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By: Charlotte Turner Smith (1749-1806)

Elegiac Sonnets and Other Poems by Charlotte Turner Smith Elegiac Sonnets and Other Poems

Charlotte Turner Smith (1749 – 1806) was an English poet and novelist. She initiated a revival of the English sonnet, helped establish the conventions of Gothic fiction, and wrote political novels of sensibility. It was in 1784, in debtor’s prison with her husband Benjamin, that she wrote and published her first work, Elegiac Sonnets. The work achieved instant success, allowing Charlotte to pay for their release from prison. Smith’s sonnets helped initiate a revival of the form and granted an aura of respectability to her later novels...

By: Sir John Suckling

The Constant Lover by Sir John Suckling The Constant Lover

Sir John Suckling (1609-42) was one of the Cavalier poets at the court of King Charles I of England. He took up arms in the conflicts of that era but was said to be more fit for the boudoir than the battlefield. He was a prolific lover, a sparkling wit and an excessive gamester and is credited with inventing the card game, Cribbage. Cavalier poetry was witty, decorous and sometimes naughty. The Constant Lover displays these elements as well as Suckling’s conversational ease and charm.

By: Ben Jonson (1572-1637)

The Forest by Ben Jonson The Forest

The Forest is a short collection of Ben Jonson’s poetry. This collection of fifteen poems first appeared in the 1616 first folio of his collected works.

By: Henry Thayer Niles (1825-1901)

The Dawn and the Day by Henry Thayer Niles The Dawn and the Day

The Dawn and the Day, or, The Buddha and the Christ, Part 1 is a text similar to the epic poetry of Homer or, more accurately, classic Hindu texts, such as the Baghavad-Gita.

By: Horatio Alger, Jr. (1832-1899)

Book cover Grand'ther Baldwin's Thanksgiving, with Other Ballads and Poems

Horatio Alger, better known for his juvenile fiction, also penned some great poetry. His Ballads, including the 8 war poems and his odes, are collected in this volume.

By: Robert Herrick (1591-1674)

Book cover Delight in Disorder

Robert Herrick (baptised 24 August 1591 – buried 15 October 1674[1]) was a 17th-century English lyric poet and cleric. He is best known for his book of poems, Hesperides. Herrick never married, and none of his love-poems seem to connect directly with any one beloved woman. He loved the richness of sensuality and the variety of life, and this is shown vividly in such poems as Cherry-ripe, Delight in Disorder and Upon Julia’s Clothes.

Book cover Hag

A poem for Halloween by the 17th century English author Robert Herrick. His poems were not widely popular at the time they were published. His style was strongly influenced by Ben Jonson, by the classical Roman writers, and by the poems of the late Elizabethan era. This must have seemed quite old-fashioned to an audience whose tastes were tuned to the complexities of the metaphysical poets such as John Donne and Andrew Marvell. His works were rediscovered in the early nineteenth century, and have been regularly printed ever since.

By: Christina & Dante Gabriel Rossetti

Selected Poems by Christina & Dante Gabriel Rossetti Selected Poems

Dante Gabriel Rossetti (1828-1882) and his sister Christina Georgina Rossetti (1830-1894) played important roles in the artistic milieu of Victorian England. Members of a highly cultured Italian immigrant family, they achieved widespread fame and exerted a significant influence upon the poetry and art of their time.Dante Gabriel was a co-founder of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood of painters, contributing to a renewed interest in medieval themes and techniques. Both his painting and his poetry anticipated the Aesthetic movement of the late 19th and early 20th centuries...

By: Valmiki

The Ramayana Book 2 by Valmiki The Ramayana Book 2

The Ramayana is an ancient Sanskrit epic. It is attributed to the Hindu sage Valmiki and forms an important part of the Hindu canon (smṛti). The Ramayana is one of the two great epics of India, the other being Mahabharata. It is the story of Rama, who emabrks on an epic journey followed by the fight with Ravana, the demon king who abducted Rama's wife, Sita. The epic depicts the duties of relationships, portraying ideal characters like the ideal servant, the ideal brother, the ideal wife and the ideal king. (Introduction by Om123)

By: William Butler Yeats (1865-1939)

The Wild Swans at Coole by William Butler Yeats The Wild Swans at Coole

The Wild Swans at Coole is a collection of poems by William Butler Yeats, first published in 1917. It is also the name of a poem in that collection. The Wild Swans at Coole is in the "middle stage" of Yeats' writing and is concerned with, amongst other themes, Irish nationalism and the creation of an Irish aesthetic.

