The soul of Irish wit is captured in this unique tale of a barstool philosopher, the concluding story from 'Here Are Ladies' by James Stephens. (Introduction by iremonger)

James Thomas Fields was an American publisher, editor, and poet. At the age of 14, Fields took a job at the Old Corner Bookstore in Boston. His first published poetry was included in the Portsmouth Journal in 1837 but he drew more attention when, on September 13, 1838, he delivered his “Anniversary Poem” to the Boston Mercantile Library Association.

The Seasons is a series of four long poems in blank verse by the Scottish poet James Thomson, each poem describing one of the four seasons. The poems are replete with various scenes of nature described with loving detail, as well as Thomson's view of the proper relationship between humans and nature, which anticipates the attitudes of the Romantics. "Spring," which was published in 1728, first brought Thomson to mainstream attention. He followed it up with "Summer," "Winter," and "Autumn," publishing all four as The Seasons in 1730...

Here is a sweet little poem to touch your heart and share with your best friends. The words are heartfelt, simple and trip off the tongue in sing-song fashion. The challenge becomes, as my English teacher and the poetry pundits oft complain of, how to read it without that sing-song pattern becoming monotonous. Let's see how ourers do. - Summary by Michele Fry

James Weldon Johnson was an American author, educator, lawyer, diplomat, songwriter, and civil rights activist. Johnson is best remembered for his leadership within the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), where he started working in 1917, being chosen as the first black executive secretary of the organization, effectively the operating officer. He was first known for his writing, which includes poems, novels, and anthologies collecting both poems and spirituals of black culture.

LibriVox volunteers bring you 14 recordings of "Sunset in the Tropics." This is the Weekly Poetry for the week of August 10, 2014.The author of this poem, James Weldon Johnson, served as U. S. Consul to Venezuela and Nicaragua, was an early leader in the NAACP and contributed to the Harlem Renaissance of the 1920s. He had a broad appreciation for black artists, musicians and writers, and worked to heighten awareness of their creativity. (from Wikipedia)

Riley was an American writer known as the “Hoosier poet”, and made a start writing newspaper verse in Hoosier dialect for the Indianapolis Journal in 1875. His favorite authors were Burns and Dickens. This collection of poems is a romanticized and mostly boy-centered paean to a 19th century rural American owning-class childhood. I’ve included the pieces I did because they’re the ones I most enjoyed when I read a copy of the collection handed down from my great-grandfather.

James Whitcomb Riley was an American writer, poet, and best selling author, born in the town of Greenfield, Indiana. During his lifetime he was known as the "Hoosier Poet" and "Children's Poet" for his dialect works and his children's poetry respectively. His poems tended to be humorous or sentimental, and of the approximately one thousand poems that Riley authored, the majority are in dialect.

James Whitcomb Riley was an American writer, poet, and best-selling author. During his lifetime he was known as the "Hoosier Poet" and "Children's Poet" for his dialect works and his children's poetry respectively. His poems tended to be humorous or sentimental, and of the approximately one thousand poems that Riley authored, the majority are in dialect. Riley began his career writing verses as a sign maker and submitting poetry to newspapers. Thanks in part to an endorsement from poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, he eventually earned successive jobs at Indiana newspaper publishers during the latter 1870s...

volunteers bring you 23 recordings of If I knew What Poets Know by James Whitcomb Riley. This was the Weekly Poetry project for July 5, 2020. ------Riley's chief legacy was his influence in fostering the creation of a Midwestern cultural identity and his contributions to the Golden Age of Indiana Literature. With other writers of his era, he helped create a caricature of Midwesterners and formed a literary community that produced works rivaling the established eastern literati. There are many memorials dedicated to Riley, including the James Whitcomb Riley Hospital for Children.

volunteers bring you 18 recordings of Pansies by James Whitcomb Riley. This was the Weekly Poetry project for May 3, 2020. ------ Another ode to Spring and one of the popular flowers starting to bloom. Taken from Rhymes of Childhood by James Whitcomb Riley - Summary by David Lawrence

James Whitcomb Riley was an American writer, poet, and best-selling author. During his lifetime he was known as the "Hoosier Poet" and "Children's Poet" for his dialect works and his children's poetry respectively. His poems tended to be humorous or sentimental, and of the approximately one thousand poems that Riley authored, the majority are in dialect. His famous works include "Little Orphant Annie" and "The Raggedy Man".

