Also known as the "Roman Elegies," Erotica Romana is von Goethe's literary tribute to human sexuality and eroticism. Written in 24 elegies to emulate classical Roman elegy writers such as Tibullus, Propertius, and Catullus, von Goethe creates a lyrical work of art that has often been subject to censorship.

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe was a German writer and statesman. His body of work includes epic and lyric poetry written in a variety of metres and styles; prose and verse dramas; memoirs; an autobiography; literary and aesthetic criticism; treatises on botany, anatomy, and colour; and four novels. In addition, numerous literary and scientific fragments, more than 10,000 letters, and nearly 3,000 drawings by him are extant.

John Clare was a working-class English poet, best known for his poetic descriptions of the English Countryside. He is also one of the few popular poets of the 19th century, who, after being largely forgotten for years after their deaths, is being rediscovered in our time. This is a selection of John Clare's poems, suitable as an introduction into his work for those who do not know him. Readers who already did know Clare may like to discover poems that are not quite as well-known today. - Summary by Carolin

This is a volume of poetry by John Drinkwater. The English poet and playwright was a close associate of, among others, Rupert Brooke, before World War I, and continued a successful career as author and playwright after the war and until his death in 1937. This is a small collection of only 19 of his earlier poems. - Summary by Carolin

John Drinkwater was an English poet and dramatist. In the period immediately before the First World War he was one of the group of poets associated with the Gloucestershire village of Dymock, along with Rupert Brooke and others. - Summary by Wikipedia

A 750-line idyllic poem about a snow-storm from the narrator’s childhood.

John Greenleaf Whittier was an American Quaker poet and advocate of the abolition of slavery in the United States. Frequently listed as one of the Fireside Poets, Whittier was influenced by the Scottish poet Robert Burns.

Early poems of this famous English lyric poet, in which he openly expresses indebtedness to, and reverence for, his poetic predecessors, especially Spenser, into whose chivalric world he boldly ventures; and also for Milton, and the classic poets. There are also glimpses of his personal, family and political relationships. These poems are of medium length and often pastoral and contemplative in nature with many classical references. His lyric genius and love for humanity are clearly displayed.( Peter Tucker)

In his wonderful interpretation of the classic tale of Lamia - the mythological entity portrayed as being a deadly threat especially to children and young men - master poet John Keats construes this timeless and enigmatic story with a view towards intrigue, deception, loyalty, honor and fervor of a young man's lust for a life of passionate bliss with the newly found woman of his dreams. In retrospect, considering certain aspects of her past and recent serpent-like incarnation, the beautiful and seductive Lamia was a poor choice for the young man Lycius...

Magnificent in its scale and scope, this monumental poem by the blind poet John Milton was the first epic conceived in the English language. It describes an omniscient, all powerful God, the Fall of Man, the Temptation in the Garden of Eden, the disgraced angel who later becomes known as Satan, the Angelic Wars fought by Archangels Michael and Raphael and the Son of God who is the real hero of this saga. The poet John Milton was more than sixty years old when he embarked on this immense work of literary creation...

Paradise Regained is a poem by the 17th century English poet John Milton, published in 1671. It is connected by name to his earlier and more famous epic poem Paradise Lost, with which it shares similar theological themes. Based on the Gospel of Luke’s version of the Temptation of Christ, Paradise Regained is more thoughtful in writing style, and thrives upon the imagery of Jesus’ perfection in contrast to the shame of Satan.

“The Sun to me is darkAnd silent as the Moon,When she deserts the nightHid in her vacant interlunar cave.”Milton composes his last extended work as a tragedy according to the classical Unities of Time, Place and Action. Nevertheless it “never was intended for the stage” and is here declaimed by a single reader.Samson the blinded captive, in company with the Chorus of friends and countrymen, receives his visitors on their varying missions and through them his violent story is vividly recalled...

This is a very cute little book of children's poetry. All poems are short and suitable for very young children to read or listen to. - Summary by Carolin

"I think that I shall never see, a poem as lovely as a tree; A tree whose hungry mouth is presd against the sweet earth's flowing breast ...". Almost all of us, including myself of course, have heard and enjoyed those famous words which begin Kilmer's poem, Trees. There is even a National Forest in the United States named in honor of this poem. Here is a recording of the entire book of poems in which it was first published in 1914. Joyce Kilmer was an American writer and poet mainly remembered for...

