Poetry catalogue

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

CodeAuthorTitleReaderSynopsisDurationAbridged
5536 Anonymous BEOWULF David Rintoul  The Anglo-Saxon epic Beowulf was completed in England in the eighth century, although the poem is set in the sixth century in what is now known as Denmark and southwestern Sweden. Against a background of feuding and feasting, the young warrior Beowulf kills Grendel, a huge man-like ogre who has been terrorising Hrothgar, King of the Danes. In retaliation Grendel's mother steals one of the Danes, and Beowulf follows him into the monster's lair... Translated by Michael Alexander.   3 hrs  
8142 Anonymous BEOWULF Seamus Heaney  The Anglo-Saxon epic Beowulf was completed in England in the eighth century, although the poem is set in the sixth century in what is now known as Denmark and southwestern Sweden. Against a background of feuding and feasting, the young warrior Beowulf kills Grendel, a huge man-like ogre who has been terrorising Hrothgar, King of the Danes. In retaliation Grendel's mother steals one of the Danes, and Beowulf follows him into the monster's lair... Seamus Heaney's new translation provides an easily accessible version of this early English classic. Winner of the Whitbread Award.   2 hrs 15 mins  
8052 Simon Armitage ALL POINTS NORTH The Author  A book about the North - poet Simon Armitage's North. His subjects include a typical Saturday night out in West Yorkshire, Hebden Bridge - the hippy capital of the universe, watching Huddersfield Town on Saturday afternoon, and the electrified East coast line.  3 hrs Abridged
8592 Simon Armitage WILD BLUE YONDER The Author  Simon Armitage is one of the most widely praised poets of his generation. Here he reads work drawn from his collections 'Kid' (winner of a 1992 Forward Prize), 'Book of Matches', and 'The Dead Sea Poems'. Questions of class, of love and domestic conflict, of language itself and of belief and trust are all given his characteristic spin.  1 hr  
9283 Simon Armitage ZOOM! Charles Bainbridge  The first collection of poetry from an award winning poet. This audiobook features `It ain't what you do it's what it does to you' and other poems included for study at GCSE. CONTAINS SOME STRONG LANGUAGE.   1 hr 40 mins  
6336 W.H. Auden TELL ME THE TRUTH ABOUT LOVE John Hannah  This audiobook contains fifteen love poems and cabaret songs written in the thirties by W.H. Auden, including 'Funeral Blues', which featured in the film 'Four Weddings and a Funeral'.   16 mins  
5794 W.H. Auden THIS LUNAR BEAUTY James Fenton  W.H. Auden, once described as the Picasso of modern poetry, is both political and personal in these early poems, written between 1927 and 1939 and selected by James Fenton.  1 hr 26 mins  
5680 W.H. Auden W H AUDEN READING HIS POETRY The Author  W.H. Auden reads a personal selection of 18 poems which cover almost two decades. The recording features 'In Memory of W.B. Yeats', 'In Praise of Limestone', 'The Capital', 'School Children', 'As He Is', 'Five Lyrics', 'Precious Five' and 'Bucolics'.   51 mins  
8081 Pam Ayres PAM AYRES: THE WORKS The Author  This audiobook features Pam Ayres live in concert performing a mixture of her most famous poems, hilarious stories and anecdotes. Pam's personal favourites have been divided into twelve sections covering subjects such as love, motherhood, families, gardening, ecology, travel and animals as well as many more unusual topics like climbing Ayres Rock in Australia, the rigours of keeping sheep and the finer points of the Old Gloucester Sausage.   3 hrs Abridged
7233 Pam Ayres THE PAM AYRES POETRY COLLECTION The Author  Pam Ayres reads over 50 of her best-known and loved poems, including 'I Wish I'd Looked After Me Teeth', 'I'm a Starling, Me Darling' and 'Thoughts of a Late-Night Knitter'.   2 hrs 5 mins  
0029 Marcia Barritt ROOTS RECOLLECTIONS: CARIBBEAN POEMS AND FOLK SONGS The Author  The author's vivid recollections and images of the past have been translated into poems which reminisce on her early life in the Caribbean. They are all written in the Caribbean dialect 'Patwa' and express the poetical humour and rhythmical flavour of the language.  35 mins  
0029CD Marcia Barritt ROOTS RECOLLECTIONS: CARIBBEAN POEMS AND FOLK SONGS The Author  The author's vivid recollections and images of the past have been translated into poems which reminisce on her early life in the Caribbean. They are all written in the Caribbean dialect 'Patwa' and express the poetical humour and rhythmical flavour of the language.  35 mins  
9935 Hilaire Belloc CAUTIONARY VERSES ROSALIND AYRES & MARTIN JARVIS  A much-loved classic for children and adults alike, this collection of poems is a truly unforgettable book of moral instruction. Take heed from the lessons learnt by Matilda, who told lies and was burned to death, Jim, who ran away from his nurse and was eaten by a lion, and Rebecca, who slammed doors for fun and perished miserably...   1 hr 10 mins  
9935CD Hilaire Belloc CAUTIONARY VERSES ROSALIND AYRES & MARTIN JARVIS  A much-loved classic for children and adults alike, this collection of poems is a truly unforgettable book of moral instruction. Take heed from the lessons learnt by Matilda, who told lies and was burned to death, Jim, who ran away from his nurse and was eaten by a lion, and Rebecca, who slammed doors for fun and perished miserably...   1 hr 10 mins  
