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

Emily Dickinson (Author), Joan Allen (Performer), Stephanie Beacham (Performer)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 2001

Emily Dickinson was born into a prominent Nwe England family. Sociable as a child, she grew increasingly withdrawn, and in later years became known as a recluse. Though her poems often accompanied gifts to family and close friends, only seven of her poems were published during her lifetime.

Performed by leading actresses such as Joan Allen, Stephanie beacham, Jill Eikenberry, Amy Irving, Glenda Jackson, Nancy Kwan, Cheryl Ladd, Melissa Manchester, Jean Smart, Sharon Stone, Meryl Street, Alfre Woodland and Daphne Zuniga, these poems are poignant reminders of a fragile life.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

At the age of 23, Emily Dickinson receded from the social whirl of her prominent family into semiseclusion. For the remaining 23 years of her life she was happiest when alone and writing. As she requested in "The Prayer," "Great Spirit, give to me a heaven not so large as yours, but large enough for me." Read by a group of very talented celebrity women such as Meryl Streep, Sharon Stone, and Alfre Woodard, these pieces lean toward the somber side of Dickinson's work (which, as her fans know, is very somber indeed). Poems include "Shipwreck," "Will There Really Be a Morning?" and "To Know Just How He Suffered." (Running time: 45 minutes, 1 cassette) --C.B. Delaney --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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 CD
• Publisher: New Millennium Audio; Unabridged edition (September 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 193105682X
• ISBN-13: 978-1931056823
• Product Dimensions: 6 x 5.7 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,316,822 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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.