This is a book of poems by Joyce Kilmer. It includes several of his religious poems and poems about World War I, in which the author himself lost his life in 1918.

volunteers bring you 19 recordings of White Bird of Love by Joyce Kilmer. This was the Fortnightly Poetry project for July 12, 2020. ------ Though a prolific poet whose works celebrated the common beauty of the natural world as well as his Roman Catholic religious faith, Kilmer was also a journalist, literary critic, lecturer, and editor. At the time of his deployment to Europe during World War I, Kilmer was considered the leading American Roman Catholic poet and lecturer of his generation, - Summary by Wikipedia

Kabir (1440 - 1518) was a mystic poet and saint of India, whose writings have greatly influenced the Bhakti movement.The name Kabir comes from Arabic Al-Kabir which means 'The Great' - the 37th Name of God in the Qur'an.Kabir was influenced by the prevailing religious mood of his times, such as old Brahmanic Hinduism, Hindu and Buddhist Tantrism, the teachings of Nath yogis and the personal devotionalism of South India mixed with the imageless God of Islam. The influence of these various doctrines is clearly evident in Kabir's verses...

The prophet Al Mustafa, before leaving the city where he has been living twelve years, stops to address the people. They call out for his words of wisdom on many sides of the human condition, and he addresses them in terms of love and care. He has much to offer from his observations of the people, and he illustrates with images they can relate to. The author, Gibran, was influenced by the Maronites, the Sufis, and the Baha’i. His philosophy, though deist, is primarily aimed at the good within ourselves, and the common-sense ways in which we can unlock it...

This is a volume of poems by Kate Slaughter McKinney, poet laureate of the State of Alabama of 1931, who often went by the pen-name Katydid. The poems are cute and amusing, children will enjoy them. - Summary by Carolin

This is a volume of poetry by a poet only going by the initial "L.". The poems are veried in tone and subject, set in different parts of the British Isles and Europe. Most of them have a historic background, though set several centuries after the titular "Dark Ages". - Summary by Carolin

This charming little book compiles together a number of recipes, set out in an easy to understand manner, along with a poetic story about the stages of bread production. This book was produced as a promotional for a flour production company called Pillsbury. This is a "modern" update compared to the original edition of the book. This version has exact oven temperature settings for each recipe included in a preface for the book, along with more precise suggestions for the baking time. The book has been written for children, however I am certain that adults could enjoy the book equally as much as a child would.

Adela Florence Nicolson was an English poet who wrote under the pseudonym Laurence Hope. She was born in England and joined her father in 1881, who was employed in the British Army at Lahore (The traditional capital of Punjab for a millennium, Lahore was the cultural centre of the northern Indian subcontinent which extends from the eastern banks of the Indus River to New Delhi.) Her father was editor of the Lahore arm of The Civil and Military Gazette, and it was he who in all probability gave Rudyard Kipling (a contemporary of his daughter) his first employment as a journalist...

This volume contains stories, poems, myths, and facts about lots of different birds, intended for teaching children. It is divided into nine parts, each covering a different type of bird.

This is a compilation and publication of sleep-related poetry, exalting the delight of sleep, as well as bemoaning the lack of it. (written by Clarica)

Collection of reflective poetry by celebrated medium and clairvoyant, Lizzie Doten. She claims these poems were sent by her 'inner heaven', often while she was in a trance. She credits some of the poems to the spirits of Poe, Burns and Sprague, with whose work she was, apparently, unfamiliar.

This is a collection of ten humorous verses by Lord Alfred Douglas. - Summary by Carolin

A collection of Tennyson's poetry : 1 The Brook - 00:16 2 Song from "Maud" - 1:20 3 A Farewell - 2:34 4 Song from “Maud” - 3:26 5 Break, Break, Break - 4:53 6 From “Locksley Hall”- 5:43 7 Song from “Maud” - 6:43 8 Song from “The Princess” - 7:43 9 Lillian - 8:37 10 Ring out, Wild Bells - 9:52 11 From “The Princess” - 11:27 12 Song From “The Princess” - 12:43 13 From “Enoch Arden” - 13:58 14 From “Enoch Arden” - 15:36 15 The Charge of the Light Brigade- 16:56 16 From “The May Queen” - 18:51 17 Song from “The Princess” - 19:36 18 From “Harold” - 20:14 19 From “The Revenge” - 21:28 (From Sam Stinsson)

Juan, captured by Turkish pirates and sold into slavery is bought by a beautiful Princess as her toy-boy. Dressed as an odalisque, he is smuggled into the Sultan’s harem for a steamy assignation. Unbelievably, Byron’s publisher almost baulked at this feast of allusive irony, blasphemy (mild), calumny, scorn, lesse-majeste, cross-dressing, bestiality, assassination, circumcision and dwarf-tossing. This was the last Canto published by the stuffy John Murray (who had, however, made a tidy fortune on the earlier parts of the Epic)...

