Listen to Latest Full Audiobooks in Literature, Poetry

Please visit https://thebookvoice.com/podcasts/1/audiobook/435767 to listen full audiobooks.

Title: The Poetry of Paul Laurence Dunbar

Author: Paul Laurence Dunbar

Narrator: Danny Swopes, Ghizela Rowe, Richard Mitchley

Format: Unabridged Audiobook

Length: 1 hour 7 minutes

Release date: May 1, 2020

Genres: Poetry

Publisher's Summary:

Paul Laurence Dunbar was born on June 27th, 1872 in Dayton Ohio. His parents had been slaves in Kentucky before the Civil War. Dunbar wrote his first poem at age 6 and gave his first public recital at age 9. By 16 he was already published as a poet in ‘The Herald’, a local newspaper.After completing his formal schooling in 1891, Dunbar was employed as an elevator operator, at $4 a week. His hopes of a legal career floundered on a lack of funds and racial discrimination. However, he wrote his poetry and took every opportunity to publish. In 1892 his employers sent him to the United Brethren Publishing House which, in 1893, printed his dialect poetry, ‘Oak and Ivy; Dunbar subsidized the printing and earned back his investment in two weeks by selling copies himself.Dunbar also wrote the lyrics for ‘In Dahomey’, the first musical written and performed entirely by African Americans. It was produced on Broadway in 1903; and then toured England and the United States for four years.After returning from a literary tour of United Kingdom, Dunbar married Alice Ruth Moore on March 6th, 1898. She was a teacher and poet from New Orleans. Dunbar called her "the sweetest, smartest little girl I ever saw". Alice would become as famous as Paul during her life for her own literary works.In 1900, he was diagnosed with tuberculosis and his doctors recommended drinking whisky to alleviate his symptoms. The couple moved to Colorado as the cold, dry mountain air was considered favorable for his health. Dunbar and Alice separated in 1902, but never divorced. But Depression and declining health drove him to depend on alcohol, and health deteriorated.His short career was prolific; a dozen books of poetry, four books of short stories, four novels, lyrics for ‘In Dahomey’, and a play. Dunbar’s essays and poems were published widely in leading journals including ‘Harper's Weekly’ and ‘The Saturday Evening Post’. He was also a committed civil rights activist.In 1904 he returned to Dayton to be with his mother. Paul Laurence Dunbar died of tuberculosis on February 9th, 1906, at the age of only thirty-three.

Please visit https://thebookvoice.com/podcasts/1/audiobook/435768 to listen full audiobooks.

Title: The Poetry of Charlotte Mew

Author: Charlotte Mew

Narrator: Gideon Wagner, Ghizela Rowe, Richard Mitchley

Format: Unabridged Audiobook

Length: 1 hour 5 minutes

Release date: May 1, 2020

Genres: Poetry

Publisher's Summary:

Charlotte Mary Mew was born on 15th November, 1869 in London to professional parents – her father was responsible for the design of Hampstead Town Hall.Charlotte, one of seven children; three of whom died in early childhood, was educated at Lucy Harrison's School for Girls and attended lectures at University College, London.In 1898 her father died but failed to make provision for the family. Her mother, anxious about the family's social standing, did not want that known even though there was heavy ongoing expense for two other siblings who were in mental institutions.However for Charlotte helping to support this overhead and her mother and sister, Anne, meant that her ambition to be a paid writer must now become a reality. Initially this meant prose - her poetry was to gestate until later in life.During this time Charlotte and Anne made a pact never to marry for fear of passing on insanity to their children.As a writer Charlotte was a modernist, resisting the shackles of Victorian society's suffocating demands on behaviour especially for women. Despite her diminutive figure and dainty feet, she wore trousers, kept her hair short, smoked roll ups, was a Lesbian and tried to appear masculine.Her difficult family life, although her close relationship with Anne was a constant source of comfort and companionship until her death in 1927, was coupled with rejection in her personal life but also provided inspiration for her wonderfully insightful and original poetry that you can read here.Despite her fans including Thomas Hardy, Virginia Woolf and Siegfried Sassoon, Charlotte's works have been shamefully neglected. With your help we hope to put that right with this collection of her best poems.Charlotte Mew died on 24th March in 1928 and was buried at Hampstead Cemetery.

Please visit https://thebookvoice.com/podcasts/1/audiobook/435769 to listen full audiobooks.

