We hope that you have enjoyed your visit to this site.
Please feel free to add your comments here. If you have comments on a particular poem, you may prefer to add those to the poem itself, on the podcast site.
You can request a reading by mailing classicpoetryaloud [at] yahoo co uk.
Classic Poetry Aloud 
Wha? No Burns? Great site though – well done!
Ah, but we do have some Burns – look out for today’s post.
Glad you like the site.
Follow us on Twitter @classicpoetry.
Like us on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/poetryaloud.
Me too, I miss it very much… I’m not sure if it is the poetry or the soft calming tone of your voice, probably both.
Well, you’ll be pleased to know that we’re back!
Look out for some new recordings soon…
I am really pleased to read this website posts which consists of plenty of valuable information, thanks for providing
these kinds of data.
You’re welcome.
If it is possible can you put any W. H. Auden on here?
We’re sorry, but we can only feature out of copyright poems on the site at the moment. This may change in future, but we’d have to fund any copyright fees, so we’ll have to work on it. Auden would definitely be on our priority list if we and when we get to that stage.
Great.,
But I am surprised that you have no entries for William Butler Yeats ,probably one of the greates love poets to live on this planety!
Well, now that we’re back in action, and at least some of Yeats’s poems are now in the public domain, we’ll definitely be looking at this.
curious if you’re planning on bringing this podcast back to life…it was a great resource and much enjoyed
Yes – we’re back! Sorry for the hiatus, but look out for some new recordings soon.
thank you so much for reading those beautiful poems!
I am a Chinese student majors in English and when it comes to the English poetry course, our prof would always refer to your site for your brilliant readings.
Now we come to enjoy English poetry and this site as well! best regards!
The poem “To The Virgins, to make Much of Time” by Herrick is like an argument. What is the speaker’s main point
Thank you very much for Byron’s Stanzas to Augusta – I’m listening to it again and again. Wish you all the best and waiting for some “new” – classic poems
Please do a reading of Invictus by William Ernest Henley~
Great idea. We’ll see what we can do.
Hi CPA… your wonderful site gets a shout-out over at Silkworms if you want to see:
http://silkwormsink.blogspot.com/2011/03/radio-poetry-open-cast-surgery.html
Keep up the great work
-Phil
Thank you! I can’t quite express how thrilled I am to have discovered your podcast. WOW. Your voice… your readings… are absolutely… SPLENDID. THANK YOU for bringing the classics to life again! We will be long fans in our home, certainly!
Thank you for this brilliant site , and superb readings.
If you ever had time I would love to hear;
“Sea Fever” by John Masefield/Mansfield
and
“Valhalla, a Vision and a Protest” by Knox.
Thanks for this wonderful podcast. Your reading of Hopkins’ “Pied Beauty” inspired a recent column of mine in The Jerusalem Report, see That Fickle, Freckled Faith
He who draws noble delights from sentiments of poetry is a true poet, though he has never written a line in all his life.
And I do believe Any healthy man can go without food for two days – but not without poetry.
This website has truely made me fall in love with ‘reading and relishing poetry’…Its mesmerising…
May the muse of poetry bless its founder…. Amen
I too think that Poetry is all that is worth remembering in life.
I’ve written some poetry I don’t understand myself. Even when poetry has a meaning, as it usually has, it may be inadvisable to draw it out… Perfect understanding will sometimes almost extinguish pleasure.
I too think that Poetry is all that is worth remembering in life.
I’ve written some poetry I don’t understand myself. Even when poetry has a meaning, as it usually has, it may be inadvisable to draw it out… Perfect understanding will sometimes almost extinguish pleasure.
He who draws noble delights from sentiments of poetry is a true poet, though he has never written a line in all his life.
And I do believe Any healthy man can go without food for two days – but not without poetry.
This website has truely made me fall in love with ‘reading and relishing poetry’…Its mesmerising…
May the muse of poetry bless its founder…. Amen
thank you so much for ‘the raven’ it is one of my favourite poems, your podcasts often get me through the day,
I wanted to let you know I did a review of your excellent reading of “Ode to Autumn” on my blog at http://freelistens.blogspot.com/2010/11/ode-to-autumn-by-john-keats.html
I chose the poem for my Thanksgiving Day post and as the last post in my Poetry Month series, which features many other poems from different sources. Thanks for the wonderful reading.
i need to memorize a poem for school and i was dreading it, but your site has made me excited, so thank you for that.
thank you SO much and please keep up the good work!
thank you very much for your website. it helps me a lot.
thank you very much for this wonderful website.
i am so grateful, at last i had something to share on the class for poetry reading. its beautiful i did not only read the poem but had given a chance to listen to it. thanks…
Hi, I’m so thankful for this site! It’s amazing to have a place to get poetry readings for my ipod. If I may make a suggestion, I am a huge fan of John Donne’s Meditation 17 “No man is an island…”. But regardless, good job!