James Whitcomb Riley was an American writer, poet, and best-selling author. His poems tended to be humorous or sentimental, and of the approximately one thousand poems that Riley authored, the majority are in dialect. His famous works include "Little Orphant Annie" and "The Raggedy Man". - Summary by Wikipedia

volunteers bring you 16 recordings of Lockerbie Street by James Whitcomb Riley. This was the Fortnightly Poetry project for August 28, 2022. ------ James Whitcomb Riley was an American writer and poet, who lived in Indianapolis. Here among his books and his souvenirs, the poet spent his happy and contented days. To reach this restful spot, the pilgrim must journey to Lockerbie Street, a miniature thoroughfare half hidden between two more commanding avenues. It is little more than a lane, shaded, unpaved, and from end to end no longer than a five minutes' walk, but its fame is for all time.

Lockwood, Brooks & Co. Have nearly ready the volume of “Easter Hymns” selected by Miss J.E.C. Chapman, an accomplished lady of Boston, and introduced by a note from her uncle, Rev. Dr. J.I.T. Coolidge. The hymns are excellently chosen, and the volume will be brought out in tasteful style. It will commend itself to the favor of all Episcopalians, and to the devout in all denominations, to whom Easter is not a mere churchly date but a day of deep and glad significance. – The Publisher’s Weekly, March 18th, 1876.

To take you back to your childhood, LibriVox volunteers bring you 28 recordings of The Star by Jane Taylor. This was the Weekly Poetry project for March 24, 2013.

This early 19th-century children's poetry collection by Jane and Ann Taylor is little-known today, but contains the original version of Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star, known then as just The Star. Also included are poems about why you shouldn't kill kittens, birds and flies, a poem about how you can be seriously scarred if you play with fire, and a poem about a homeless man who cries himself to sleep because of how naughty he was a child.

Several of La Fontaine’s fables, translated into English by W. T. Larned.

LibriVox volunteers bring you 8 recordings of The Old Man and the Ass by Jean de La Fontaine. (There was no translator acknowledged in the text.) This was the Weekly Poetry project for July 7, 2013.Jean de La Fontaine was the most famous French fabulist and one of the most widely read French poets of the 17th century. He is known above all for his Fables, which provided a model for subsequent fabulists across Europe and numerous alternative versions in France, and in French regional languages.According to Flaubert, he was the only French poet to understand and master the texture of the French language before Hugo...

Jean de la Fontaine's fables were very well-known all over Europe during his life, and are now slowly being rediscovered. This edition contains 240 fables or fairy tales and a biography of Jean de la Fontaine and Aesop, containing the most well-known fables in existence, as well as some lesser-known fables and stories. Walter Thornbury's translation furthermore sets the fables into memorable rhymes. - Summary by Carolin

This is the second part of a collection of poetry written by English female poets. This part of From Queen's Gardens is a collection of 30 poems by Jean Ingelow. - Summary by Carolin

Jean McKishnie Blewett (4 November 1862 – 19 August 1934) was a Canadian journalist, author and poet. Blewett was a regular contributor to The Globe, a Toronto newspaper and in 1898 became editor of its Homemakers Department. In 1919, assisted by the Imperial Order of the Daughters of the Empire, she published a booklet titled Heart Stories to benefit war charities. During this time she regularly lectured on topics such as temperance and suffragism. She used the pseudonym Katherine Kent for some of her writing...

This is a volume of poetry by Jean Blewett. In this collection, the Canadian poet's most beautiful love songs and poetry is brought together. - Summary by Carolin