8356 John Betjeman BETJEMAN'S CORNWALL Various   The former poet laureate John Betjeman's evocative prose and poetry about his love of Cornwall, in which he first fell in love during his childhood holidays and returned to yearly until his death.   2 hrs  
7019 John Betjeman JOHN BETJEMAN: POETRY FROM THE BBC ARCHIVE The Author  A compilation of poetry from over 30 years of BBC radio programmes. Betjeman reads a selection of his won work.  2 hrs  
8038 William Blake POEMS OF WILLIAM BLAKE Alan Bates  William Blake was an engraver, painter and visionary mystic as well as a revolutionary poet. This volume contains a selection of lyrical and powerful poems including: 'Songs of Innocence', 'Songs of Experience', 'The Marriage of Heaven and Hell', 'Jerusalem' and a selection from the Prophetic Books.  1 hr 15 mins  
5684 William Blake THE POETRY OF BLAKE Sir Ralph Richardson  A collection of more than 40 of Blake's poems including a selection from `Songs of Innocence and Experience', together with other lyrical pieces and `Augeries of Innocence'.   52 mins  
8358 Robert Browning SELECTED POEMS: ROBERT BROWNING Various   This audiobook takes us from Robert Browning's earliest work, through the poet's literary successes and critical disappointments, by way of romantic lyrics such as 'Home Thoughts from Abroad'. Explanatory commentaries place the poems in a historical and biographical context.  2 hrs 15 mins  
5731 Robert Browning THE POETRY OF ROBERT BROWNING James Mason  This recording offers a selection of the work of the versatile English poet Robert Browning, ranging in style from the shorter lyrical poems to the vivid characterisations of his dramatic monologues. Contains 'My Last Duchess', 'How They Brought the Good News from Ghent to Aix', 'Soliloquy of the Spanish Cloister', 'Home-Thoughts, from Abroad', 'The Lost Leader', 'Porphyria's Lover', 'Memorabilia', 'Rabbi Ben Ezra', 'The Year's at the Spring', 'The Bishop Orders His Tomb', 'Andrea del Sarto' and 'Fra Lippo Lippi'.   1 hr 30 mins  
8530 John Burnside ASYLUM DANCE Robert Kirkwood  Lucid, tender and strangely troubling, the poems in Burnside's seventh collection are hymns to the tension between the sanctuary of home and the lure of escape. Winner of the Whitbread Poetry Award 2000.   1 hr 25 mins  
6399 Lord Byron LORD BYRON: SELECTED POEMS Various   The flamboyant and charismatic Lord Byron produced some of the most daring and exuberant poetry of the Romantic age, from 'To Caroline' and 'To Woman' to his exotic Eastern tales and the colourful narrative of 'Childe Harold's Pilgrimage', the work that made him famous overnight.  2 hrs 15 mins  
8909 Lord Byron THE LETTERS OF LORD BYRON Robert Powell  In this compilation of the infamous Romantic poet Lord Byron's letters, we follow his colourful life, from his birth in 1788, to his death at Missolongi on April 19th 1824.   2 hrs 20 mins Abridged
8810 Willa Cather MARIAN SELDES AS WILLA CATHER Marian Seldes  A dramatisation that brings to life a beloved author. From Cather's experiences on the prairie come stories about the frontier such as 'O Pioneers!' and 'My Antonia', plus three of her poems: 'Prairie Spring', 'Prairie Dawn' and 'Evening Song'.   1 hr 35 mins  
8837 Catherine (editor) Clinton I, TOO, SING AMERICA - THREE CENTURIES OF AFRICAN AMERICAN POETRY Ashley Bryan & Renee Joshua-Porter  Starting with Lucy Terry of the early 18th century and finishing with contemporary poet Rita Dove, this inspiring anthology captures the enormous talent and passion of black poets. Each of the twenty five poets is introduced with a brief biography and poetry notes to help the listener place the work in its context.   2 hrs 5 mins  
7561 Samuel Coleridge SELECTED POEMS Sir Ralph Richardson  Sir Ralph Richardson reads five of Samuel Taylor Coleridge's finest works, from the haunting `The Rime of the Ancient Mariner' to the quietly reflective `Frost at Midnight'.   1 hr  
8484 Stephen Coote KEATS: A LIFE Christopher Oxford  Contemporary sources are used to throw new light on the poems of the last of the great Romantic poets. Cootes reveals John Keates to be an original, challenging and deeply human man.  16 hrs  
8593 Wendy Cope IF I DON'T KNOW The Author  Wendy Cope is one of our most brilliantly funny, satirical and perceptive poets. This collection reveals a softer lyrical voice, also present in her earlier books, but here given more room to develop in poems about gardens and contentment, and the poignancy of having something to lose.   1 hr 15 mins  
5656 Wendy Cope MAKING COCOA FOR KINGSLEY AMIS The Author  Wendy Cope's first poetry collection is a comical and irreverent mixture of poems which includes parodies of William Wordsworth, T.S. Eliot and Emily Dickinson, and humorous sonnets, haiku and love poems.  1 hr  
5657 Wendy Cope SERIOUS CONCERNS The Author  Wendy Cope's second collection of poems tackles the funny side of serious matters like love, friendship, men, money and a whole range of topics that are close to our hearts.  1 hr  
7562 Wendy (editor) Cope THE FUNNY SIDE: 101 HUMOROUS POEMS Various   Edited by Wendy Cope, this anthology of 101 humorous poems includes work by Lewis Carroll, W.S. Gilbert, Gavin Ewart, Kit Wright and Sophie Hannah.  3 hrs  
6535 Alighieri Dante PURGATORY FROM THE DIVINE COMEDY Heathcote Williams  'Purgatory' is the second part of Dante's 'The Divine Comedy'. From Hell, the poet, guided by Virgil, struggles up Mount Purgatory to the Garden of Eden, climbing the terraces populated by souls purging themselves of sin.   3 hrs 57 mins  
