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The Spoken Word: American Writers, 3-CD Set (British Library - British Library Sound Archive)
 
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The Spoken Word: American Writers, 3-CD Set (British Library - British Library Sound Archive) [Abridged, Audiobook, CD] [Audio CD]

The British Library (Author)
4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)

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Book Description

December 15, 2008 British Library - British Library Sound Archive

James Baldwin discussing the position of African American writers in the United States, F. Scott Fitzgerald reading from Othello, and a rare interview with William S. Burroughs are just some of the wealth of the striking voices of American writers recorded for BBC broadcasts in the twentieth century and gathered here in one remarkable collection. This incredible three-CD boxed set forms part of the British Library’s extensive audio series of documentary recordings by English-language authors and playwrights. The the collection brings modern American literature dramatically to life with writers as diverse as Vladimir Nabokov, Eudora Welty, John Steinbeck, Ralph Ellison, and Gertrude Stein. The majority of these recordings have never before been released, making this collection the perfect gift for any literature lover in your life who wishes to add these legendary figures to his or her impeccable library.

 

Details: Three CDs plus booklet, running time approximately 210 minutes.


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The Spoken Word: American Writers, 3-CD Set (British Library - British Library Sound Archive) + The Spoken Word: British Writers, 3-CD Set (British Library - British Library Sound Archive) + The Spoken Word: American Poets (British Library - British Library Sound Archive)
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"After spending a few hours reveling in this diverse collection, there will be voices in the listener''s head . . . the voices of the women and men who shaped the 20th Century with the written versions of their words."—Julia Keller, Chicago Tribune
(Julia Keller Chicago Tribune )

Product Details

  • Audio CD
  • Publisher: British Library; abridged edition edition (December 15, 2008)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0712305440
  • ISBN-13: 978-0712305440
  • Product Dimensions: 4.9 x 5.5 x 0.9 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 7.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #764,645 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

 

Customer Reviews

3 Reviews
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Average Customer Review
4.0 out of 5 stars (3 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars Some great, some not-so, April 10, 2010
By 
John Spritz (Portland, Maine) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: The Spoken Word: American Writers, 3-CD Set (British Library - British Library Sound Archive) (Audio CD)
I got this for my wife, and we have both listened through it. Some of the interviews -- such as the ones with James Baldwin and Nabokov -- are fabulous, make you feel like you've just invited the most interesting person in the world over for dinner. But many of the early ones are hard to hear, some of them (Raymond Chanlder) don't have much to say, and the BBC interviewer(s), through the years, seem to have focused inordinately on the more surface-y aspects of the writers and their writing. Lots of questions about fame, about reputation, quoting to them some line from a forgotten review and asking them to respond to it, etc.

Given that one has James Thurber or Lillian Hellman sitting across the microphone, I would wish that the conversation had been more...edifying. So all in all, I'd say this is a collection for those who really, really need to hear what Eugene O'Neill sounded like. But I doubt you'll listen to it more than once.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars list of writers, September 1, 2011
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: The Spoken Word: American Writers, 3-CD Set (British Library - British Library Sound Archive) (Audio CD)
I see the product summary doesn't actually contain a complete list of writers who appear in this set, so here it is:

Disc 1
1. Gertrude Stein
2. Sinclair Lewis
3. Anita Loos
4. Raymond Chandler
5. Eugene O'Neill
6. Henry Miller
7. Pearl Buck
8. James Thurber
9. F. Scott Fitzgerald

Disc 2
1. Thornton Wilder
2. Vladimir Nabokov
3. John Steinbeck
4. Isaac Bashevis Singer
5. Lillian Hellman
6. James Michener
7. Eudora Welty
8. Tennessee Williams
9. Mary McCarthy

Disc 3
1. William S. Burroughs
2. Ralph Ellison
3. Saul Bellow
4. Arthur Miller
5. Patricia Highsmith
6. James Baldwin
7. William Styron
8. Gore Vidal
9. Toni Morrison

Those who enjoy this set might also be interested in other British Library recordings like The Spoken Word: British Writers along with the various CDs devoted to particular writers like The Spoken Word: Sylvia Plath, or The Spoken Word: American Poets and The Spoken Word: British Poet, or Voices of History: Vol 1 and Voices of History: Vol 2.
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2 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars spoken word, February 9, 2009
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This review is from: The Spoken Word: American Writers, 3-CD Set (British Library - British Library Sound Archive) (Audio CD)
This is a wonderful cd for people who enjoy hearing the voices of the writers themselves. Many great recordings. I just wish some of the cuts were longer.
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