Customer Reviews

The Voice of the Poet : Anne Sexton

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Reading Anne Sexton's poetry is amazing by itself, so imagine what it would be like to hear them read out loud by miss Sexton herself. A great experience for a true poetry lover.

I assume if you're looking at this item that you'll already be somewhat familiar with Sexton's work, so I'll comment only on the recording itself, in an objective (and objectifying!) sense. Anne Sexton, if I may say so, has an incredible voice. It's deep and throaty, as if she's had a few drinks and continues to chain-smoke as she reads (which is entirely possible). Among my favorite poems to hear Anne read is "Some Foreign Letters," in which she achieves an intensely acerbic tone, spitting out the words to her subject. I've seen a different recording, in which she reads that same poem, and she pronounces it tenderly, with an obvious affection for the woman she's talking to. Hearing these differences, the way that one poet seems to change her mind about her own work, is fascinating.

Anne Sexton's voice is gorgeous, and her poetry makes so much sense when read by the woman herself. Buy this recording.

it is mesmerizing to listen to anne read her own written words in her husky, throaty, dusky, smoke filled, hauntingly beautiful, voice!

"Sexton might have inspired generations of women writers, but, placed beside some of the masters of our time, her work pales quickly"

Given that Sexton's poems -- smart, enthralling art --often capture the mystery of woman, this manly degradation of the poet concerns me. The word "master" itself reeks of exclusive masculinity (her male "master," Lowell, and other presumably male poets of our time), and deals with Sexton as if she taught the lot of stay at home mommies how to pick up the pen. She deserves more praise than that, as this collection will attest to.