Good idea; we’ll give it some thought.
How about Some Dylan Thomas?
“Do not go silent into that good night” comes to mind, and I’d love to hear you read it.
And I’m still lovingly waiting and happily listening for “The Bells” by Poe…
Amir.
Sorry, Amir, but we can only feature out of copyright poems on the site at the moment, so Dylan Thomas is out. We can do The Bells, though; it’s on the list.
What a magnificent voice you have. And what a pleasure to listen to these poems. Thank you.
Due to health issues I am unable to read books anymore and I have truly missed poetry. Your podcast is a bright spot in my day and I thank you for bringing poetry back into my life.
Thank you very much for Byron’s Stanzas to Augusta – I’m listening to it again and again. Wish you all the best and waiting for some “new” – classic poems
I am so happy to hear that the podcasts will now be daily. Thank you so very much.
A thing of beauty is a joy for ever. The most beautiful thing you have treasured for me. I love this. Keep it up. Thanks.
The poem “To The Virgins, to make Much of Time” by Herrick is like an argument. What is the speaker’s main point
Jane – thanks for the question. The speaker’s main point is that life is short and it’s better to experience love than ‘to forever tarry’ (wait/delay). It’s a common theme of poets, but Herrick lived it more than most – he experienced a great deal of love, but never married himself.
i have searched for but found no reference to Yeats. Am i doing something wrong?
Bob – Yeats is a wonderful poet, but until recently all his work was in copyright (Jan 28th 2009 was the 70th anniversary of his death). I will start reading some Yeats just as soon as I am sure that the poetry *is* in fact all out of copyright.
ah, would you please read A Dream Within A Dream by Edgar Allan Poe?
Exodus – great request!
A Dream within a Dream is available at http://classicpoetryaloud.podomatic.com/entry/2009-04-03T11_22_38-07_00
just drop by to say thank you for your wonderful works! i truly deeply enjoy your site. wish you a nice day wherever you are. (:
thank you! To me – it’s a pure treasure – for my native language is russian and I don’t always get how to read some of the English classic poetry, how it sounds.
If you please – I’d be thankful to find audio of Lord Byron’s “Stanzas to Augusta” someday. This is one of my favorite and I don’t completely understand how it sounds.
God bless you for your excellent work.
This is a wonderful podcast. You have the perfect voice to read these poems and you really do them justice. I look forward to further updates!
Really excellent site – I’m also subscribed to the podcasts and really enjoy them. Can’t seem to find anything by my 2 favourite poets through – TS Eliot and Philip Larkin. Can I download any readings for these authors?
I’m afraid we can only feature poems that are out of copyright at the moment, which discounts both Eliot and Larkin. If this changes, they’ll definitely be on the list.
Hi! Keep up the great work! Would it be possible to hear the Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner by Samuel T Coleridge? Thanks!
Hi, This is a great site and podcast service! May I propose some readings of William Butler Yeats,(who died January 28, 1939 and therefore, from my point of view, should be out of copyright)? I would prefer the poem “What then” which is one of my favorites. Thanks a lot!
Watch this space…
Thanks for Lord Byron’s “So, We’ll Go No More A´Roving”. I enjoyed every sound of it. I’ll look forward to more readings of my requests. Thanks 1,000,000
First, thank you for the service you’re providing. We’ve never subscribed much to poetry but now with iTunes, my wife and I are making a dedicated effort to expand our literary horizons.
Second, thanks to your service, I’m beginning to understand poetry as art, and (as with all art) the interpretation is in the eye of beholder–or in this case listener. However, as a newbie, I really appreciated your added interpretation at the end of John Donne’s “The Ecstasy.” I re-listened to the poem with a new appreciation and an understanding.
If you feel so inspired in the future, I would greatly appreciate any insight you could offer into the poem’s meaning, structure, etc. Again, a big thank you for everything you’re already doing.
Agreed re Macaulay. Thanks very much for the rest.