6536 Alighieri Dante THE INFERNO FROM THE DIVINE COMEDY Heathcote Williams  The first part of Dante's 'Divine Comedy', an extraordinary vision of Hell, with all its terror, pathos and humour. Inferno is the first part of the long journey which continues through Purgatory and Paradise. In this translation by Benedict Flynn, Dante's images are as vivid as when the poem was first written in the early years of the 14th century.   3 hrs 58 mins  
6809 John Donne SELECTED POEMS: DONNE Various   This collection of John Donne's poetry contains love poems, elegies and metaphysical verse, as well as selections from the `Satires' and the `Epithalamions'. It includes a biographical narrative placing each poem in context and illuminating its significance.   2 hrs 15 mins  
5082 T. S. Eliot OLD POSSUM'S BOOK OF PRACTICAL CATS Sir John Gielgud & Irene Worth  Originally published in 1939 and dedicated to Eliot's godchildren, this book was the inspiration behind the Andrew Lloyd-Webber musical 'Cats'. Amongst its delightful rogues gallery of felines are the Rum Tum Tugger, whose disobliging ways are a matter of habit, Mr Mistoffelees the Original Conjuring Cat and Macavity the Mystery Cat, the master criminal who can defy the law.   37 mins Abridged
6289 T. S. Eliot T. S. ELIOT READING THE WASTE LAND, FOUR QUARTETS AND OTHER POEMS The Author  Eliot reads some of his most important poems. 'The Wasteland' expresses his view that the Western city had become a stale and sterile desert, and 'The Four Quartets' describes his wholehearted acceptance of the Christian faith.  3 hrs  
8652 U A Fanthorpe AWKWARD SUBJECT - SELECTED POEMS OF U.A. FANTHORPE The Author  Ursula Fanthorpe was born in 1929 and became a leading contender for the post of Poet Laureate in 1999. Her poems are easily accessible and this is a selection of her work.   1 hr 30 mins  
6812 U A Fanthorpe DOUBLE ACT The Author & R V Bailey  A collection of Fanthorpe's poetry, including `Not My Best Work', `Rising Damp', `Women Laughing', `Dear Dr Lee', 'Felicity and Mr Frost', 'A Wartime Education' and 'The Beasts'.   1 hr 30 mins  
8653 Gary Geddes TALKING HORSES The Author  The first side of this audio book deals with military life, including the brutal treatment of Canadian soldiers at the hands of the Japanese. The second side - 'The Terracotta Army' - is much lighter and won 'The Americas Region Best Book Award' in the 'Commonwealth Poetry Competition' in 1985 and was adapted for Radio 3.   1 hr 30 mins  
8377 W.S. Gilbert THE BAB BALLADS Jim Broadbent  In 1864, W. S Gilbert wrote a humourous article and sent it to the recently launched paper 'Fun'. Over the next ten years, Gilbert contributed articles, dramatic criticism and humourous verse to the magazine, compiled in this audiobook as 'The Bab Ballads'. Reader Jim Broadbent is directed here by Mike Leigh.  2 hrs  
5694 Thomas Hardy SELECTED POEMS: THOMAS HARDY Various   This collection of poetry takes the reader through Hardy's long and prolific career and contains some of his best-loved poetry, including 'The Darkling Thrush' and 'Overlooking the River Stour'.   2 hrs 15 mins  
8381 Tony Harrison V AND OTHER POEMS The Author  This selection of Tony Harrison's poems includes sixty-three poems from his famous sonnet sequence 'The School of Eloquence' and the remarkable long poem 'V', a meditation inspired by Harrison's visit to the graves of his parents in a vandalised Leeds graveyard, written during the miners' strike of the 1980s.   1 hr 15 mins  
6590 Seamus Heaney STATION ISLAND The Author  The title poem of this collection is set on an island which has been a site of pilgrimage in Ireland for over 1000 years. It describes the autobiographical quest concerned with the growth of the poet's mind.   1 hr 15 mins  
6814 Seamus Heaney STEPPING STONES The Author  This selection of Heaney's work is drawn from nine collections and provides the perfect introduction to his poetry. It includes the works 'Mossbawn', 'Sunlight', 'Personal Helicon', 'Bogland' and 'The Tollund Man'.   1 hr 10 mins  
6813 Seamus Heaney THE SPIRIT LEVEL The Author  A collection of poems from the winner of the 1995 Nobel Prize for Literature. The poems discover the possibility of a new beginning in many subjects and circumstances. Private memories, classical scenes and humble domestic objects are endowed with talismanic significance and friends and relatives are invoked for their promise and steadfastness.   1 hr 15 mins  
7439 John Hegley CAN I COME DOWN NOW DAD? John Hegley  A collection of poems ranging in mood from pathos to broad comedy. Some of them are read by the author in live performances throughout Britain and on radio and television. Subjects include Luton, string, dogs and logs, trains and Roman remains.  1 hr 10 mins  
5120 Homer THE ILIAD Derek Jacobi  Homer's epic poem tells the story of the darkest episode in the Trojan War. At its centre is Achilles, the greatest warrior-champion of the Greeks, and his refusal to fight after being humiliated by his leader Agamemnon. But when the Trojan Hector kills Achilles' close friend Patroclus, he storms back into battle to take revenge - although knowing this will ensure his own early death. Homer also illuminates the domestic world inside Troy's besieged city of Ilium, and the conflicts between the Gods on Olympus as they argue over the fate of mortals.   9 hrs Abridged