Title: The Poetry of Ralph Waldo Emerson

Author: Ralph Waldo Emerson

Narrator: Gideon Wagner, Ghizela Rowe, Richard Mitchley

Format: Unabridged Audiobook

Length: 1 hour 24 minutes

Release date: May 1, 2020

Genres: Poetry

Publisher's Summary:

Ralph Waldo Emerson was born in Boston, Massachusetts on May 25th, 1803, the son of Ruth Haskins and the Rev. William Emerson, a Unitarian minister. Emerson was the second of five sons who survived into adulthood.His father died before Emerson was eight and the young boy was raised by his mother and other female members of the family.Emerson's formal schooling began at the Boston Latin School in 1812 when he was 9. In October 1817, at 14, Emerson went to Harvard College. He did not excel as a student but was elected Class Poet in his senior year which required him, as was the custom, to present an original poem on Harvard's Class Day, a month before his graduation on August 29th, 1821. In 1826, faced with poor health, Emerson went to seek out warmer climates and eventually to St. Augustine, Florida, where he took long walks on the beach, and began writing poetry. Initially Emerson made his living as a schoolmaster, then went to Harvard Divinity School which had opened in 1816. Emerson met his first wife, Ellen Louisa Tucker in 1827, and they married when she was 18. They moved to Boston, but Ellen was already sick with tuberculosis. Emerson was now offered the post of junior pastor by Boston’s Second Church and he was ordained in January 1829.Ellen died at the age of 20 in February 1831, after uttering her last words: "I have not forgot the peace and joy." Emerson was devastated and visited her grave in Roxbury daily. He also began to question his faith and began to disagree with the church's methods, and this eventually led to his resignation in 1832. On November 5th, 1833, he made the first of an eventual total of some 1,500 lectures, ‘The Uses of Natural History’, in Boston.He married Lidian Jackson on September 14th, 1835 and the couple moved to Concord. They would have four children.Over the following decades a remarkable career would emerge. He would become renowned as an essayist, lecturer, philosopher, and poet who led the transcendentalist movement of the mid-19th century. In January 1842 Emerson's first son, Waldo, died of scarlet fever. Emerson wrote of his grief in his classic poem ‘Threnody’ ("For this losing is true dying") published in his 1847 collection ‘Poems’. His poetic work is often overshadowed by the other facets of his career but there is no doubt that its contribution was immense. He remains one of the linchpins of the American romantic movement. Indeed, his works, from essays to poems, have greatly influenced the thinkers, writers and poets that have followed him. Ralph Waldo Emerson died of complications from pneumonia on April 27th, 1882 at the age of 78 in Concord, Massachusetts.

Please visit https://thebookvoice.com/podcasts/1/audiobook/435770 to listen full audiobooks.

Title: The Poetry of Amy Levy

Author: Amy Levy

Narrator: Ghizela Rowe, Richard Mitchley, Eve Karpf

Format: Unabridged Audiobook

Length: 1 hour 19 minutes

Release date: May 1, 2020

Genres: Poetry

Publisher's Summary:

Amy Levy was born in London, England in 1861, the second of seven in a fairly wealthy Anglo-Jewish family. The children read and participated in secular literary activities and became firmly integrated into Victorian life.Her education was at Brighton High School, Brighton, before studies at Newnham College, Cambridge; she was the first Jewish student when she arrived in 1879, but left after four terms.Amy’s writing career began early; her poem ‘Ida Grey’ appeared when she was only fourteen. Her acclaimed short stories ‘Cohen of Trinity’ and ‘Wise in Their Generation,’ were published by Oscar Wilde in his magazine ‘Women's World’.Her poetic writings reveal feminist concerns; ‘Xantippe and Other Verses’, from 1881 includes a poem in the voice of Socrates's wife. ‘A Minor Poet and Other Verse’ from 1884 comprises of dramatic monologues and lyric poems.In 1886, Amy began a series of essays on Jewish culture and literature for the Jewish Chronicle, including ‘The Ghetto at Florence’, ‘The Jew in Fiction’, ‘Jewish Humour’ and ‘Jewish Children’.That same year while travelling in Florence she met the writer Vernon Lee. It is generally assumed they fell in love and this inspired the poem ‘To Vernon Lee’.Her first novel ‘Romance of a Shop’, written in 1888 is based on four sisters who experience the pleasures and hardships of running a London business during the 1880s. This was followed by Reuben Sachs (also 1888) and concerned with Jewish identity and mores in the England of her time and was somewhat controversial.Her final book of poems, ‘A London Plane-Tree’ from 1889, shows the beginnings of the influence of French symbolism.Despite many friendships and an active life, Amy suffered for many years with serious depressions and this, together with her growing deafness, led her to commit suicide by inhaling carbon monoxide on September 10th, 1889. She was 27.

Please visit https://thebookvoice.com/podcasts/1/audiobook/435771 to listen full audiobooks.

