Other books that might interest you

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  Thaw

  Edward Thomas

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  LibriVox volunteers bring you 11 recordings of Thaw by Edward Thomas. This was the weekly poetry project for March 1st, 2009.

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  The Poetry of Hafiz

  Hafiz

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  Khw? ja Shams-ud-D?n Mu?ammad ??fe?-e Sh?r?z? is commonly known to us as Hafiz, the Persian poet who was born in Shiraz, Iran in either 1315 or 1317.  The facts of much of his early life are unknown to us but it is said that, at an early age, he memorized many passages of the Quran and was therefore given the title of Hafiz, which means 'the memorizer or the safe keeper.'  
   
  Hafiz mainly wrote lyric poetry or ghazals - an ideal form for expressing the ecstasy of the divine and the intoxicating mystical union with God.  He was also outspoken on society’s hypocrisy but was supported by patronage during his lifetime from the court of Abu Ishak and succeeding regimes until, towards the end of his life, when he resided at the Court of Timur, more usually known to us as Tamerlane, the conqueror who founded the Timurid Empire in modern day Iran and Central Asia. 
   
  Certainly that support enabled Hafiz to devote himself to his writings. Surprisingly there is no definitive version of his collected works (or D?v?n); some editions run to a mere 573 poems others to just shy of a thousand.  However, their beauty and wordplay illuminate why Hafiz was admired so much throughout the Islamic world even during his own lifetime.  He remains one of the most celebrated of the Persian poets and his influence through poems, proverbs and, sayings can be felt to this day.  On various holidays, including 12th October in Iran, Hafiz Day is celebrated: Families will open his D?v?n at random and read aloud that poem, using it as a guide to what may happen next in their lives. 
   
  Hafiz died in 1390. His mausoleum, H?fezieh, is located in the Musalla Gardens in Shiraz.

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  Early Rising

  John Godfrey Saxe

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  LibriVox volunteers bring you 15 recordings of Early Rising by John Godfrey Saxe. This was the Fortnightly Poetry project for December 31, 2010.The words "dutiful" and "pious" never applied to the aspiring satirist. Bored by his legal work, Saxe began publishing poems for The Knickerbocker, of which "The Rhyme of the Rail" is his most famous early work. He soon caught the attention of the prominent Boston publishing house, Ticknor and Fields. Though he received no royalties for his first volume, it ran to ten reprintings and eventually outsold works by Hawthorne and Tennyson.

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  The Ballad of Maria Marten (NHB...

  Beth Flintoff

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  Summer, 1827. In a red barn in Suffolk, Maria Marten awaits her lover. A year later, hidden in a grain sack under the floor of the barn, Maria's body is found, barely identifiable - and the manhunt begins.
  The Red Barn Murder had all the hallmarks of a classic crime drama: a missing body, a country location, a disreputable squire and a village stuck in its age-old traditions. But whilst sending shockwaves throughout the country, Maria's own story was lost.
  The Ballad of Maria Marten rediscovers her story, bringing it back to vivid, urgent life. Beth Flintoff's thrilling play was first performed by an all-female cast in a production by Eastern Angles in July 2018. Subsequent national tours were produced with Eastern Angles by Matthew Linley Creative Projects in association with the Stephen Joseph Theatre.

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  Multilingual Short Works...

  Various Various

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  This is a collection of short pieces, poetry or prose, fiction and non-fiction, in several different languages (except standard English). All chosen and recorded by Librivox volunteers.

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  The Comedy of Errors

  William Shakespeare

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  We came into the world like brother and brother; And now let's go hand in hand, not one before another. - Dromio of Ephesus 
  The Comedy of Errors is likely the very first play Shakespeare ever wrote, and for that reason alone it deserves a special place in literary history. Yet, despite the author's lack of maturity, the play is unmistakably the work of a burgeoning master. A farce of a type that was wildly popular in Shakespeare's day, The Comedy of Errors transcends its genre, and is as accessible and as entertaining as any of the Bard's later comedies. Revolving around the naturally comedic themes of identical twins and mistaken identity, The Comedy of Errors is a delightful milestone in the remarkable career of the greatest dramatist of all time.

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