5119 Homer THE ODYSSEY Alex Jennings  With the Trojan war finally over after many long years, Odysseus longs for a swift journey home where his throne and beloved wife, Penelope, await him. But Poseidon, the sea god, bears a grudge against him and plans to prevent his return across the wine-dark sea to Ithaca. Many tests of strength and character ensue as Odysseus's journey stretches out over the years, taking in a multitude of strange and wonderful places and creatures.  9 hrs Abridged
6816 Ted Hughes CROW The Author  A collection of poems focusing on the central figure of the crow, predatory, mocking and indestructible. 'Crow' is read here by the author, with narrative links between the poems.   1 hr 45 mins  
5698 Ted Hughes TED HUGHES READING HIS POETRY The Author  Ted Hughes, one of England's foremost poets, and Poet Laureate from 1984 to 1998, is also a haunting reader of his own work. On this recording he reads his own choice of more than fifty poems from the first twenty years of a literary career that began with the publication of 'Hawk in the Rain' in 1957. In particular, the programme includes a generous selection from two of his most powerful and distinctive works: 'Wodwo' (1967) and 'Crow' (1970).   1 hr 15 mins  
5390 Peter Keating KIPLING THE POET Robert Pennant Jones  This audiobook examines all the phases of Kipling's poetic career, from his charming poetry for children to his political satire, and argues for him to be acknowledged as one of the most important English poets of the 20th century.   10 hrs  
6817 John Keats SELECTED POEMS: KEATS Various   This collection of Keats' work begins with `Imitation of Spenser', his first known poem, through to his more familiar poetry, including `The Eve of St Agnes' and `Odes'. It includes a biographical narrative placing each poem in context.   2 hrs 15 mins  
5712 John Keats THE POETRY OF KEATS Sir Ralph Richardson  This collection provides a sensitive reading of Keats' great odes and sonnets, together with other lyrical pieces, and the long narrative poem `The Eve of St Agnes'.   30 mins  
8387 Rudyard Kipling RUDYARD KIPLING SELECTED POEMS Various   One of the nation's most popular poets, Rudyard Kipling spoke with the voice of the underdog and defied the view of the poet as intellectual and elitist. This audiobook contains a selection of his work including 'If', 'Gunga Din', 'A School Song' and 'Tommy'.   2 hrs 30 mins  
6725 Rudyard Kipling THE POETRY OF RUDYARD KIPLING Boris Karloff, Edward Woodward & Others  A collection of twenty-seven poems by Rudyard Kipling concerning humankind, nobility, reflected glory and the futilities of our own time. Includes 'If', 'The Way through the Woods', 'The Ballad of East and West', 'Gunga Din', 'Mandalay', 'Tommy', 'Chapter headings from The Jungle Books' and 'The Female of the Species' amongst others.   2 hrs  
6818 Philip Larkin HIGH WINDOWS Alan Bennett  Many of the poems in this collection, notably `The Old Fools', show a preoccupation with death and transience, and this was Larkin's final collection of poems before his own death. However, they are also full of the poet's trademark melancholy wit and this collection is considered by some to be his finest work.   45 mins  
5659 Philip Larkin THE WHITSUN WEDDINGS Alan Bennett  A selection of poems from this `tenderly observant' poet who writes about what all of us can understand. The title poem describes the poet's journey by train from Hull to London, using the tones and rhythms of ordinary speech and focusing on the urban landscape of the industrial north.   43 mins  
5711 D H Lawrence POETRY OF D H LAWRENCE Peter Davidson  Lawrence's work in verse is a very important part of his literary achievement. He said something in his verse that he could never have said in prose, and his best poems are among the most valuable and significant in the English language written in the 20th century.  2 hrs  
8517 Edward Lear BOSH Alan Bennett  A delightful collection of stuff and nonsense chosen by Brian Alderson. Poetry to amuse young, old and those in between, this is a collection of lyrics and prose aiming to display a wide range of 'bosh'. As well as limericks and nonsense songs, there are `eggstrax' from Edward Lear's letters and a dictionary of his `wurbal inwentions'.   40 mins  
6790 Edward Lear EDWARD LEAR'S BOOK OF NONSENSE VERSE John Gielgud  A collection of Edward Lear's hugely popular nonsense verse for everyone, old and young.   1 hr  
6537 Sir Thomas Malory THE DEATH OF ARTHUR Philip Madoc  The glorious story of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table with its timeless themes of the Quest of the Holy Grail and the love between Sir Launcelot and Queen Guinevere is one of the great legends of the Western world. The original account, written by the 15th-century knight Sir Thomas Malory, remains the definitive version. Accompanied by Gregorian chant.   3 hrs 57 mins  
6815 Mcgough Roger & Adrian Henri THE MERSEY SOUND The Authors  Irreverent, sardonic, funny and sad, these are the poems that echo the mood of the sixties. A collection of poetry from Roger McGough, Brian Patten and Adrian Henri.  2 hrs  
8721 Spike Milligan SPIKE MILLIGAN - THE COLLECTION The Author  The comic genius of Spike Milligan changed the face of radio comedy through 'The Goon Show', but there was more to Spike at the Beeb. Here, Milligan chooses and introduces classic clips from an astonishing BBC career which includes 'The Last Goon Show of All' and Spike performing his own verse in 'Spike's Poems'.   4 hrs 50 mins  