By: Romesh C Dutt

The Mahabharata by Vyasa: the epic of ancient India condensed into English verse by Romesh C Dutt The Mahabharata by Vyasa: the epic of ancient India condensed into English verse

The Mahabharata is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India. Traditionally, the authorship of the Mahabharata is attributed to Vyasa. With more than 74,000 verses, Mahabharata is said to be the longest poem. Mahabharata tells the story of the epic Kurukshetra War and the fates of the cousin brothers Kauravas and the Pandavas. But more than that the Mahabharata contains much philosophical and devotional material, such as a discussion of the four "goals of life" or 'purusharthas'. The latter are enumerated as dharma (right action), artha (purpose), kama (pleasure), and moksha (liberation). (Introduction by om123)

By: Oliver Wendell Holmes

The One-Hoss Shay by Oliver Wendell Holmes The One-Hoss Shay

This is a small collection of whimsical poems by the American physician and author Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr. "The Deacon's Masterpiece" describes the "logical" outcome of building an object (in this case, a two-wheeled carriage called a shay) that has no weak points. The economic term "one hoss shay," referring to a certain model of depreciation, derives its name from this poem. "How the Old Horse Won the Bet" is a lighthearted look at a horse race. Finally, "The Broomstick Train" is a wonderfully Halloween-y explanation of how an electric tram really works.

By: Novalis

Hymns to the Night by Novalis Hymns to the Night

“Hymns to the Night” is the last published work of Georg Philipp Friedrich Freiherr von Hardenberg (1772-1801), the German philosopher and early Romantic poet whose pen name was simply “Novalis”. The work alternates poetry and prose, exploring a personal mythology of darkness and light, but it is also a free-associative chronicle of a young man rationalizing the untimely death of his fiancé. This version (1897) was translated by influential fantasy author and novelist George MacDonald, who cited it as a great – and early – inspiration.

By: George Wharton Edwards (1859-1950)

A Book of Old English Ballads by George Wharton Edwards A Book of Old English Ballads

In this selection... the aim has been to bring within moderate compass a collection of these songs of the people which should fairly represent the range, the descriptive felicity, the dramatic power, and the genuine poetic feeling of a body of verse which is still, it is to be feared, unfamiliar to a large number of those to whom it would bring refreshment and delight.

By: The Gawain Poet

Pearl by The Gawain Poet Pearl

Written in the 14th century by the Gawain poet, 'Pearl' is an elegiac poem reflecting on the death of a young daughter, pictured as a pearl lost in a garden. It is considered a masterpiece of Middle English verse, incorporating both the older tradition of alliterative poetry as well as rhyme, centered around the development of an intricately structured image. Sophie Jewett's translation from the Northern dialect of the original renders much of the poem's liveliness and beauty accessible to modern readers, whilst encouraging them to pursue their reading further, to read the original itself.This recording is dedicated to the memory of Pearl Jean Shearman, 1914-2012.

By: Eleanor H. Porter (1868-1920)

Book cover Mary Marie

A charming 'coming of age' story about a young girl, Mary Marie, whose young life is thrown into turmoil as her parents divorce. As she leads two lives, she comes to realize that her parents still love one another, and engineers a reunion. In the end, we discover the long-lasting effect of this turmoil on the adult Mary Marie, and her own marriage."

By: Dora Sigerson Shorter (1866-1918)

Book cover Old Maid (Shorter)

Dora Maria Sigerson Shorter was an Irish poet and sculptor, who after her marriage in 1895 wrote under the name Dora Sigerson Shorter. She was born in Dublin, Ireland, the daughter of George Sigerson, a surgeon and writer, and Hester (née Varian), also a writer. She was a major figure of the Irish Literary Revival, publishing many collections of poetry from 1893. Her friends included Katharine Tynan, Rose Kavanagh and Alice Furlong, writers and poets.

By: Alfred, Lord Tennyson (1809-1892)

Idylls of the King by Alfred, Lord Tennyson Idylls of the King

Idylls of the King, published between 1856 and 1885, is a cycle of twelve narrative poems by the English poet Alfred, Lord Tennyson which retells the legend of King Arthur, his knights, his love for Guinevere and her tragic betrayal of him, and the rise and fall of Arthur's kingdom. The whole work recounts Arthur's attempt and failure to lift up mankind and create a perfect kingdom, from his coming to power to his death at the hands of the traitor Mordred. Individual poems detail the deeds of various knights, including Lancelot, Geraint, Galahad, and Balin and Balan, and also Merlin and the Lady of the Lake.

Book cover The Princess

The Princess is a serio-comic blank verse narrative poem, written by Alfred Tennyson, published in 1847. The poem tells the story of an heroic princess who forswears the world of men and founds a women's university where men are forbidden to enter. The prince to whom she was betrothed in infancy enters the university with two friends, disguised as women students. They are discovered and flee, but eventually they fight a battle for the princess's hand.

By: Archibald Lampman (1861-1899)

Book cover Winter Evening

Archibald Lampman was a Canadian poet. "He has been described as 'the Canadian Keats;' and he is perhaps the most outstanding exponent of the Canadian school of nature poets." The Canadian Encyclopedia says that he is "generally considered the finest of Canada's late 19th-century poets in English." Lampman is classed as one of Canada's Confederation Poets, a group which also includes Charles G.D. Roberts, Bliss Carman, and Duncan Campbell Scott.