Thanks for helping to fill a yawning gap in my life. It’s wonderful to have found your site and a kindred ‘poetry was meant to be read – and heard – aloud’ spirit. I’ve been regretting not having bought more of the old Caedmon and Argo LPs while they were still available, and cursing the short-sighted CD industry that mostly hasn’t made transfers of them. If anybody reading this comment knows of a supplier who still holds stocks of either label I’d be grateful for contact details. And might you consider at some stage readings from Macaulay’s ‘Horatius’ or ‘The Battle of Lake Regillus’, or Chesterton’s ‘The Ballad of the White Horse’? Meanwhile, all the best to you and yours for the New Year.
Oh, may I request a poem? I have been listening to your podcast for over a year now and enjoy on the drive in to work. As someone else mentioned, listening to a poem read well is a great treat. And for me, the best way to understand and “get” a poem.
Anyway, I believe this should be public domain: “Cards and Kisses” by John Lyly. For some reason, this is nearly my most favorite poem. Thanks and keep up the good work.
The Link attach’d will take thee to a site
That mimicks Pope in all it dares to Write.
Tho’ Wit and Judgement far behind are left,
It’s hoped that Pope thy Cholick Mood will heft.
Of cult’ral Topicks high and low it sings;
Pierian Springs and You Tube Things it clings.
So, fly to Valley of the Shadwells soon–
Thy clicks, my woful Hackny couplets’ boon!
Hi this is a COLLLLLL KOOL COOL SITE I GO ON FOUR TIMES OR TEN TIMES A DAY
Many thanks for this kind comment. I hope that the rest of the trip went well!
There was a long car ride.
There were four passengers.
There was an iPod full of your readings.
Joyous.
Thank you.
I downloaded about twenty podcasts in June the night before leaving for a three week trip to Japan and Thailand. The poems could not have been better companions, and since returning to Philadelphia, I’ve been listening (and introducing others) to your podcasts often). It is wonderful to HEAR poetry, instead of just reading it. It is leaven for the day. THANK YOU!!!
I’m glad not only I worship the soft lilt of Ted Hughes. I take it the reader’s identity is a matter of National Security, is it?
At least tell me if the ‘sessions’ are recorded in the UK, they musty be!
Thanks for your reply!
Dear everyone – many thanks for the kind comments. I’m quietly pleased by the idea that I sound like Ted Hughes, but believe me, I’m just a poetry fan like yourself, and delighted if you enjoy a reading or two.
I love the voice of the reader and I can’t help but think I’ve heard him somewhere before. Who is he? His voice reminds me of Ted Hughes.
Every Sunday, I download the previous week’s poems and listen to them on my way to work on Monday morning. Thank you for giving my week such a wonderful start!
Marie – thank you for your kind comments. I have also replied by e-mail.
Sarah – Edna St. Vincent Millay wrote some wonderful verse, but her work is still, sadly, in copyright, so I cannot read it. I will write to her estate, but on previous experience, I do not hold out much hope.
Andy – thank you very much for the birthday wishes. I aim to continue for another year, and hope it will be as productive as the last.
Happy Birthday!
Congrats on one year of wonderful poetry. I’m a new listener and very excited to hear more readings.
Congrats again and keep up the great work.
Andy C.
Minneapolis, MN, USA
I would love to hear Some Edna St. Vincent Millay aloud; I did not see her among the archives.
Thank you for everything you do.
Sarah
Thank you for this site. We have created links on Eighteenth-Century Audio (a web site for audio poetry published between 1660-1800) for each of your recordings that fits our dates, and hope to steer still more listeners to your lovely recordings.
JoAnn
The Song of the Shirt is a great poem of injustice, but that focus doesn’t sound quite right for your group. How about Woman Work by Maya Angelou ? This is still in copyright, so it doesn’t fall under the remit of Classic Poetry Aloud, but you can find it here:
http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/woman-work/
Or perhaps Overheard in County Sligo by Gillian Clarke, which you can find here:
http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=_Wb1aKmJezAC&pg=PA778&lpg=PA778&dq=%22+married+a+man+from+County+Roscommon%22&source=web&ots=GGXJikyWha&sig=cz4JdHJPOXbaeIw2Zq1yMTCTFcw&hl=en
Have a great book club this month!
I am searching for a poem to go along with my local ladies’ book club for May. I love to add a poem to the selection to create a theme and perhaps add some more “food for thought” while reading.
