Poetry Speaks Expanded: Hear Poets Read Their Own Work From Tennyson to Plath (Book w/ Audio CD) (Hardcover)

~ (Author), Rebekah Presson Mosby (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

This second edition of the popular anthology is an accessible introduction to 20th century poetry on the page and in the air. Forty-seven poets-beginning with Tennyson, moving through Eliot, Kerouac and Bishop, among many others, and ending on Plath-are represented in this book and CD package. Attesting to the fact that poetry remains a spoken art form, this book may convince readers that well-chosen words gain vitality when heard aloud, as Allen Ginsberg's incantatory rendering of "Howl" proves. William Carlos Williams' "The Red Wheelbarrow," in the poet's voice, takes on a playful singsong quality. Gwendolyn Brooks, reading "We Real Cool," affects her subjects' swagger and attitude, shifting to solemnity for the grave final line: "we die soon." The book also includes useful biographical information and a literary essay on each writer by contemporary poets, who locate the poets in historical context: Anne Stevenson, for instance, comments on Plath and Paul Muldoon on James Joyce, by whom this edition also contains a previously unreleased recording of the "Anna Livia Plurabelle" section of Finnegan's Wake. Reluctant poetry readers may find themselves drawn to the printed page by the spoken work, and poetry fans are likely to find much to love here.
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Product Description

"By the time you're done, your biggest problem may be that you wish there was more."
– WALL STREET JOURNAL

"The definitive anthology of poets reading their own work."
-- PUBLISHERS WEEKLY

"This grand immersion in poetry follows the best-selling Poetry Speaks (2001) and includes a never-before-published and truly thrilling recording of James Joyce reading "Anna Livia Plurabelle" from Finnegans Wake. Book and CDs work beautifully together, kindling deeper appreciation for the transmuting power of poetry, a practice of discipline, skill, and magic."
- BOOKLIST

"...The prose comes to life when read aloud, especially when you hear James Joyce read it himself."
– NPR's ALL THINGS CONSIDERED host Jacki Lyden

"This tome is a reminder how the human spirit is capable of finding an outlet in oppressive times, how poetry can help explain why we do what we do as a thinking people...Certainly, in our struggle to make sense out of what we do not understand, Poetry Speaks Expanded helps on so many levels." – Carol Hoenig, THE HUFFINGTON POST

"...[A] bountiful experience: there is the thrill of discovery and re-discovery as with any good anthology, with an added emphasis on the poets' personalities and growth" – John Hammond, SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS

"[An] accessible, beautifully executed collection guaranteed to offer poetry fans a memorable reading and listening experience" – WORDCANDY.NET

"...[A]s I savored these beautiful poems, it reminded me of French poet Charles Baudelaire who wrote, 'Any man can go without food for two days - but not without poetry.'" - Norm Goldman, BOOKPLEASURES.COM

"Light[s] up a reader's eyes." - Frank Wilson, PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER

Hear And Read All Of These Poets (And More)
244 Poems Included In The Book
107 Poems Read By The Poets Themselves On 3 Audio CDs

Robert Graves, E. E. Cummings, Walt Whitman, Ezra Pound, William Butler Yeats, Gertrude Stein, Carl Sandburg, James Joyce, William Carlos Williams, Ted Hughes, Robinson Jeffers, Philip Larkin, Wallace Stevens, Louise Bogan, Melvin B. Tolson, Laura (Riding) Jackson, Ogden Nash, W. H. Auden, Louis MacNeice, Allen Ginsberg Theodore Roethke, Elizabeth Bishop, Robert Hayden, Robert Frost, Muriel Rukeyser, Gwendolyn Brooks, Randall Jarrell, Jack Kerouac, John Berryman, Dylan Thomas, Robert Lowell, Robert Browning, Robert Duncan, May Swenson, John Crowe Ransom

Poetry Speaks Expanded is a fusion of the poet's words with the poet's voice, including text and recordings of nearly 50 of the greatest poets who ever lived, ranging from Walt Whitman, Robert Frost, James Joyce and T. S. Eliot to Langston Hughes, Jack Kerouac, Sylvia Plath, Ted Hughes and Gwendolyn Brooks.