By: Oliver Herford (1863-1935)

Book cover Kitten's Garden of Verses

The Kitten's Garden of Verses is a book of short poetry, modeled after Robert Louis Stevenson's A Child's Garden of Verses. Of course, the poems in this book are intended for kittens rather than children!

By: Lord Alfred Tennyson (1809-1892)

Book cover Beauties of Tennyson

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)

By: Katherine Philips (1632-1664)

Poems by the Most Deservedly Admired Mrs. Katherine Philips, The Matchless Orinda by Katherine Philips Poems by the Most Deservedly Admired Mrs. Katherine Philips, The Matchless Orinda

The poet Katherine Philips was called “The Matchless Orinda” in her day and was well known for her works, both personal and political. She was a staunch Royalist (a supporter of Charles I and his son during the English Civil Wars) and wrote poetic defenses of the monarchy. She was also part of a literary coterie, in which she and her friends had “code names.” Philips herself was “Orinda,” her husband “Antenor,” and her friend Anne Owen “Lucasia.” She is perhaps best known today for her passionate poems celebrating female friendship.

By: Nathaniel Parker Willis (1806-1867)

Book cover Declaration

Nathaniel Parker Willis is also known as N. P. Willis. He was an American author, poet and editor who worked with several notable American writers including Edgar Allan Poe and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. He became the highest-paid magazine writer of his day.

By: Anne Wales Abbott ed. (1808-1908)

Autumn Leaves, Original Pieces in Prose and Verse by Anne Wales Abbott ed. Autumn Leaves, Original Pieces in Prose and Verse

The pieces gathered into this volume were, with two exceptions, written for the entertainment of a private circle, without any view to publication. The editor would express her thanks to the writers, who, at her solicitation, have allowed them to be printed. They are published with the hope of aiding a work of charity,—the establishment of an Agency for the benefit of the poor in Cambridge,—to which the proceeds of the sale will be devoted.

By: Elias Lönnrot (1802-1884)

Book cover Kalevala, The Land of the Heroes (Kirby translation)

The Kalevala is a 19th-century work of epic poetry compiled by Elias Lönnrot from Karelian and Finnish oral folklore and mythology. It is regarded as the national epic of Karelia and Finland and is one of the most significant works of Finnish literature. The Kalevala played an instrumental role in the development of the Finnish national identity, the intensification of Finland's language strife and the growing sense of nationality that ultimately led to Finland's independence from Russia in 1917...

By: James T. Fields (1817-1881)

Book cover The Owl Critic

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.

By: Robert W. Service (1874-1958)

Book cover Songs of a Sourdough

Reputedly the best-selling poetry collection of the 20th century, 'Songs of a Sourdough' is best known for Robert W. Service's classic Yukon ballads, 'The Shooting of Dan McGrew' and 'The Cremation of Sam McGhee'. Service was born in Preston, Lancashire, and grew up in Scotland. In his twenties, he made his way to Canada and settled in the Yukon where he worked as a bank clerk but evidently dreamed of more adventurous pursuits. Service's readings of his poems show that he could adopt either a Scottish or North American accent. Here they are read in an accent that is not too far removed from the place of his birth.

By: Royal Baking Powder Company

Billy in Bunbury by Royal Baking Powder Company Billy in Bunbury

This 1924 poem/recipe book, designed as promotional material for the Royal Baking Powder Company, is set in the Oz community of Bunbury. Little Billy, who won’t eat, is taken to the delicious kingdom Bunbury by King Hun Bun to help whet his appetite. Meanwhile, the King leaves the boy’s mother with a recipe book for treats, made easy by the use of Price’s Baking Powder. Written by Ruth Plumly Thompson, though neither her name, nor the illustrator’s (Gertrude Kay) appears on the book.

By: Charlotte Mew (1869-1928)

The Farmer's Bride by Charlotte Mew The Farmer's Bride

The Farmer's Bride is a collection of 28 poems by British modernist writer Charlotte Mew. The original edition was published in 1916; this edition, published in 1921, contains 11 more poems. Mew's poetry is varied in style and content and manifests a strong interest in love, longing, death, and nature. Mew's life was marked by loneliness and depression, and she eventually committed suicide. Her work earned her the admiration of her peers, including Virginia Woolf, who characterized her as "very good and quite unlike anyone else."

By: Henry Lawson (1867-1922)

Book cover Shame of Going Back

Henry Archibald Hertzberg Lawson was an Australian writer and poet. Along with his contemporary Banjo Paterson, Lawson is among the best-known Australian poets and fiction writers of the colonial period and is often called Australia's "greatest short story writer".

By: William Hazlitt (1778-1830)

Liber Amoris by William Hazlitt Liber Amoris

Liber Amoris is unlike anything Hazlitt wrote and probably like nothing you've come across before. On the face of it it tells the story of Hazlitt's infatuation with his landlords daughter. Hazlitt was middle aged and she young and pretty, a bit of a coquette from the sound of it. It turned out badly for Hazlitt and the book tells the story of this doomed love. Critics have always been divided about the merit of the piece. Even those who see its merit often feel more comfortable with his polished literary works, and perhaps rightly so...


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