On September 18, 1996, 11 of the world's finest poets gathered in New York City at Town Hall to celebrate the remarkable contribution Farrar, Straus and Giroux has made to the publishing of poetry. This audiobook from the event includes John Ashbery, Frank Bidart, James Fenton, Thom Gunn, Seamus Heaney, Paul Muldoon, Robert Pinsky, Derek Walcott, C.K. Williams, Charles Wright and Adam Zagajewski reading their own works as well as those of other noted poets. April 1998 Publication date. 2 cassettes. .
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Editorial Reviews
From Library Journal
While most trade presses have published poetry over the years, FSG has kept up the most dignified, prestigious list. This tape, recorded in September 1996, presents 11 poets reading their own poems and the work of one poet dead or unable to attend. It works best when the pairings stem from an intimate connection: John Ashbery does a fine presentation of poems by his friend James Schuyler; Frank Bidart, a former student of Robert Lowell, infuses a poem from "Life Studies" with all the angst of a life he knew well. Not all readers are as impressive: Paul Muldoon gives an emotionless reading of John Berryman; the distinction between poems by Seamus Heaney and Ted Hughes blurs. A handful of other recognizable names include Derek Walcott, Elizabeth Bishop, Joseph Brodsky, and Randall Jarrell. At a time when publishing conglomerates are shying away from poetry, this tape serves as a reminder that it must be kept alive as an aural form. Recommended.?Rochelle Ratner, formerly with "Soho Weekly News," New York
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From AudioFile
This live recording in New York City's Town Hall of some of this country's best poets is intended as a celebration of the poetry published by Farrar, Straus & Giroux, but the celebration extends to the love of poetry as an art. Each reader is introduced at the beginning of his or her segment, helping to familiarize listeners to the voice they are about to hear. The beauty of the performance as a whole is that the readers themselves are poets, and, although they do read their own work, they pay homage to other fine poets by sharing their work, as well. An energetic atmosphere of community comes through this recording. It is a gathering of lovers of language and the power of imagery. R.A.P. An AUDIOFILE Earphones Award Winner. (c)AudioFile, Portland, Maine
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
a wonderful night,
By A Customer
This review is from: Poet's Night: 11 Leading Poets Celebrate 50 Years Poetry Farrar Straus Giroux (Audio Cassette)
This is an excellent compilation of poets reading their own work and the work of others not in attendance at this gala event. I learned much about poets who were unfamiliar to me, like Thom Gunn. The poems selected are great as are those of the poets assigned to each of the readers. Seamus Heaney is, as always, in great voice. Listen to "keeping going" and you will see what I mean.
10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Mediocre readings of mediocre poems (with exceptions).,
By A Customer
This review is from: Poet's Night: 11 Leading Poets Celebrate 50 Years Poetry Farrar Straus Giroux (Audio Cassette)
Having listened to poets like T. S. Eliot, Dylan Thomas, e.e. cummings, and Ted Hughes give excellent readings of their work, the reinditions offered on this tape seem as banal as many of the poems, I'm sorry to say. Too many of the poets read with an awful, pseudo-low-brow academic accent- an exaggeration of the way Berryman and Lowell spoke- infusing flat poems with bland, artifical emotion. Listening to many of the poets on this tape read from other poets is disheartening: comparing Seamus Heaney reading Ted Hughes to Ted Hughes reading Ted Hughes, Frank Bidart reading Robert Lowell to Robert Lowell reading Robert Lowell, or (I can't remember who) reading John Berryman to John Berryman reading John Berryman highlights how mediocre most of the readings on this tape are. Nonetheless, I'd suppose that listening to poets read their work offers us an idea of how they'd like their work to be read, so this tape is an invaluable resource for connoiseurs of contemporary poetry- and, of course, many of the poems on this tape are quite good, although I think very few, if any, are extraordinary, and the quality of the readings is almost uniformly uninspiring. I would recommend instead tapes of T. S. Eliot, Dylan Thomas, e.e. cummings, etc., or tapes of young up-and-coming poets who put more energy and intelligence into their poetry and their oratory.
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