Human Voices Wake Us

An overview of the story of the Egyptian god Osiris, with readings from the most complete Egyptian and Greek sources.

The books read from in this episode are:

for Plutarch's account: Isis & Osiris (electronic text of the 1936 Loeb Classical Library edition of Plutarch's Moralia)

for the "Great Hymn to Osiris": Miriam Lichtheim, Ancient Egyptian Literature, vol. 2: The New Kingdom 

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Salima Ikram & Aidan Dodson, The Mummy in Ancient Egypt: Equipping the Dead for Eternity

Douglas Brewer, Ancient Egypt: Foundations of a Civilization

Richard Wilkinson, The Complete Gods and Goddesses of Ancient Egypt 

Erik Hornung, Conceptions of God in Ancient Egypt: The One & the Many

Any comments, or suggestions for readings I should make in later  episodes, can be emailed to [email protected].

I assume that the small amount of work presented in each episode   constitutes fair use. Publishers, authors, or other copyright holders   who would prefer to not have their work presented here can also email  me  at [email protected], and I will remove the episode   immediately.

A reading of H. D.’s poem "Adonis" from her early collection, “The God.” Buy her Collected Poems 1912-1944. 

Any comments, or suggestions for readings I should make in later  episodes, can be emailed to [email protected].  

I assume that the small amount of work presented in each episode  constitutes fair use. Publishers, authors, or other copyright holders who would prefer to not have their work presented here can also email me at [email protected], and I will remove the episode immediately.

A reading of thirteen of my favorite poems from Laurie Sheck’s 1996  collection, “The Willow Grove.”   

As I mention when introducing the poem "Headlights," I found Sheck's book in the late 1990s, back when Borders Outlet still existed. The store often had relatively recent books of poetry available for fairly cheap, and as a young writer it was my source for discovering new poets. As I came to learn, though, their selection was scattershot and not too good, with the exception of Sheck's book. It remains one of the best single collections of poetry I've ever read, probably because the entirety reads like one long poem. Even the thirteen poems here, when heard together, have the wholeness of a continuous story. 

The thirteen poems are: 

Any comments, or suggestions for readings I should make in later  episodes, can be emailed to [email protected].

I assume that the small amount of work presented in each episode  constitutes fair use.  Publishers, authors, or other copyright holders  who would prefer to not have their work presented here can also email me  at [email protected], and I will remove the episode  immediately.

An introduction and reading of only a handful of the ancient Egyptian Pyramid texts. 

The translation I use comes from James P. Allen's "The Ancient Egyptian Pyramid Texts." Since buying my copy, a second edition has been released, and can be purchased here: https://www.amazon.com/Ancient-Egyptian-Pyramid-Texts-Writings/dp/1628371145

For those who are interested in a more in-depth introduction to the Pyramid Texts, the entirety of Allen's preface can be downloaded here: http://www.sbl-site.org/assets/pdfs/pubs/061538P-front.pdf

James Allen's book is only one book in a tremendous series called Writing from the Ancient World, published by the Society of Biblical Literature. The full catalogue of those books can be found here: https://www.sbl-site.org/publications/Books_WAW.aspx

The other translation of the Pyramid Texts mentioned in this episode, made by Raymond O. Faulkner, can be purchased here: https://www.amazon.com/Ancient-Egyptian-Pyramid-Egyptology-English/dp/0865161240

Finally, the best one-volume guide to ancient Egyptian religion, Erik Hornung's "Conceptions of God in Ancient Egypt: The One and the Many," can be purchased here: https://www.amazon.com/Conceptions-God-Ancient-Egypt-Many/dp/0801483840

Any comments, or suggestions for readings I should make in later  episodes, can be emailed to [email protected].  

I assume that the small amount of work presented in each episode  constitutes fair use. Publishers, authors, or other copyright holders  who would prefer to not have their work presented here can also email me  at [email protected], and I will remove the episode  immediately.