentional offensives in the classroom, at the supermarket, at home, on the tennis court with Serena Williams and the soccer field with Zinedine Zidane, online, on TV - everywhere, all the time. The accumulative stresses come to bear on a person's ability to speak, perform, and stay alive.

36 Ways of Writing a Vietnamese Poem, says Le, a Vietnamese refugee to Australia, is ‘the book I needed to write. The book I've been writing my whole life’. This book-length poem is an urgent, unsettling reckoning with identity and the violence of identity, embedded with racism, oppression and historical trauma. But it also addresses the violence in those assumptions–of being always assumed to be outside one’s home, country, culture or language. And the complex violence, for the diasporic writer who wants to address any of this, of language itself.

The poetry of Clive James achieved immediate notoriety on the publication of this volume's title poem: 'The Book of My Enemy Has Been Remaindered'. Hilarious and self-satirizing, it became one of the most anthologized poems of recent times. After its publication, James emerged unarguably as one of the most prominent poets of his generation – and The Book of My Enemy shows why. With its broad thematic scope and dazzling technical accomplishment, this collection is one to treasure.

Rumi has been described as "the most popular poet" in the United States. Rumi's popularity has gone beyond national and ethnic borders. He is considered to be one of the greatest classical poets, by the speakers of Persian language in Iran, Afghanistan, and Tajikistan. His poetry is still read worldwide today and has been translated into a wide variety of languages including Turkish, Persian, Russian, Asian, English, and Spanish languages.

Ceremony is a collection for those on the cusp of becoming. It is a reminder that we were not meant to fit into this world perfectly, but to live in such a way that might forge a path all our own. It is a reminder that we are one with each other and nature itself. It is a reminder that we contain within us the latent potential of every future possibility we can conceive of. It is a reminder that we often must release what is not ours in order to receive what is, that we are all born with a unique imprint to leave upon the world, and that self-love is not an infatuation, but a homecoming.

Three decades ago, renowned literary expert Robert Alter radically expanded the horizons of biblical scholarship by recasting the Bible as not only a human creation but a work of literary art deserving studied criticism. In The Art of Biblical Poetry, his companion to the seminal The Art of Biblical Narrative, Alter takes his analysis beyond narrative craft to investigate the use of Hebrew poetry in the Bible.

Before entering the monastery, Thomas Merton studied English at Columbia University and taught literature at St. Bonaventure University. His passion for literature never faded, and now, you have the rare opportunity to take Thomas Merton as your guide in this set of his outstanding, remastered talks. Delivered to the community at the Abbey of Gethsemani in 1965 and 1966, Merton’s talks examine one of his favorite poets: Rainer Maria Rilke (1875 - 1926).

Something isn’t right. Every generation thinks that, but we have more cause than most. The way our society has been constructed is not good for our bodies, our minds, or our hearts. What possible chance do our souls have? In his debut collection, popular Instagram poet David Gate inspires us to rally for what makes life worth living: creating art as a form of care, living beyond consumer impulse, loving our neighbors (even the odd ones), and more. With his signature snark, humor, and billowing hope, Gate invites listeners to ponder the complexities of self, community, love, and resilience.

Here are eight fundamental works by one of the few greatest English poets: three lyric pieces, Songs of Innocence, The Book of Thel, Songs of Experience; the prose satire An Island in the Moon, the mystical prose poem The Marriage of Heaven & Hell, and three visionary poems: The French Revolution, Visions of the Daughters of Albion, America, a Prophecy. William Blake (1757-1827) is one of the great relevant figures of his time, who like Beethoven in music bridges the classical and romantic, remaining himself uncategorizable.

Diary entries, medical records, book reports, phone calls, dates (the romantic kind), dreams, index cards, passive aggressive post-it notes, stories, emails to professors, dates (the month/day kind), worries, and resumes that never led to job interviews....

Trying to squeeze an entire history of Chinese civilization into a brief, one volume account is a formidable task, but one that has succeeded brilliantly here. Hilda Hookham has provided us with a concise story that, while not getting too entangled with personalities and cultural issues, manages to navigate the swirling passage of events that comprise over 3,000 years of Chinese political history.

When the mysterious Green Knight arrives unbidden at the Round Table one Christmas, only Gawain is brave enough to take up his challenge.... This story, first told in the 1400s, is one of the most enthralling, dramatic and beloved poems in the English tradition. Now, in Simon Armitage, the poem has found its perfect modern translator. Armitage's retelling of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight captures all of the magic and wonderful storytelling of the original while also revitalising it.

The Iliad tells the dramatic story of the Trojan War, focusing on the wrath of Achilles and the clash between honor, pride, and fate. This timeless masterpiece, attributed to the Greek poet Homer, is brought to life through an immersive narration that captures the grandeur, fury, and poetry of ancient warfare. With dramatic performances, vibrant storytelling, and evocative soundscapes, this audiobook invites listeners into the heart of one of the most influential works in literary history.

Under the order of King Pelias, Jason embarks on a perilous journey to steal the Golden Fleece from the Land of Colchis. Far from heroic, Jason is the typical everyman. Often compared with Homer's Iliad and Odyssey, Jason and the Argonauts is the only surviving poem from the Hellenistic period and was hugely influential on later literature, especially the Roman poetry of Virgil and Ovid.

In his first attempt at the epic form, Ngũgĩ tells the story of the founding of the Gĩkũyũ people of Kenya, from a strongly feminist perspective. A verse narrative, blending folklore, mythology, adventure, and allegory, The Perfect Nine chronicles the efforts the Gĩkũyũ founders make to find partners for their ten beautiful daughters - called “The Perfect Nine” - and the challenges they set for the 99 suitors who seek their hands in marriage. The epic has all the elements of adventure, with suspense, danger, humor, and sacrifice.

Walk A Little Slower: A Collection of Poems and Other Words is a book of hope, honesty, and joy by Tanner Olson. This collection of more than 60 poems and writings will invite you to slow down, lean in, hold fast, and to keep going. In the midst of the uncertainty and unknown, the already and not yet, the hopes and fears, we can easily forget that life was meant to be enjoyed. Tanner Olson’s writing weaves together faith, questions, humor, and hope as he encourages you to walk a little slower.