I have selected the biblical story of Mary and Martha as the theme, hoping to created a dialog about how we women frequently spend so much time taking care of everyone else that we neglect ourselves. I thought of the “Song of the Shirt” by Thomas Hood (one of my new favorites, thanks to you-isn’t the rhythm and imagery great?), but it’s not quite right. It doesn’t inspire me to take time for myself.
Any suggestions?
Mothers and Daughters is an additional theme.
Thanks.
What a great site to have on ones list. Now I can lean back in my chair and hear the poetry of the greats read to me. To me. Marvelous. What an inspiration to hear. Thank you.
Caitlin
Thank you for your support. I will do my best to continue to provide enjoyment, and some cause for reflection.
Thank you so much for your podcast. I enjoy listening to it everyday. You truly interpret the poems and express the emotion within the poem through your voice. I enjoy listening to the familiar poems of the past and as well as new poems which I have never heard. Keep up the good work.
– Caitlin from Louisville, KY, USA
Brenne
You are more than welcome – I hope that future poetry readings on Classic Poetry Aloud will continue to excite your imagination and give you cause for reflection.
Dearest Sir,
Thank you for reaching out to touch the hearts of so many of us with your beautiful readings. You have granted me an excuse to indulge my romantic imagination. Listening to you read aloud, inspires an innocent excitement, allowing me to temporarily escape into a nineteenth century salon.
With warmest appreciation,
Ms. Brenne Meyro
Reshma, Kai and Jessica – it is wonderful to hear that you have enjoyed these readings. I trust that future readings will continue to be of value to you.
I just wanted to say that I really enjoy your podcast. I am sure to download anew cast every day. I am an English Lit major and was so excited to come across this podcast and am also glad that you also have a website as well. Thanks again! Keep up the great work!
Thanks so much for keeping this going. I really enjoy it.
> > This site is indeed a boon to all lovers of classic poetry.Who miss the presence of such works in this modern world. I wa searching for this poem ‘Death’ by John Doanne for so long because I had read this as a child and then for all these years I could not lay my hands on a copy of this poem. I could recall only the first line ‘Death be not proud’. Thank you for the great service you are extending to classics lovers and spreading real english literature. Thank you more than anything else for all the memories attached with this poem that you have let me relive. Thank you.
YS – many thanks for your comments. This is exactly the point of Classic Poetry Aloud. I hope that I will be able to make future readings enjoyable for you, too.
Thank you for all the great readings of classic poetry. I never read most of the poems and I’ve certainly never heard them read aloud. Your readings bring the poems to life and have given me a new appreciation for poetry.
Hi Chrome
Thanks for the comment. This site is an index for
http://classicpoetryaloud.podomatic.com/
If you visit that site, you can play poems by clicking the ‘Play’ button next to each one, without having to download.
To find a poem, scroll down the list, or use CTRL+F to look for key words.
Many thanks for the visit.
How delightful, I’ve just found this site via the Performance Channel blog and will have a good look round and hopefully be able to download something I’d like.
I don’t know if this is possible but are the podcasts playable via MS Windows Media Player? This way I could listen to them before deciding whether or not to download.
Lousie – thank you for your kind words. Your response inspires me to continue to interpret these wonderful poems as best I can.
TAJ – there are two poems by John Clare that spring to mind: Love Lives Beyond the Tomb and The Instinct of Hope. They can both be found here: http://www.johnclare.info/default.html
I will record them both before Christmas, and I hope that your friends will hear them. Clare had a tough life, and the optimism in these poems is inspirational.
Can you direct me to a poem that might be sent to a couple for their anniversary which will be the couples’ last. The husband is dying of cancer.
This is a terrific podcast service for people for whom poetry is important in their lives. Poetry is not just for reading but for listening to and this is a much harder resource to come across than it ought to be. Reading it well is a real skill as there is so much to interpret in the conversion of meaning and feeling from the written word to the spoken. I do hope you are inspired to continue this superb podcast. Many thanks.
My pleasure! Please link away and listen to your hearts’ content everyone.
Glad to have been of service.
I featured your site a while back and have a link posted on my blog, please let me know if it’s okay to keep the link up.
Great site by the way, I’ve listened to several poems and plan to keep listening to more. This is a great service you are providing for poetry readers everywhere.
Hi, we’d be grateful if we could put your blog as a link on our blog.
Keep up the good work.
Just a quick note to say congratulations and keep up the excellent work!
The note that displays the poem omits certain lines of the conquering worm. Fanatastic poem!
Justin