Childe Harold's Pilgrimage is a lengthy narrative poem in four parts written by Lord Byron. It was published between 1812 and 1818 and is dedicated to "Ianthe". The poem describes the travels and reflections of a world-weary young man who, disillusioned with a life of pleasure and revelry, looks for distraction in foreign lands. In a wider sense, it is an expression of the melancholy and disillusionment felt by a generation weary of the wars of the post-Revolutionary and Napoleonic eras. The title comes from the term childe, a medieval title for a young man who was a candidate for knighthood. Canto IV describes Harold's travels in Italy.

Manfred is a dramatic poem in three acts by Lord Byron, and possibly a self confessional work. A noble, Manfred, is haunted by the memory of some unspeakable crime. In seeking for forgetfulness and oblivion, he wanders between his castle and the mountains. He has several encounters with the people who try to assist him, as well as spirits that rule nature and human destiny. The poem explores themes of morality, religion, guilt and the human condition.

"The Giaour" is a poem by Lord Byron first published in 1813 and the first in the series of his Oriental romances. "The Giaour" proved to be a great success when published, consolidating Byron's reputation critically and commercially.

Written late in his career, Byron's narrative poem The Island tells the famous story of the mutiny on board the Bounty, and follows the mutineers as they flee to a South Sea island, "their guilt-won Paradise."

Flower Fables is Louisa May Alcott’s first book, penned at 16 for Ralph Waldo Emerson’s daughter, Ellen.

Louise Imogen Guiney was an American poet, well-connected in the art of her time. Much of her life was spent in England, mostly at London and Oxford. This volume of poems contains, among other poems, 24 sonnets written in those two cities. - Summary by Carolin

This is a collection of poems by Louise Imogen Guiney. The collection is split into four parts. After the titular poem, which is its own part, this volume contains ten narrative poems concerning some well-known and some lesser known legends. The third part of the volume is one of lyrics, and the fourth contains a number of sonnets. - Summary by Carolin

This is a collection of poems by Louise Imogen Guiney. - Summary by Carolin

Librivox volunteers bring you ten readings of September by Madison Cawein. This was the weekly poetry project for the week of September 21st, 2014.

Madison Julius Cawein was born in Louisville, Kentucky. After graduating from high school, Cawein worked in a pool hall in Louisville as a cashier in Waddill's New-market, which also served as a gambling house. He worked there for six years, saving his pay so he could return home to write. His output was thirty-six books and 1,500 poems. His writing presented Kentucky scenes in a language echoing Percy Bysshe Shelley and John Keats. He soon earned the nickname the "Keats of Kentucky". Note: In Greek mythology, Hippocrene was the name of a spring on Mt...

Madison Cawein was a poet from Louisville, Kentucky. His output was thirty-six books and 1,500 poems. His writing earned the nickname the "Keats of Kentucky". This Weekly poem was published in his book "Shapes and Shadows". (1898)

This Weekly Poem is taken from The Poems of Madison Cawein, Volume II, New World Idylls and Poems of Love - Summary by David Lawrence

This is Volume 5: Poems of Meditation and of Forest and Field of the collected works of Madison Julius Cawein, an American poet from Kentucky. It begins with the long poem Intimations of the Beautiful and falls into three sections: Poems of Meditation, Poems of Forest and Field, and Footpaths. - Summary by Larry Wilson

This is Volume 3: Nature Poems of the collected works of Madison Julius Cawein, an American poet from Kentucky. It's arranged in four sections: In The Shadow of the Beeches, Tansy and Sweet-Alyssum, Weeds by the Wall, and A Voice on the Wind. It is dedicated to "Doctor Henry A. Cottel whose kind words of friendship and approval have encouraged me most when I most needed encouragement." - Summary by Larry Wilson

This is a volume of collected poetry by American poet Marian Longfellow. The poems lack a uniform theme, but, as the author puts it, "Among these "Contrasted Songs" I trust that the reader will find something to which the heart may respond." - Summary by Carolin

This is a collection of poems by Marietta Holley, better known as Josiah Allen's Wife.

Mark Lemon had a natural talent for journalism and the stage, and, at twenty-six, retired from less congenial business to devote himself to the writing of plays. More than sixty of his melodramas, operettas and comedies were produced in London, whilst at the same time he was contributing to a wide variety of magazines and newspapers, and was founding editor of both Punch and The Field.

Matthew Arnold was an English poet and cultural critic who worked as an inspector of schools. He has been characterised as a sage writer, a type of writer who chastises and instructs the reader on contemporary social issues.

This is a collection of Maurice Baring's poetry. This collection contains a number of Baring's earlier poetry, written before the war mostly about his travels in Russia. The other part of the collection is made up of poetry concerning World War I, with some particulalry evocative sonnets and other poems. - Summary by Carolin