6538 John Milton PARADISE LOST Anton Lesser  A poem of epic scale, which conjures up a vast, awe-inspiring cosmos and ranges across huge tracts of space and time. Milton tells the story of man's creation, fall and redemption, the plight of Adam and Eve and the ambition and vengefulness of Satan and his cohorts.   3 hrs 55 mins  
9681 Andrew Motion SELECTED POEMS 1976-1997 The Author  Dramatic monologues, elegies, poems of social and political observation and love lyrics are all part of the repertoire of Andrew Motion, who was appointed Poet Laureate in 1999. His work is praised not only for its humanity but its imaginative range and technical versatility.   2 hrs 30 mins  
6819 Paul Muldoon UNPLUGGED The Author  An intimate reading by the electrifying poet who has amassed a rich and inventive body of work. This selection offers highlights from all his collections including 'New Weather' and 'The Annals of Chile'.   1 hr 30 mins  
6337 Wilfred Owen ANTHEM FOR DOOMED YOUTH Kenneth Branagh  These First World War poems are interspersed with extracts from Wilfred Owen's letters from the trenches and from hospital. The compilation is arranged in chronological order, and reveals Owen's transformation from innocent cadet to war-weary soldier.   1 hr 15 mins  
8423 Don (editor) Paterson 101 SONNETS BY 101 POETS Alex Jennings, Andrew Sachs & Others  Poets have been fascinated and challenged by the sonnet ever since it was imported from Italy to England in the 16th century. With its fourteen lines, inexhaustibly variable, the sonnet has met the particular needs of almost every major poet from Thomas Wyatt to Paul Muldoon.   2 hrs  
6820 Tom Paulin WALKING LINES The Author  Tom Paulin illustrates the development of his poetry over twenty years with poems from his most recent collection 'Walking a Line', and his four earlier volumes. A special poem, 'The Wind Dog', is also included.   52 mins  
8042 Harold Pinter VARIOUS VOICES: PROSE, POETRY, POLITICS 1948 - 1998 The Author  In this anthology, prolific writer Harold Pinter presents a selection of his own work, including `A Note on Shakespeare' (1950), the short stories `Kullus' (1949) and `Girls' (1995), poetry from `School Life' (1948), and a range of political pieces - including many letters to the press - on the United States, Cuba, Kurdistan and Nicaragua.   2 hrs  
8820 Sylvia Plath THE VOICE OF THE POET: SYLVIA PLATH The Author  Sylvia Plath reads a selection of her poetry. This audiobook features poems from throughout her short career, including 'Sow', 'Ariel', 'Lady Lazarus' and 'Daddy'.  1 hr  
8424 Simon (editor) Rae NEWS THAT STAYS NEWS: THE 20TH CENTURY IN POEMS Alex Jennings, Andrew Sachs & Others  An economical and resonant appraisal of the 20th century, written by its most independent and visionary observers - poets. With a contemporary poem chosen for each year from 1900 to 1999, Simon Rae's anthology gives a provocative report on the often violent impact of modern life.   2 hrs  
5964 Mike Read RUPERT BROOKE: HIS LIFE AND POETRY Douglas Hodge  An audiobook about one of the most memorable war poets of the 20th century, including Brooke's poetry, plus a newly discovered poem, rare archive recordings of close friends such as Cathleen Nesbitt and relatives, as well as details of his relationship with a Hawaiian girl and their children. Includes readings of 'The Soldier', 'The Fish', 'The Old Vicarage, Grantchester' and 'Safety'.   3 hrs Abridged
7677 Christopher (editor) Reid SOUNDS GOOD: 101 POEMS TO BE HEARD Various  Irreverent, sardonic, funny and sad, these early poems of three of our best-known poets, Adrian Henri, Roger McGough and Brian Patten, echo the mood of the sixties. Innovative in both form and style, they bring poetry down from the dusty shelf and on to the street.   3 hrs  
6821 Christina Rossetti CHRISTINA ROSSETTI IN POETRY AND PROSE Anne Harvey & Jan Marsh  Christina Rosetti was one of the finest poets of the Victorian age. Her words, both simple and profound, lyrical and thought-provoking, are ideally suited to being read aloud. This audiobook contains a stimulating mixture of her writing, together with a biographical narrative.   3 hrs  
6226 William Shakespeare SHAKESPEARE'S COMPLETE SONNETS Various   With their devastating depiction of lust, jealousy, desire and love tangled with hate, Shakespeare's sonnets are among the most breathtaking and mysterious love poems ever written.   3 hrs  
6759 William Shakespeare THE PRINCE'S CHOICE: SHAKESPEARE Various   An anthology of Shakespeare's work selected by the HRH the Prince of Wales and performed by such figures as John Gielgud, Glenda Jackson, Alan Bates, Maggie Smith and Juliet Stevenson. The selections are divided into categories such as extraordinary people, public life and humour.  2 hrs 30 mins  
7555 Percy Bysshe Shelley SELECTED POEMS Various   This anthology of Shelley's work includes his long mythical poem 'Queen Mab', his political allegory 'The Revolt of Islan' and the autobiographical 'Epipsychidion'.  2 hrs 15 mins  
8408 Stephen Spender THE STILL CENTRE The Author  An anthology of the poetry of Stephen Spender, one of the Modernist poets of the 1930s.   50 mins  
