Showing titles in Poetry

Here are some of the finest narrative poems in the English language, dating from an age of rich inspiration.

Would you face a foe knowing you would fail? There are times when the odds are so overwhelmingly against someone that is seems giving up is the best solution. This classic poem story tells of 600 who faced death - and most met it. Yet it is their courage in the face of dire circumstances that may embolden the weakest heart. Narrated by Glenn Hascall

First published in 1934, In the Cairngorms is Nan Shepherd's (1893-1981) only book of poems.

Richard Burton here reads in a manner that truly does justice to the virtuosity to the love poems of England’s most outstanding Metaphysical poet, bending both meaning and sound to the service of the Metaphysical conceit.

In January 1866 Hopkins composed his most ascetic poem, The Habit of Perfection, but a few days later he included poetry in the list of things to be given up for Lent. In July he decided to become a Catholic, and by May 1868 Hopkins firmly 'resolved to be religious'. Less than a week later, he made a bonfire of his poems and ceased to write for almost seven years.

A BBC Radio 4 full-cast dramatisation of Chaucer's Troilus and Criseyde by poet and writer Lavinia Greenlaw.

One of the great works of English literature, this powerful, compelling story explores love from its first tentative beginnings through to passionate sensuality and eventual tragic disillusionment. Lavinia Greenlaw's new version for radio brings Chaucer's language up-to-date for a modern audience while remaining true to his original poetic intention.

Enjoy this amazing narration of Robert Frost's poetry, including his most famous poems, Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening, The Road Not Taken, among many others.

Classic Poems for Boys comprises a delightfully varied set of over 20 poems for 5- to 10-year olds. From rousing favorites like Felicia Dorothea Hemans’ "Casabianca" and John Keats’ "A Song About Myself", to dreamy, thoughtful poems by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and Rudyard Kipling, this is a collection to be treasured.

A 2009 Nautilus Gold Award Winner, Pure Water is Coleman Barks’ inspired live performance of the poetry of Jellaludin Rumi (1207-1273) - with Sufi stories and jokes, accompanied with music by Bach, O’Carolan, Friesen and others. The performance captured in this recording recalls the essence of the communal celebrations of poetry, stories, jokes, prayer, and music in which Rumi’s work was first uttered, but presents it in a distinctive contemporary setting. Coleman’s words combine with the cello of Grammy Award-winner Eugene Friesen.

The Iliad, set 9 years into the Trojan War, tells the story of the wrath of Achilles. The Odyssey tells the story of Odysseus as he wearily travels home from the war. The two epics provide the basis of Greek education and culture in the classical age. They have long remained among the most significant poems of European tradition. Produced here in full cast arrangement and narrated by Rob Goll, one can experience these age-old stories in a brand new way.

Few writers have so brilliantly and poignantly conjured the desperation and absurdity of ordinary life as Charles Bukowski. Resonant with his powerful, perceptive voice, his visceral, hilarious, and transcendent poetry speaks to us as forcefully today as when it was written. Encompassing a wide range of subjects—from love to death and sex to writing—Bukowski’s unvarnished and self-deprecating verse illuminates the deepest and most enduring concerns of the human condition while remaining sharply aware of the day to day.

This poet of Victorian times was held in awe for his magnificent works, including "In Memoriam", "Morte D'Arthur", and "Charge of the Light Brigade". His language and command of vocabulary seem particularly in keeping with the grand sweep of Victorian ambition. Many selections are asembled here and read with great character by Dame Sybil Thorndike, Sir Edward Casson, and Robert Speaight.

At the end of his life, William Blake (1757-1827) gave up hope of being widely understood, but the twentieth century brought to his work a new and intense interest and acclaim.

A classical collection of recitations by the master narrator Zia Mohyeddin. Volume 4 includes the following: "Chala Aa Raha Hoon Mein" by N M Rashid; Syed Ghous Ali Shah Qalander (Aap Beti); "Mian Beevi" by Krishen Chander; Wajid Ali Shah Akhter (Aap Beti); "Beevi Kaisi Hoone Chaheay" by Mohammad Ali Rodolvi and "Shakespeare Air Mein" by Zia Mohyeddin.

Including: "Europe, Europe", "America", "Howl", and more!

Although he's best known for his weird fiction writings, for much of his literary life, H.P. Lovecraft considered himself primarily a poet. Fungi from Yuggoth is his most well-known work of poetry; in it, he combines his taste for cosmic horror with his appreciation of the antiquarian and seasons it with his inimitable dry, dark wit.

The poetry of Nikki Giovanni has spurred movements, turned hearts, and informed generations. She's been hailed as a firebrand, a radical, a healer, and a sage; a wise and courageous voice who has spoken out on the sensitive issues, including race and gender, that touch our national consciousness.

Vowing at an early age "to be a poet or nothing at all", Hermann Hesse rebelled against formal education, focusing on a rigorous program of independent study that included literature, philosophy, art, and history. One result of these efforts was a series of novels that became counterculture bibles that remain widely influential today. Another was a body of evocative spiritual poetry. Published for the first time in English, these vivid, probing short works reflect deeply on the challenges of life.

Elizabeth Barrett Browning's classic poem, read by Diana Quick.

Written in blank verse, Aurora Leigh is Browning's self-styled ‘novel in verse', a first-person narration of the lives of Marian Erle and the eponymous Aurora.

Travelling across Florence, London, and Paris, and playing off the works of Anne Louise Germaine de Staël and George Sand, Aurora Leigh is one of the greatest poems of the 19th century.

A selection illustrating the breathtaking variety of Byron's poetry. Read by Linus Roache, star of the critically acclaimed film Wings of the Dove, this collection includes She Walks in Beauty, The Destruction of Sennacherib, The Vision of Judgment and selections from Childe Harold, The Corsair and Don Juan.