"This book has the potential to draw more readers to poetry than any collection in years."
-PUBLISHERS WEEKLY, STARRED REVIEW

"Readers and listeners are guaranteed to hear poems in a new way after spending time with this book and CD set."
-LIBRARY JOURNAL, STARRED REVIEW

"Superb, accessible....A unique and essential purchase"
-SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL

Poetry
--For the first time ever, James Joyce reads "Anna Livia Plurabelle" from Finnegans Wake alongside the original text from the book
--T. S. Eliot reading "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock"
--Sylvia Plath's anger and raw emotion as she reads "Daddy" and "Lady Lazarus"
--Jack Kerouac reading from "MacDougal Street Blues," accompanied by Steve Allen on piano
--May Swenson rehearsing "The Watch" prior to a reading
--H. D. reading a part of "Helen in Egypt" from a rare recording made shortly before her death
--Ted Hughes reading "February 17" during a BBC interview
--A never-before-published recording of Alfred, Lord Tennyson reading "The Charge of the Light Brigade"
--W. B. Yeats explaining his reading style and why he chooses to read that way
--Robert Frost reading "The Road Not Taken" and "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening"

Essays Written By Today's Most Influential Poets, Including: W. S. Merwin on Robert Graves, Seamus Heaney on W. B. Yeats, Paul Muldoon on James Joyce, Robert Pinsky on William Carlos Williams, Sonia Sanchez on Gwendolyn Brooks, Galway Kinnell on Walt Whitman, Rita Dove on Melvin B. Tolson, Jorie Graham on Elizabeth Bishop and Al Young on Langston Hughes

"The most ambitious, innovative poetry project to be published in years."
-QUALITY PAPERBACK BOOK CLUB

A Book Sense Top-10 Selection

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 400 pages
• Publisher: Sourcebooks MediaFusion; 2 Har/Com edition (October 1, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1402210620
• ISBN-13: 978-1402210624
• Product Dimensions: 10.5 x 10.2 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #75,335 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Enthralling Experience, December 6, 2007

By	Kathryn Atwood (Midwest) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Although poetry was read, recited and memorized by entire families through the 19th century, during the 20th century it fell out of general popular favor. "Modern" poetry was considered too difficult for the average reader, so while it was read in schools and adored in academia, it moved out of the family parlor and into the anthology.

Enter the latest edition of "Poetry Speaks." Seeking to make a new connection with potential readers (and listeners) of 20th century poetry, Sourcebooks has again assembled a package that is at once enthralling and educational. Each poet (47 in all) featured in the volume receives a biography, an extremely readable analysis of the poet's work and several key poems. Some of the "chapters" also include a fascimilie of a poem or section of a poem written in the poet's own hand.

The outstanding feature of "Poetry Speaks, Expanded" is, of course, the set of CDs which feature each poet reading their own work. This, aside from being extremely exciting for those of us with a bit of familiarity with a particular poet, also sheds some interesting light on the poems themselves. Who knew, for example, that Tennyson meant to emphasis the word "rode" in his poem "The Charge of the Light Brigade" (as in: "into the valley of death RODE the six hundred) or that Gwendolyn Brooks' "we" of "We Real Cool" was a barely audible syncopated beat in her famous poem?

But the real thrill is that by listening to the poets read their beautiful poems, one gets a window into their very souls. Carl Sandburg sounds Swedish (who knew?) and musical, Robert Frost sounds weary, Sylvia Plath sounds bitter, Edna St. Vincent Millay sounds actressy, Dorothy Parker sounds melancholy, Jack Kerouac sounds cool (which is obviously to be expected from the author of "On the Road," but his beloved jazz music playing in the background helps!) and Robert Browning sounds, well, inaudible, but kudos to Sourcebooks for including him and several other 19th century poets -- they're a bit scratchy but, aside from Browning, basically audible. While listening to Dylan Thomas, one wonders if his absolutely gorgeous voice had something to do with his immense popularity, since he gave extensive readings of his work during his short lifetime.

In addition to including well known poets such as those already mentioned, "Poetry Speaks, Expanded" also includes the work of many lesser-known poets including Louise Bogan, Louis MacNeice, Muriel Rukeyser, Robert Duncan, and Robert Hayden. The book presents the material on each poet so thoroughly that it is a marvelous way to gain an introduction to the work of previously unfamiliar poets.