9974 Edmund Spenser THE FAERIE QUEENE John Moffatt  This remarkable poem, dedicated to Queen Elizabeth I, was the first epic poem in modern English. 'The Faerie Queen' combines dramatic descriptions of chivalrous adventure with picturesque episodes of pageantry, whilst at the same time presenting a deeply-felt allegory of the eternal struggle between Truth and Error.  3 hrs 58 mins Abridged
9974CD Edmund Spenser THE FAERIE QUEENE John Moffatt  This remarkable poem, dedicated to Queen Elizabeth I, was the first epic poem in modern English. 'The Faerie Queen' combines dramatic descriptions of chivalrous adventure with picturesque episodes of pageantry, whilst at the same time presenting a deeply-felt allegory of the eternal struggle between Truth and Error.  3 hrs 58 mins Abridged
6726 Alfred Lord Tennyson THE POETRY OF ALFRED LORD TENNYSON Dame Sybil Thorndike & Sir Lewis Casson  The selection of poetry in this audiobook includes `The Lady of Shalott', `Ulysses', `Tears, Idle Tears', `Merlin and the Gleam', `The Revenge', 'In Memoriam' (Prologue, Cantos VI, VII, XI, LIV, L, CXIX, CVI), 'Morte d'Arthur' (lines 213-323), `Now Sleeps the Crimson Petal' and `Crossing the Bar'.   45 mins  
5629 Dylan Thomas DYLAN THOMAS READING HIS OWN POETRY The Author  Because Dylan Thomas often wrote as much for the sound of his poetry as for its meaning, he was well-suited to the task of interpreting his own works on audio, due to his unforgettably rich voice and dramatic style. These recordings are a fascinating introduction to the complete experience of Dylan Thomas' manipulation of language. The poems included in this collection are those that he most often chose for his famous public readings.   2 hrs  
8039 Dylan Thomas UNDER MILK WOOD Richard Burton  The 1963 radio dramatisation, with Richard Burton as the narrator, of Dylan Thomas's play for voices, about the inhabitants of a small Welsh village.   1 hr 40 mins Dramatisation
5202 Dylan Thomas UNDER MILKWOOD Dylan Thomas & Others  A funny and touching account of a mythical village and it's people as seen through their own thoughts and conversations. 'Under Milk Wood' recreates a spring day in the lives of the people of Llareggub, a Welsh village situated under Milk Wood. There is no plot, but a wealth of characters who dream aloud.   1 hr 30 mins Dramatisation
8708 Helen Thomas & Myfanwy UNDER STORM'S WING Sue Reardon-Smith  'Under Storm's Wing' contains all that Helen Thomas wrote about her husband, the poet Edward Thomas. It also includes the celebrated volumes 'As It Was' and 'World Without End', her letters to Edward and separate memoirs of her meetings with people such as D. H. Lawrence. The book has been assembled by Edward and Helen's daughter Myfanwy, who includes her own account of an enchanting childhood with her father and the tragedy of his death at the Battle of Arras in 1917.  10 hrs 10 mins  
5628 Various A PERSONAL ANTHOLOGY Dylan Thomas  Dylan Thomas reads poems by Vernon Watkins, W. H. Davies, Alun Lewis, Edward Thomas, Wilfred Owen, W. B. Yeats, Gerard Manley Hopkins and D. H. Lawrence; as well as extracts from John Milton's 'Comus' and 'Paradise Lost' (with Thomas as Satan).   50 mins  
5494 Various BY HEART: 101 POEMS TO REMEMBER Ted Hughes  Ted Hughes' collection of personal favourites including poems by Robert Frost, Coleridge, Shakespeare, T.S Eliot and Emily Dickinson.  3 hrs  
6528 Various GREAT NARRATIVE POEMS OF THE ROMANTIC AGE Various   This is a performed selection of some of the great English narrative poems of the 19th century. The readings are supplemented by music from Schumann, Brahms, Raff and Cui and include 'The Eve of St Agnes', 'Le Morte d'Arthur' and 'Peter Grimes'.   2 hrs 16 mins  
6529 Various GREAT POETS OF THE ROMANTIC AGE Michael Sheen  A collection of 40 of the best works of Romantic poets such as Blake, Shelley, Coleridge, Wordsworth and Byron including 'The Tyger', 'I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud', 'Ode to the West Wind', 'The Rime of the Ancient Mariner', 'Ode to a Nightingale', 'We'll go no more a-roving' and 'The Peasant Poet'. Supplemented with music from Beethoven, Mendelssohn, Schubert, Schumann and Brahms.   2 hrs 38 mins  
6127 Various JOHN GIELGUD AT THE BBC John Gielgud & Others  A collection of extracts from Gielgud's radio performances spanning many years. They include 'The Importance of Being Earnest' with Edith Evans, 'Arms and the Man', 'Richard II' and 'Measure for Measure', as well as poetry readings and conversations. Commentary by Gielgud links the extracts.  3 hrs  
7392 Various MORE FAVOURITE POEMS Various   This anthology includes works by Coleridge, Wordsworth, Keats, Blake, Owen, Dylan Thomas, Burns, Byron, Shelley, Yeats and others.   2 hrs  
5472 Various PENGUIN ENGLISH VERSE 1: WYATT TO SHAKESPEARE Various   The first volume of the Penguin English Verse series focuses on the 16th Century, and contains traditional madrigals and ballads, whose writers are unrecorded, as well as the poems of Shakespeare.   3 hrs  
6151 Various PENGUIN ENGLISH VERSE 2: DONNE TO ROCHESTER Various   The second volume of the Penguin English Verse series contains the most popular verse of the 17th Century Restoration period including that of Donne, Marvell, Dryden and Milton.  3 hrs  
5473 Various PENGUIN ENGLISH VERSE 3: SWIFT TO CRABBE Various   The third volume of the Penguin English Verse series. This volume comes from the 18th century, often referred to as the Age of Reason, an age of urban satire and rural dreaming. The poets covered include Thomas Gray, Jonathan Swift, Oliver Goldsmith and Alexander Pope.   3 hrs  
