Fifty Poems of Emily Dickinson [Audiobook] [Audio Cassette]

Emily Dickinson (Author), Stephanie Beacham (Reader), Glenda Jackson (Reader), Sharon Stone (Reader), Meryl Streep (Reader)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 1995

Emily Dickinson saw only seven of her poems published in her lifetime--the bulk of her poetry was found after her death in 1886.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Emily Dickinson was a prolific poet, writing nearly 1,800 known pieces. Only 7 of these, however, were published before her death in 1886. This 50-poem collection includes such selections as "Forbidden Fruit," "I Had a Guinea Golden," and "Love's Baptism." There are several pieces about one of her favorite themes, the sea, which she describes as "an everywhere of silver." As is the case with most poetry, Dickinson's poems come alive when read aloud. These works--sometimes witty, sometimes sorrowful--are read by a talented group of actresses, including Stephanie Beacham, Glenda Jackson, Sharon Stone, and Meryl Streep. Listen to Glenda Jackson read Emily Dickinson's "I Died for Beauty." Visit our audio help page for more information. (Running time: 45 minutes, 1 cassette) --C.B. Delaney

From Library Journal

If there were ever a poet whose work begged to be heard, it would be Dickinson. Depending upon the reader, rhymes and metrics can be emphasized or glossed over, giving words more freedom than they have on the page. The numerous voices reading here (including Meryl Streep, Sharon Stone, and Melissa Manchester) stress the varied emotions that exist or can be read into Dickinson's work: from anger to complacency to the supersweet voice one uses for nursery rhymes. One hundred poems, no matter how short they are, give listeners a substantial entrance into the work of any poet (though Dickinson is now credited with authoring more than 1700 poems). The editors have reached beyond the much-anthologized pieces and even those usually included in "selected" volumes, presenting a sampling that displays the wide range of Dickinson's concerns and insights. Background music seems an overstatement at times, but it serves to smooth over the gaps among the different voices. Recommended for most public libraries. Rochelle Ratner, formerly with "Soho Weekly News," New York
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Audio Cassette
• Publisher: Dove Audio; abridged edition edition (February 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1558009914
• ISBN-13: 978-1558009912
• Product Dimensions: 7.2 x 4.5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,131,862 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #4 in Books > Books on Cassette > Authors, A-Z > ( D ) > Dickinson, Emily

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Music background is too distracting., June 9, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Fifty Poems of Emily Dickinson (Audio Cassette)

Good readings, but the producer apparently felt the poetry can not stand on its own and added background music throughout. It distracts terribly from the music, and never has any relation in mood to the poetry. Avoid this tape.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The delivery is as smooth as Emily's poems, March 8, 2002

By 

Charles Corry (YANTIS, TX USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Fifty Poems of Emily Dickinson, Vol. 2 (Ultimate Classics) (Audio Cassette)

If you like Emily Dickenson (and I do) you will love this audio cassette. The readers include Meryl Streep, Sharon Stone, and other great female talents. They read the poems with style and a subtility that matches the work of the poet. After hearing the presentations, I came away feeling that the poems were studied by the readers and for the most part understood and delivered accordingly. Thumbs up!

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Readings, But NOT the Poems Listed on the CD, March 19, 2007

By 

Reason Over Rant "Reason Over Rant" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Fifty Poems of Emily Dickinson (Audio CD)

These witty, sly, despairing performances breathe new life and new perspectives into the poems and the poet. Unfortunately, the poems listed on the back of the CD are NOT the poems you hear on the CD, which makes it difficult to know which actress is reading and exactly what she is reading. It's also impossible to directly access a poem directly --- everything falls under a 45 minute Track 1. Finally, this is Fifty Poems of Emily Dickinson, Volume 3. What happened to Volumes 1 and 2? I saw them once as cassettes, but never as CDs.