Poetic License

100 Poems - 100 Performers

By: Emily Dickinson, e. e. cummings, William Wordsworth, Billy Collins, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Allen Ginsberg

Narrated by: Jason Alexander, Christine Baranski, Charles Busch, Chris Sarandon, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Michael York

Why a poetry album? Easy answer: I love poetry. I love reading it. I love memorizing it. I love hearing great actors recite it. As the poet Mark Strand wrote, “Ink runs from the corners of my mouth / There is no happiness like mine / I have been eating poetry.” In the past, when I was full from eating, I have had the audacity to set poetry to music. But, on this audiobook, you will hear the music of the poems. Poetry unadorned. Words. Because in truth, great poetry needs nothing but a great actor, a voice as eloquent and expressive as the poem itself, to lift the poem off the page and into the heart.

I have never done a project that has elicited so much enthusiasm. From the actors arriving at the studio who thanked me for inviting them to participate, "Are you kidding?" I’d say, "Thank you!" to the engineers who would say, "I never got this stuff, but these guys make it so beautiful." This audiobook has been a joy from beginning to end, a true labor of love. And whenever I heard my stomach rumbling during the production process, I always knew I could find something delicious to eat in the studio. Mmmm. Yeats? That hits the spot.

Download the accompanying reference guide.©2010 GPR Records - Spoken Word (P)2013 GPR Records - Spoken Word

Fantastic!

The readings are fantastic and so, so many surprises! It was a joy to listen to and I’m sure I’ll be re-listening to this again soon.

Worth Reading, Worth Hearing

Great Poetic Anthology! Well read, well acted. Recommend it a listen for every poetry lover.

Variety!!

Would you listen to Poetic License again? Why?

Absolutely!! It was a great listen. It had all different kinds of poems, read by different people. This made it a very fun experience.

What did you like best about this story?

I love the variety and the quality of the readers.

Which character – as performed by the narrators – was your favorite?

I loved the reading of the “The Nap Taker” by Shel Silverstein. There are so many good pomes on the audio book it is definitely worth buying.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes, I couldn't wait for the next poem

Any additional comments?

If you love poetry this is an awesome read / listen! It is an amazing selection of poems / poets with awesome readers!

Just the poems Mam.

An enjoyable collection of poems but I preferred the Poets Corner collection by Lithgow with its mini summary of each poet and poem to give context.

Amazing readings!

The readings really make the poems jump to life. The actors did a wonderful job. I hope they will make more of these in the future.