Library Journal Review

Educators are increasingly realizing that the best way to appreciate poetry is to hear it read by the author, focusing on the way line breaks and inflections add to the poet's intentions. What's remarkable about this audio program, originally released in 1969, is the superb quality of the recordings. Listeners needn't strain to make out what Edgar Lee Masters, Robert Frost, or Carl Sandburg are saying. James Weldon Johnson's voice sounds remarkably like the black preachers who influenced his writing. The digital remastering is perfect, producing an even volume as readers shift. Brief introductions to each poet, often including little-known biographical notes, read by Katherine Kellgren, are a welcome addition. These tapes are also distinguished from similar products by their inclusion of such poets as Max Eastman, John Crowe Ransom, Robert P. Tristram Coffin, and Donald Davidson-artists seldom anthologized, unknown, or better known as teachers or critics. Covering the late 1800s through the 1960s, the highly charged material is presented against the background of two world wars and the McCarthy hearings. Highly recommended, especially for academic libraries.-Rochelle Ratner, formerly with Soho Weekly News, New York (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.