Customer Reviews

The Voice of the Poet: W.H. Auden

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(0)
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1 star:		(0)

 

 

Not all poets make great readers of their own work. But Auden's voice-- so warm, so musical, so passionate-- is a joy to listen to. The recordings, done in many places over many years, are of a varying quality. But in each the voice comes shining through.

The poem selections are top-notch across the board, containing such favorites as "As I Walked Out One Evening," "Fish in the Unruffled Lakes," "Musee des Beaux Arts," four sonnets from "In Time of War," "Under Which Lyre," "The More Loving One" and "The Shield of Achilles." The CD version is supposedly abridged, but it is 57 minutes compared to the Audio Cassette version's hour. This also comes with a book containing the final text of the selected poems (sometimes slightly different than what he reads). The book also contains a nice introduction and background on Auden by poet J.D. McClatchy.

My favorite tracks have to be "Under Which Lyre," read with such wit that it made me laugh several times, and the powerful "Friday's Child". I believe one can listen to a streaming version of "Under Which Lyre" on poets.org -- although it sounds much better on this CD since streaming audio is generally scratchy. It could give you an idea if this CD is right for you.

This could hardly be bad when it contains such great poetry, but it manages to be appropriate for both long-time Auden fans and those who are just beginning. An outstanding product. 5/5 stars.

This a an excellent collection of auden's poetry, read by the poet. The CD is well recorded and presented in an attractive package, and comes with a book of the poems on the CD in words.