The poems collected here are the very best of the very best and hearing them read by their creators is absolutely breathtaking. The CD also contains brief but very insightful introductions to each poet by Charles Osgood who is very easy on the ears.

Poetry, in its essence, is meant to be heard, not merely seen, and this edition of "Poetry Speaks" has gone a long way towards making that happen.

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Poetry Speaks Expanded makes a genuine connection with its readers!, December 3, 2007

By	Norman Goldman "Editor of Bookpleasures.com" (Montreal) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

One again I have been blessed with the opportunity to review an extraordinary sampling of poetry published by Sourcebooks with their Poetry Speaks Expanded that is a sequel to the first edition Poetry Speaks published in 2001. As with the first edition, Poetry Speaks Expanded includes three CDs, and as I savored these beautiful poems, it reminded me of French poet Charles Baudelaire who wrote, "Anyman can go without food for two days-but not without poetry."

This expanded edition honors forty-seven deceased poetic masters as Tennyson, Browning, Whitman, Yeats, Stein, Frost, Sanburg, Stevens, Joyce, Williams, Pound, Jeffers, Ransom, Eliot, Millay, Parker, Cummings, and many more. It also includes an extra forty-five extra minutes of recordings as well as an additional one hundred pages of new poems and readings. And it certainly admirably lives up to its promise of its publishers that it is an attempt to collect some of the best poetry ever written as read by the poets.

What is quite remarkable is the inclusion of some rare recordings as that of the legendary Jack Kerouac reading his Haiku poetry, James Joyce reading the "Anna Livia Plurabelle" episode from FinnegansWake, and Ogden Nash, who was probably one of the most widely read poet in America during the mid 1900s.

The collection is divided into forty-seven chapters arranged in chronological order by the dates of birth of each of the poets. Readers are introduced to the poet with a short biography followed by an essay written by a prominent living poet assist us in gaining an insight into each of the poets. And as the introduction mentions, these essays are also meant to expose to us, albeit via prose, some of the great poets of today such as Sonia Sanchez, W.S.Merwin, Seamus Heaney, Robert Bly, Jorie Graham, Billy Collins, and Al Young. You will also find further information pertaining to these essayists in brief biographies enabling you to explore more of their work.

Fascinating is the additional inclusion of handwritten manuscripts, letters, or photographs of some of these poets helping us understand what made them tick.

Each poet's poems are likewise arranged chronologically to reflect when they are thought to have been published and a selection of these poems are included in the audio, and therefore have audio track numbers listed next to the poem's time and place.
For example, if we refer to the chapter pertaining to Ezra Pound we are informed that he was born in 1885 in Hailey, Idaho and died in 1972. We can listen to his recitation on Disc 1 tracks 35-38.

We learn about his education where for a brief time he taught Romance Languages at Wabash College, after which he left for Europe in 1908. He traveled to Venice, where his first volume of poetry was published in 1908, A Lume Spento, and from here he proceeded to London where he settled. We are also informed that much of his fame rests not only on his own poetry but his promotion and influence on many of his contemporaries' literary careers. Included in this section is an essay written by Charles Bernstein who asserts and explains why "Ezra Pound was one of the most ambitious, influential, and innovative poets of the Modernist period of the first half of the twentieth century." Some of Pound's poems that are included are The River-Merchant's Wife: A Letter, Cantico Del Sole (from Instigations), In a Station of the Metro, Hugh Selwyn Mauberly and XLV from the Cantos. There is even a handwritten manuscript draft by Pound of "XLV", or "Usura", from The Cantos.

Poetry Speaks Expanded makes a genuine connection with its readers and I have no doubt that for the most part much of it will be read and devoured, rather than just admired from afar or used as a coffee table ornament. By reading these poems we gain an appreciation of the resourcefulness of the English language as it makes us laugh, cry, or shake with fury-in the same sentence, and perhaps it will help in unlocking our own personal creativity.

Norm Goldman, Editor Bookpleasures

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Purchase, February 13, 2008

By	A. Boada (Mississippi) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This anthology is very comprehensive - both as text and audio. The quality of the recording is really good and a delight to hear. Using the text as a companion to the audio makes for a very pleasurable experience!