Howl by
James Franco stars as Allen Ginsberg in Robert Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman's biopic that blends traditional narrative storytelling with documentary-style footage and vivid animation to paint a compelling portrait of the famed Beat poet. For many historians, the counterculture was conceived the moment Ginsberg's landmark poem "Howl" was put on trial. On October 7, 1955, the charismatic young poet stunned audiences at San Francisco's Six Gallery with the first-ever public reading of "Howl." Two years later, Ginsberg was standing before fierce prosecutor Ralph McIntosh (David Strathairn) and ultra-conservative judge Clayton Horn (Bob Balaban) to defend his most famous work against accusations of obscenity. In addition to offering a detailed reenactment of that historical trial, Howl also recounts the early life events that molded Ginsberg into one of the most vital and outspoken voices of his generation, and features an animated visualization of the poem created by former Ginsberg collaborator Eric Drooker, and a score by Carter Burwell. Jon Hamm, Jeff Daniels, Mary-Louise Parker, and Alessandro Nivola co-star. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
An Invitation to Poetry: a new Favorite Poem Project anthology by
For a reader unaccustomed to reading poetry, or who has fallen away from the custom, this collection offers an inviting way into the art, or back into it. For readers devoted to poetry, it offers illuminating examples of the infinitely various ways a poem reaches a reader.In both the book and the videos on the accompanying DVD, poems by Sappho, Shakespeare, Keats, Whitman, and Dickinson as well as contemporary poets are introduced by people from across the United States--a construction worker, a Supreme Court justice, a glassblower, a marine--each of whom speaks about his or her connection to the poem. Their comments are variously poignant, funny, heartening, tart, penetrating, and eccentric, showing some of the ways poetry is alive for American readers. An Invitation to Poetry will inspire a fresh experience of poetry's pleasure and insight.
Langston Hughes : Poet, Social Activist, Novelist, Playwright & Literary Giant by
An American poet, social activist, novelist, playwright, and columnist, Langston Hughes was first recognized as an important literary figure during the 1920s, a period known as the 'Harlem Renaissance,' a cultural movement made famous because of the number of emerging black writers, poets and scholars. Hughes, more than any other black poet or writer recorded faithfully the nuances of black life.
Maya Angelou, and still I rise by
This finely crafted biography portrays the extraordinary Maya Angelou (1928-2014). She was a singer, dancer, actress, civil rights activist, and poet, perhaps best known for her 1969 work I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, her remembrance of growing up poor and black in rural Stamps, AR. Archival films and still photos allow Angelou to tell much of her story in her own words, augmented by interviews with her son Guy Johnson and a very few of the many people she inspired and influenced. These include Cicely Tyson, Oprah Winfrey, and Hillary and Bill Clinton, for whom she wrote "On the Pulse of Morning," which she read at Clinton's first presidential inauguration in 1993.
Beowulf by 
Celtic poets: poems by Irish, Scottish, & Welsh poets by
A collection of poems, old and modern, by an assortment of Irish, Scottish and Welsh poets. Many of the poems describe earlier culture and political concerns and many deal with love of the homeland. Some are by well-known poets and some are by authors who have long faded into obscurity. Together they represent a fascinating fabric of a rich culture.
A Child's Christmas in Wales and Five Poems by 
Fifty Poems of Emily Dickinson. Vol. 1 by
Four well-known actresses read these poems by one of the greatest American poets of the nineteenth century. Beginning always with particulars of personal experience, her poems convey a penetrating vision of the natural world and an acute understanding of the most profound human truths.
In Flanders Fields and Other Poems about War by 
The Odyssey by 
Paradise Lost by
John Milton's Paradise Lost is one of the greatest epic poems in the English language. It tells the story of the Fall of Man, a tale of immense drama and excitement, of rebellion and treachery, of innocence pitted against corruption, in which God and Satan fight a bitter battle for control of mankind's destiny. The struggle rages across three worlds--heaven, hell, and earth--as Satan and his band of rebel angels plot their revenge against God. At the center of the conflict are Adam and Eve, who are motivated by all too human temptations but whose ultimate downfall is unyielding love.
Marked by Milton's characteristic erudition, Paradise Lost is a work epic both in scale and, notoriously, in ambition. For nearly 350 years, it has held generation upon generation of audiences in rapt attention, and its profound influence can be seen in almost every corner of Western culture.
Poetry Speaks: hear great poets read their work from Tennyson to Plath by 
The Sonnets by 
Voices of Love / Voices of Marriage by
Soaring or searing, passionate or perplexed -- love speaks in many voices. It speaks of anticipation and anxiety, of devotion and doubt. No one over the centuries has embodied these voices better than our master poets, who have taken raw feelings and shaped them into immortal monuments.In this audiobook, the greatest poems on love and marriage will stir your heart and memories. Here is the famous balcony scene from Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. Here is W.H. Auden's popular "Funeral Blues." Here are Edna St. Vincent Millay's bittersweet sonnets. Together with exquisite poems by Emily Dickinson, E.E.. Cummings, William Blake, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Christina Rossetti, A.E. Housman, and many others. Here indeed is the language of the heart, with the full range of its power and intimacy.