Title: The Victorian Laureates

Author: Alfred Austin, Alfred Lord Tennyson, William Wordsworth

Narrator: David Shaw-Parker, Richard Mitchley, Sean Barrett

Format: Unabridged Audiobook

Length: 1 hour 15 minutes

Release date: May 1, 2020

Genres: Poetry

Publisher's Summary:

The office of Poet Laureate goes back many centuries – informally to the time of Geoffrey Chaucer in 1389 and followed thereafter by a number of ‘volunteer laureates’. It was formally assigned to Ben Jonson in 1617 and, as a Royal office by letters patent in 1670, to John Dryden. It is a rich, rewarding history that bursts with the words, themes and visions of many great poets that has bound poetry and poets to a Nations soul.Victoria’s reign is mainly remembered as that which harnessed and amplified The Industrial Revolution with its myriad of inventions and the reinvention of society from agricultural to manufacturing. From there its thirst for markets and raw materials created a massive ‘Age of Empire’ that bestrode the globe yet, in its wake, left many in its homeland, destitute, impoverished and bereft of the advantages it trumpeted on a world stage. In the Arts its artists flourished, exhibiting and publishing abroad working in new techniques and new media. In literature such noted talents as Dickens, Trollope, Thackeray, the Bronte sisters and many, many others were ambitious and acclaimed. In Poetry we were spoilt for choice; the Brownings, Matthew Arnold, Coventry Patmore, Thomas Hardy, Rudyard Kipling, an endless succession of wordsmiths. Those Laureates appointed in Queen Victoria’s reign to represent the Nation are three in number and quite simply are staggering in both verse and talent: William Wordsworth, Alfred Lord Tennyson and Alfred Austin.

Please visit https://thebookvoice.com/podcasts/1/audiobook/435763 to listen full audiobooks.

Title: The Fireside Poets

Author: Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Narrator: Gideon Wagner, Ghizela Rowe, Richard Mitchley

Format: Unabridged Audiobook

Length: 1 hour 23 minutes

Release date: May 1, 2020

Genres: Poetry

Publisher's Summary:

This group of 19th Century American poets was the first to rival their British counterparts in popularity.Gathered around their New England roots they were also known as the Schoolroom or Household poets, and comprised of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, William Cullen Bryant, John Greenleaf Whittier, James Russell Lowell and Olivier Wendell Holmes Senior. Occasionally Ralph Waldo Emerson was included although his poetic philosophy differed in some key aspects. Each of these poets lived long and productive lives ensuring the longevity of the movement into the early 20th century. Their activities in the academic world, newspapers, the diplomatic service and lecture tours ensured they were constantly in the public eye. Their essential discipline was focused on domestic themes and morality. At the time one of the primary sources of entertainment for the family was to be gathered around the fireplace whilst poems were read.The Fireside Poets did not write for the sake of other poets or critics or for posterity. Instead they wrote for a contemporary audience of general readers. They were mass communicators. Today the Fireside Poets, along with the equivalent British poets of Victorian times, is still regarded as essential verse.

Please visit https://thebookvoice.com/podcasts/1/audiobook/435764 to listen full audiobooks.

Title: The Poetry of Herman Merville

Author: Herman Melville

Narrator: Gideon Wagner, Ghizela Rowe, Richard Mitchley

Format: Unabridged Audiobook

Length: 1 hour 3 minutes

Release date: May 1, 2020

Genres: Poetry

Publisher's Summary:

Herman Melville was born in New York City on August 1st, 1819, the third of eight children. At the age of 7 Melville contracted scarlet fever which was to permanently diminish his eyesight. At this time Melville was described as being "very backwards in speech and somewhat slow in comprehension."His father died when he was 12 leaving the family in very straitened times. Just 14 Melville took a job in a bank paying $150 a year that he obtained via his uncle, Peter Gansevoort, who was one of the directors of the New York State Bank.After a failed stint as a surveyor he signed on to go to sea and travelled across the Atlantic to Liverpool and then on further voyages to the Pacific on adventures which would soon become the architecture of his novels. Whilst travelling he joined a mutiny, was jailed, fell in love with a South Pacific beauty and became known as a figure of opposition to the coercion of native Hawaiians to the Christian religion. He drew from these experiences in his books Typee, Omoo, and White-Jacket. These were published as novels, the first initially in London in 1846.By 1851 his masterpiece, Moby Dick, was ready to be published. It is perhaps, and certainly at the time, one of the most ambitious novels ever written. However, it never sold out its initial print run of 3,000 and Melville’s earnings on this masterpiece were a mere $556.37.In succeeding years his reputation waned and he found life increasingly difficult. His family was growing, now four children, and a stable income was essential. With his finances in a disappointing state Melville took the advice of friends that a change in career was called for. For many others public lecturing had proved very rewarding. From late 1857 to 1860, Melville embarked upon three lecture tours, where he spoke mainly on Roman statuary and sightseeing in Rome. In 1876 he was at last able to publish privately his 16,000 line epic poem Clarel. It was to no avail. The book had an initial printing of 350 copies, but sales failed miserably.On December 31st, 1885 Melville was at last able to retire. His wife had inherited several small legacies and provide them with a reasonable income.Herman Melville, novelist, poet, short story writer and essayist, died at his home on September 28rh 1891 from cardiovascular disease.

