English Poetry

The epic story of this hero’s battle against dragons, monsters, and their mothers is particularly suited to being recorded as an audiobook given that for the first 300 years of its existence it was only ever spoken. The first known (and indeed the only surviving manuscript) of the poem was written in AD 1,000. It survived Henry VIII’s attempts to destroy it (as a religious artifact) and a catastrophic fire that destroyed many other historical British documents.

A collection of Rudyard Kipling's finest poetry read by David Philo, Christopher Hassall, Emma Topping and Rudyard Kipling himself.

Hundreds of people submitted recordings of Shakespeare, Wordsworth, and Roger McGough in an attempt to win a prize: Participation in the recording of this new poetry collection by Christina Hardyment, historian and audiobook reviewer for The Times. This collection covers a wide range of classics by Shakespeare, Keats, Clare, Blake, and others, as well as modern poems by Roger McGough, among others. They are read mainly by the male and female first-prize winners, but also by the runners-up.

Poetry, our most ancient form of prayer, is a necessary medicine for our times: a companion through difficulty; a guide when we are lost; a salve when we are wounded; and a conduit to an inner source of joy, freedom, and insight. Through poetry, the unspeakable can be spoken, the unendurable endured, and the miraculous shared. Whether you are a lover of poetry or have yet to discover its power, Rosen offers a new way to experience a poem.

Gertrude Stein's work flourished in a world which was finding bold new ways of expressing itself. Forms like Impressionism, cubism, expressionsism and other non-representational styles were developed that provoked and challenged the observer (as well as the established art world). What avant-garde artists did with paint and ink, Gertrude Stein did with words – dispensing with conventions of grammar and clarity, she gave free rein to word play and the musicality of sounds, without regard to their meaning or relationships.

In A Symphony in Twilight, an anthology, Forester uses free verse, a style of poetry that does not conform to established rules of meter or rhyme to create a flowing, conversational tone with listeners. Portraying a wide range experiences, he writes about the sea, the farm, the cities, and of the experiences of real people. While not overtly transcendental, Forester writes about the interconnectedness of all life and the divinity in each individual.

Zaire. Late 90's. Mobutu's thirty-year reign is tottering. In Lubumbashi, the stubbornly homeless Sanza has fallen in with a trio of veteran street kids led by the devious Ngungi. A chance encounter with the mysterious Monsieur Guillaume seems to offer a way out . . . Meanwhile in Angola, Molakisi has joined thousands of fellow Zairians hoping to make their fortunes hunting diamonds, while Austrian Franz finds himself roped into writing the memoirs of the charismatic Tshiamuena, the "Madonna of the Cafunfo Mines."

One of the finest German medieval epic poems, The Lay of the Nibelungs is perhaps best known now as one of the principal sources for Wagner’s four-part music drama The Ring of the Nibelung. It is easy to see how Wagner was enthralled by the story and the poetry for the power of the tale drives the narrative: intense love, loyalty, jealousy, murder, duty, honour and massacre are all interwoven into a classic.

“Marigold was absorbed in her book; she had gotten as far as the V.” So begins Marigold and Rose, Louise Glück’s astonishing chronicle of the first year in the life of twin girls. Imagine a fairy tale that is also a multigenerational saga; a piece for two hands that is also a symphony; a poem that is also, in the spirit of Kafka’s Metamorphosis, an incandescent act of autobiography. Here are the elements you’d expect to find in a story of infant twins—but more than that, Marigold and Rose is an investigation of the great mystery of language and of time itself.

In this treasury of uncommon wisdom and spiritual insight, the best writings and personal philosophies of one of the 20th century's greatest poets, Rainer Maria Rilke, are gleaned by Ulrich Baer from thousands of pages of never-before translated correspondence.

A mysterious knight all in green arrives at King Arthur's court and issues a bizarre challenge. Gawain answers the knight - but at what cost? This new translation keeps all the poetic power of the original's extraordinary alliteration. One of the greatest stories of English literature from any period, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is a magical, medieval combination of the epic and the uncanny.

A vibrant selection of poems by the great Persian mystic with groundbreaking translations by Haleh Liza Gafori, an American poet of Persian descent. Rumi’s poems were meant to induce a sense of ecstatic illumination and liberation in his audience, bringing its members to a condition of serenity, compassion, and oneness with the divine. They remain masterpieces of world literature to which readers in many languages continually return for inspiration and succor, as well as aesthetic delight.

Billy Collins's Dog Show celebrates the joy of our canine best friends, honoring the love we feel for these animals who play vital roles in so many of our lives. In twenty-five poems, Collins distills the many emotions dogs bring us, from the happiness we feel as we watch a dog trot out the door unencumbered by our burdens, to the silliness of holding a dog in our arms as we step on the scale together. Turning his inimitable eye and ear to the complexities of dog behavior, Collins ponders all that these winning creatures give us and what we learn from them about ourselves.

The word 'angel' means 'messenger' and the title poem of this book, 'Angels Everywhere,' presents the idea that what I often glimpse is a flicker of glancing light, as if a heavenly being is darting in and out of my viewing, allowing me entry into a realm beyond my physical, experiential world—brief revelatory messages from somewhere beyond. I'm hoping that as you read these poems, (more than once, aloud if possible) something like Wordsworth's 'intimations of immortality' will enliven your own perceptions of the world as you experience it. Maybe your own fleet of angels will show up!

The world can feel like a lonely place, especially at night, when you're staying up till three in the morning, unable to sleep and with your thoughts running wild. D. R. Nguyen captures the feeling of isolation, depression, and chasing a dream through poetry and prose in his captivating collection of poems book Dark Days Lonely Nights read by the author.

Few of Emily Dickinson’s poems were published in her lifetime. Her posthumous fame is largely due to the efforts of her editors and supporters Thomas W. Higginson and Mabel Loomis Todd.

A nameless, ageless, genderless protagonist wishes nothing more than to be someone- anyone- else. And they can. Sort of. They can "ride backseat" in other people's lives. They see what they see, hear what they hear, think what they think, and feel what they feel, but they have no control. I Am You follows our protagonist as they follow the lives of three individuals.

A Poetry Gift is a collection of poems about life, nature, and the human condition. It’s intended to make people smile, and bring a little bit of inspiration and happiness to all. The world has been through a lot in the last couple of years, and these poems have been written in the hope that they will touch the hearts of those who might need a comforting moment, or even just a chuckle.

As James Crews writes in the introduction: "Wonder opens our senses and helps us stay in touch with a humbling sense of our own human smallness in the face of unexpected beauty and the delicious mysteries of life on this planet." The anthology features a foreword by Nikita Gill and a carefully curated selection of poems from a diverse range of authors, including Native American poets Joy Harjo, Linda Hogan, Kimberly Blaeser, and Joseph Bruchac, and BIPOC writers Ross Gay, Julia Alvarez, and Toi Derricotte.

Shiva the Fire of Transformation was written during my dad’s last few years on Earth.... This poetry book is all about going through transformational experiences, overcoming death, and understanding the process of life.