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  Alfred Lord Tennyson

  Alfred Lord Tennyson

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  The 200th anniversary of the birth of Alfred, Lord Tennyson (1809–1892), one of the most popular of poets, is celebrated in 2009. Works such as The Charge of the Light Brigade, Crossing the Bar and Tears, Idle Tears have made him an internationally famous figure, and the second most quoted writer of all time (after Shakespeare). Tennyson’s poetic works encompass a great range of styles, settings and personae, and are known for their emotional resonance and powerful imagery. Naxos AudioBooks’s popular ‘The Great Poets’ series marks the anniversary with a program bringing together all the key works, read by veteran reader Michael Pennington.

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  Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám The...

  Omar Khayyám

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  The Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám is the title that Edward Fitz-Gerald gave to his translation of a selection of poems, originally written in Persian and of which there are about a thousand, attributed to Omar Khayyám (1048–1131), a Persian poet, mathematician and astronomer. A Persian ruba'i is a two-line stanza with two parts (or hemis-techs) per line, hence the word "Rubáiyát" (derived from the Arabic root word for "four"), meaning "quatrains". 
   
  The translations that are best known in English are those of about a hundred of the verses by Edward FitzGerald (1809–1883). Of the five editions published, four were published under the authorial control of FitzGerald. The fifth edition, which contained only minor changes from the fourth, was edited after his death on the basis of manuscript revisions FitzGerald had left. FitzGerald also produced Latin translations of certain rubaiyat. 
   
  As a work of English literature FitzGerald's version is a high point of the 19th century and has been greatly influential. Indeed, The term "Rubaiyat" by itself has come to be used to describe the quatrain rhyme scheme that FitzGerald used in his translations: AABA. However, as a translation of Omar Khayyam's quatrains, it is not noted for its fidelity. Many of the verses are paraphrased, and some of them cannot be confidently traced to any one of Khayyam's quatrains at all. Some critics informally refer to the FitzGerald's English versions as "The Rubaiyat of FitzOmar", a nickname that both recognizes the liberties FitzGerald inflicted on his purported source and also credits FitzGerald for the considerable portion of the "translation" that is his own creation. In fact, FitzGerald himself referred to his work as "transmogrification". "My translation will interest you from its form, and also in many respects in its detail: very unliteral as it is. Many quatrains are mashed together: and something lost, I doubt, of Omar's simplicity, which is so much a virtue in him" (letter to E. B. Cowell, 9/3/58). (Introduction from Wikipedia) 
   
  This recording includes readings of all five editions by Edward Fitzgerald as well as the introduction to the third edition. (Note by Algy Pug)

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  Absent Forever

  John R. Hopkins

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  A bright and politically-engaged college student goes missing after a demonstration turns violent. But as her grieving mother begins her search, she uncovers a dark side to her daughter which she never knew existed.An L.A. Theatre Works full-cast recording, starring: John de Lancie, Kaitlin Hopkins, Shirley Knight, Al Ruscio and Jennifer Warren. Directed by Peggy Shannon and recorded before a live audience by L.A. Theatre Works.

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  Outside Looking In

  Clare Smith

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  “A characteristic of autism can be a difficulty using speech to express thoughts, feelings, and experiences. However, there is often an eloquence in self-expression using the arts, including poetry. Clare’s sensitive and engaging poems provide an insight into her mind and her autism.” 
  Professor Tony Attwood, author of The Complete Guide to Asperger’s Syndrome. 
  What if you were given a life-altering diagnosis at 57? One that meant you aren’t who you thought you were? But one that explained everything? 
  These poems vibrate with intensity and curiosity about life, and because she came to this knowledge so late in life, many of Clare Smith’s poems focus not so much on what it means to be autistic, but on what it means to be human. 
  Throughout her life, as she struggled to fit into a world that to her was utterly strange, she poured her hopes, her joys and at times her despair into words. 
  She trained as a journalist, taught to cut out all emotion from her reporting, but her private writing is different – she created poetry that spoke to her deepest needs. There, exposed in her writing, is her yearning to belong, her astonishment at the physical world, her knowledge – decades before the doctors confirmed it – that she is different. 
  She’s spent a lifetime trying to make sense of her life – a journey that many of us, whether autistic or neurotypical, are on, and one in which we all face the same questions.

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  Standing at the Sky's Edge (NHB...

  Richard Hawley, Chris Bush

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  Poppy wants to escape her old life in London. Joy and Jimmy want to spend the rest of their lives together. Rose and Harry want the new life they've been promised.
  A history of modern Britain told through the stories of one Sheffield housing estate, Standing at the Sky's Edge charts the hopes and dreams of three generations over the course of six tumultuous decades. With a book by acclaimed playwright Chris Bush, and set to the irresistible songs of legendary singer-songwriter Richard Hawley, it is a heartfelt exploration of the power of community and what it is we call home.
  Standing at the Sky's Edge was first performed at Sheffield Theatres in 2019, when it won Best Musical Production at the UK Theatre Awards and the South Bank Sky Arts Award for Theatre. It was revived in 2022, before transferring to the National Theatre, London, directed by Robert Hastie.
  'The most exciting new British musical in years' - WhatsOnStage
  'Magnificent... wonderful... possesses remarkable breadth and depth... a moving and resonant piece' - The Times
  'A heartfelt exploration of home in all its guises' - Guardian

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  Short Poetry Collection 051

  Various Various

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  LibriVox’s Short Poetry Collection 051: a collection of 20 public-domain poems.

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