Please visit https://thebookvoice.com/podcasts/1/audiobook/435765 to listen full audiobooks.

Title: The Poetry of Youth

Author: George Meredith

Narrator: Gideon Wagner, Ghizela Rowe, Richard Mitchley

Format: Unabridged Audiobook

Length: 1 hour 43 minutes

Release date: May 1, 2020

Genres: Poetry

Publisher's Summary:

Today perhaps we all agree that youth is spoilt, ill-disciplined and in search of constant, and instant, gratification. No matter how much we love them, our children, as they mature from child to youth, are pampered. A century ago, and even further back, even the most privileged of youth was rarely indulged. In this volume we look at those years of youth through the eyes and pens of classic poets. They reveal times of hardship, of fear, of love and loss. But youth is idealistic, ready to change the world….but usually ending up in the service of others, be it parents, or patrons, or employers, from a career in trade to the slaughter of war. Life is difficult, a sometimes grim monotone and, it seems, only occasionally splashed with the colour of love, of beauty and ambition.However, one thing we can be certain of though is that these verses speak not only from the head but from the heart.

Please visit https://thebookvoice.com/podcasts/1/audiobook/435766 to listen full audiobooks.

Title: The Poetry of James Weldon Johnson

Author: James Weldon Johnson

Narrator: Danny Swopes, Ghizela Rowe, Richard Mitchley

Format: Unabridged Audiobook

Length: 1 hour 0 minutes

Release date: May 1, 2020

Genres: Poetry

Publisher's Summary:

James Weldon Johnson was born in Jacksonville, Florida on June 17th 1871. His mother, Helen, a musician and a public school teacher initially home-schooled him giving him a love of both English literature and European music. At 16 his education moved to Atlanta University and he graduated with a degree in 1894. In 1904 Johnson helped in Theodore Roosevelt's presidential bid. On winning Roosevelt appointed him as US consul at Puerto Cabello, Venezuela in 1906 and then Nicaragua from 1909. Johnson worked for the NAACP from 1916 as a field secretary, organizing local chapters. To counter race riots and lynching’s he organized mass demonstrations, such as a silent protest parade of over ten thousand African Americans down New York’s Fifth Avenue in July 1917. In 1920 Johnson was elected to manage the NAACP, the first African American to hold this position. That same year he was dispatched to monitor conditions in Haiti and described in The Nation the brutal occupation and also offered remedies. During the 1920’s he was one of the major inspirations of the Harlem RenaissanceIn the midst of all this he continued to write novels, poems, and folklore. In 1917, he saw published ‘50 Years and Other Poems’. In 1922, he edited ‘The Book of American Negro Poetry’, which the Academy of American Poets calls "a major contribution to the history of African-American literature." In 1927 followed ‘God's Trombones: Seven Negro Sermons in Verse’. One of the first African-American professors at NYU he was also, later, a professor of creative literature and writing at Fisk University. His career spanned several elements; education, the diplomatic corps, civil rights activism, literature, poetry, and music. James Weldon Johnson died on June 26th, 1938 whilst vacationing in Wiscasset, Maine when his car was hit by a train.

Please visit https://thebookvoice.com/podcasts/1/audiobook/432475 to listen full audiobooks.

Title: Broken to unbreakable - 12 steps to an unbreakable mind, body and spirit

Author: Krissy Regan

Narrator: Jessica Stokes, Krissy Regan, Dave Stokes

Format: Unabridged Audiobook

Length: 4 hours 58 minutes

Release date: April 27, 2020

Genres: Poetry

Publisher's Summary:

• Do you look into the future and see a healthy person? • Are you thinking about your bank balance or what’s left in your physical tank by the time you hang up your boots? • Have you wondered what it would feel like to have an unbreakable mind, body and spirit, capable of weathering any storm? This is the book for you! This book is designed to get you thinking about your future, not in terms of what you have but who you are, and to inspire you to take action now, laying a new foundation that will keep you healthy inside and out for years to come. Krissy is a girl from outback Australia, who after attaining an Exercise Science and Sports Management Degree, travelled the globe working on the biggest sporting events and developing training tools and programs for the world’s biggest brands. She was even lucky enough to train staff employed at Buckingham Palace. Krissy's skill as a coach comes from her ability to break down tasks and ideas into manageable steps. She creates compelling, easy to read content from technical information, helping her readers to embrace ideas that will benefit them on a mental, physical and spiritual level. Krissy’s driving force is to inspire people to prioritise health and wellness above all else, and to share her life-changing 12 Steps to an Unbreakable Mind, Body and Spirit.