6225 Various PENGUIN ENGLISH VERSE 4: THE ROMANTICS Various   The fourth volume of the Penguin English Verse series. This volume concentrates on the English Romantic poetry which flourished between 1780 and 1830, as political and cultural revolutions were taking hold throughout Europe. The romantic sensibility continues to have contemporary relevance, particularly in the value these poets give to their feeling for nature under threat from mass industrial society.  3 hrs  
7200 Various PENGUIN ENGLISH VERSE 5: THE VICTORIANS Various   The fifth volume of the Penguin English Verse series, which covers Victorian poetry. Doubt, self-questioning and `thinking aloud' are keynotes in the poetry of the period. The poets covered include William Barnes, Christina Rossetti, Emily Bronte, Lewis Carroll and Edward Lear.   3 hrs  
6153 Various PENGUIN ENGLISH VERSE 6: HARDY TO OWEN Various   The sixth volume of the Penguin English Verse series. This volume concentrates on the turn of the century, the years 1880-1918, in which Kipling's poetry came to embody the contradictions of Empire and some oustanding poetry was inspired by the horror of war.   2 hrs  
9936 Various POEMS FOR REFUGEES Various   Moved by the plight of the Afghan refugees, actress Pippa Haywood contacted leading names in the Arts and asked them to choose a poem in response to September 11th and the ensuing Afghan crisis. Over 80 diverse poems were chosen, including: 'The Trees' by Philip Larkin; 'Dulce et Decorum Est' by Wilfred Owen, 'All You Who Sleep Tonight' by Vikram Seth and 'Fidele' by William Shakespeare. Readers include Bono, Stephen Fry, Michael Palin and Benjamin Zephaniah.  2 hrs 30 mins  
9936CD Various POEMS FOR REFUGEES Various   Moved by the plight of the Afghan refugees, actress Pippa Haywood contacted leading names in the Arts and asked them to choose a poem in response to September 11th and the ensuing Afghan crisis. Over 80 diverse poems were chosen, including: 'The Trees' by Philip Larkin; 'Dulce et Decorum Est' by Wilfred Owen, 'All You Who Sleep Tonight' by Vikram Seth and 'Fidele' by William Shakespeare. Readers include Bono, Stephen Fry, Michael Palin and Benjamin Zephaniah.  2 hrs 30 mins  
6295 Various POETRY OUT LOUD Various   Rediscover the fun of reading poetry aloud with this anthology full of literary landmarks and children's rhymes, classics and modern verses. Here are over 100 lyrics, limericks, ballads, raps and other poems that come alive when read aloud. Accompanying each poem are background notes, introductions to basic poetic terms and hints on reading aloud. The first two tapes cover war poetry, tapes three and four cover the work of Rudyard Kipling and tapes five and six contain 'classic' poems.  6 hrs  
7022 Various POETRY PLEASE! VOLUME 1 Various   Linked to the Radio 4 series of the same name, this audiobook features readings of some of the poems which are most frequently requested for the programme. They include work by Shakespeare, Marvell, Keats, Kipling, Chesterton, Betjeman and Causley.  2 hrs 50 mins  
7023 Various POETRY PLEASE! VOLUME 2 Various   Linked to the Radio 4 series of the same name, this audiobook features readings of some of the poems which are most frequently requested for the programme. They include work by Arnold, Wordsworth and Stevenson.  2 hrs 20 mins  
8527 Various POETRY SOCIETY'S SIMON ELVIN YOUNG POET OF THE YEAR AWARDS 2001 Various  Poems from the top 15 winners of this award, aged between 11 and 18. Poems include 'Fairy Tale Matches', 'Passing the Time' and 'Water Lights'.  30 mins  
6530 Various POETS OF THE GREAT WAR Various   A collection of poetry by the generation who fought during the Great War. The poets include Siegfried Sassoon, Wilfred Owen and Rupert Brooke as well as lesser-known poets such as Isaac Rosenberg and Edith Nesbit. Britten's War Requiem and music by Elgar and Parry is also featured.  3 hrs  
6531 Various POPULAR POETRY/POPULAR VERSE VOLUME 1 Various   With more than 80 of the most popular and loved poems in the English language, this collection is one of the most comprehensive anthologies of its kind. It covers a remarkable range, from the striking visions of Blake and Shelley and the insights of Keats to lighter but equally memorable verse by Tennyson, Kipling, G K Chesterton and Edward Lear.   3 hrs  
6532 Various POPULAR POETRY/POPULAR VERSE VOLUME 2 Various   With more than 80 of the most popular and loved poems in the English language, this collection is one of the most comprehensive anthologies of its kind. It covers a remarkable range, from the striking visions of Blake and Shelley and the insights of Keats to lighter but equally memorable verse by Tennyson, Kipling, G.K. Chesterton and Edward Lear.  2 hrs 39 mins  
8425 Various SHORT AND SWEET: 101 VERY SHORT POEMS Alex Jennings, Andrew Sachs & Others  An anthology which aims to show how a short poem (defined here as shorter than a sonnet, and in some instances no more than a single line) can tell a story, present a complicated argument, or be packed with passion and vision, as effectively and memorably as any of its more long-winded relations.   1 hr  
8469 Various THE GOLDEN AGE Sam Dastor  A selection of poetry and prose written between 1550-1650. This work was recorded at Westminister Abbey on 30th March 2000 especially for Listening Books.  3 hrs  
5488 Various THE NATION'S FAVOURITE POEMS Various   A collection of 46 poems which were chosen as favourites in a BBC listeners' poll. They include Kipling's 'If', which received the highest number of votes, Wordsworth's 'Daffodils', Tennyson's 'The Lady of Shallot', and contemporary works such as Wendy Cope's 'Bloody Men'.   1 hr 55 mins  
9646 Various VERSES OF THE POETS LAUREATE Derek Jacobi, Diana Quick & Bill Paterson  Following the appointment of Andrew Motion as Poet Laureate, this audiobook celebrates the best of all the Poets Laureate from John Dryden to Ted Hughes. Each poet has a short biography and review of his work as a poet and as Laureate read by Bill Paterson, which is followed by readings of the poems by Derek Jacobi and Diana Quick.   3 hrs 20 mins  
8913 Various VOICES OF BLACK AMERICA Various   This unique collection features original recordings from 1908-1947, and includes Booker T. Washington's Atlanta Exposition Address, the poetry of Paul Laurence Dunbar and Langston Hughes, the rarely heard humour of Charley Case and readings from 'God's Trombones' by James Weldon Johnson.  1 hr 46 mins  
6729 Various WAR POEMS Paul McGann & Regine Candler  This anthology includes poems of war from the Napoleonic era to present day conflicts. The collection includes Wilfred Owen's 'Dulce et Decorum Est' as well as work by Anne Finch, Louisa Costello, Byron, Tennyson, Kipling, Hardy, Graves, Sassoon, Brooke, Jessie Pope, May Wedderburn Cannan, Walt Whitman, Henry Reed, Adrian Mitchell and Roger McGough.   2 hrs  
7393 Various YOUR FAVOURITE POEMS Various   This collection of poetry, from the earlier writings in English to the work of contemporary poets, has been chosen on a basis of popular acclaim. They include works by Coleridge, Wordsworth, Keats, Blake, Owen, Dylan Thomas, Burns, Byron, Shelley, Yeats and others.   2 hrs 15 mins  
6418 Virgil THE AENEID Richard Pasco  After a century of civil strife in Rome and Italy, Virgil wrote 'The Aeneid' to honour the emperor Augustus by praising Aeneas, Augustus' legendary ancestor. A patriotic epic imitating Homer, 'The Aeneid' tells of Aeneas, survivor of the sack of Troy, and of his seven year journey to Carthage, where he falls tragically in love with Queen Dido; then to the underworld, in the company of the Sibyl of Cumae; and finally to Italy, where he founded Rome.   9 hrs  
7448 Oscar Wilde OSCAR WILDE Neil Titley  Renowned for his wit and bons mots, Wilde also had a deep understanding of the human condition, as revealed with moving simplicity in 'The Ballad of Reading Gaol'.   1 hr 30 mins  
6533 Heathcote Williams SACRED ELEPHANT Various   'Sacred Elephant' explores the lives of elephants both in their natural habitat and in captivity, and details their destruction at the hands of man. The readings are supplemented by music from Ciurlionis, Brahms, Bruneau, Rubinstein, Saint-Saens and Mussorgsky.   1 hr 58 mins  
6534 Heathcote Williams WHALE NATION Various   Part natural history, poetry and ecological statement, listeners will learn and think about whales as never before. Commentary and prose combines with historical reference and facts.   2 hrs 2 mins  
7240 Dorothy Wordsworth THE GRASMERE JOURNALS Various   From 1800 to 1803, whilst living with her brother at Dove Cottage near Grasmere, William Wordsworth's sister Dorothy kept a journal. She combined an intense observation of nature with a poetic imagination whose influence can be seen in many of Wordsworth's poems.  7 hrs 50 mins  
6823 William Wordsworth SELECTED POEMS: WORDSWORTH Various   This anthology contains poetry from the `Lyrical Ballads', Wordsworth's famous collection written in collaboration with Coleridge. It also has poems from 'The Prelude', his autobiographical work; and personal and lyrical poems. The poems themselves are placed into context by an informative commentary.  2 hrs 15 mins  
6731 William Wordsworth THE POETRY OF WORDSWORTH Cedric Hardwicke  This audiobook includes sonnets and lyrical pieces, Wordsworth's longer masterpieces `Tintern Abbey' and `Intimations of Immortality' and extracts from `The Prelude' in which he endeavoured to trace the development of his own mind.   40 mins  
0046 Mark Yakes POETRY AND MUSIC (VOL 1) The Author  This audiobook is a compilation of witty and provocative works from a poet and performer who, in the 1980s, worked professionally alongside artists as diverse as Gil Scott-Heron, Level 42, The Specials, XTC and Adam Ant. It showcases the range of Mark Yakes' talent as a writer and musician who, at the age of 25, was playing at Ronnie Scott's in London and two years later recorded an album for the Dutch jazz label 'Keytone'.  1 hr  
0046CD Mark Yakes POETRY AND MUSIC (VOL 1) The Author  This audiobook is a compilation of witty and provocative works from a poet and performer who, in the 1980s, worked professionally alongside artists as diverse as Gil Scott-Heron, Level 42, The Specials, XTC and Adam Ant. It showcases the range of Mark Yakes' talent as a writer and musician who, at the age of 25, was playing at Ronnie Scott's in London and two years later recorded an album for the Dutch jazz label 'Keytone'.  1 hr  
6732 W B Yeats THE POETRY OF YEATS Cyril Cusack & Siobhan McKenna  A selection of Yeats's poetry including 'No Second Troy', 'The Wild Swans at Coole', 'The Second Coming', 'Byzantium', 'Why Should Not Old Men Be Mad', 'Lake Isle of Innisfree', 'The Cat in the Moon' and 'Leda and the Swan'.   55 mins  

Last Updated - 2 February 2007