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I've been through the Open Culture website
Share this page Billy Collins Poetry Brought to Animated Life Who doesn’t love Billy Collins, the former US Poet Laureate? The actor Bill Murray reads his poetry at construction sites. Adorable toddlers recite his poetry from memory. And now artists have created animated videos that bring 11 Collins poems to life. James Earl Jones Reads Othello at White House Poetry Jam Not long after taking office, President Obama hosted the first White House poetry jam – an evening dedicated to the spoken word and bringing verses to life. Esperanza Spalding’s performance was a high point. And later came James Earl Jones, arguably the best special effect in Star Wars, who recited lines from Shakespeare instead of Dr. F. Scott Fitzgerald Recites “Ode to a Nightingale” 70 years ago today, F. Scott Fitzgerald died an untimely death, his life cut short by alcoholism, tuberculosis, and eventually a series of heart attacks. He was only 44 years old. Today, we remember Fitzgerald with some vintage audio – the author of The Great Gatsby reciting John Keats’ “Ode to a Nightingale” from memory. It’s the life of the great French poet, Arthur Rimbaud, in a 10 minute slideshow. The video traces the arc of Rimbaud’s short life (1854–1891), stitching together images from 19th century France, photos taken by Rimbaud himself, and manuscripts scribbled by the poet. 3 Year Old Recites Poem, “Litany,” by Billy Collins Three year olds can wreak havoc on a home, and the precocious ones can recite poetry too. Here we have a toddler reciting Billy Collins’ poem “Litany” (find text here) and also some lines from Lord Alfred Tennyson (while dressed as Superman, of course). As he neared the end of his life, Jorge Luis Borges (1899 – 1986) offered his thoughts on the “task of art,” essentially distilling 80+ years of wisdom into a few pithy lines. Dennis Hopper Reads Rudyard Kipling on Johnny Cash Show The poem is “If” by Rudyard Kipling (1899). The scene is The Johnny Cash Show, 1970. Tom Waits Reads Charles Bukowski Next up: Tom Waits reads Charles Bukowski’s poem, The Laughing Heart. As Zoran (a reader from Greece) observes, Waits reads the poem much like Bukowski would have read it himself. William Carlos Williams Reads His Poetry (1954) William Carlos Williams – doctor by day, poet by night, and certainly one of America’s finest. In this 1954 audio clip, we hear Williams reading his own poetry at the storied 92nd Street Y in New York City.
Bill Murray Reads Poetry at a Construction Site Another great New York City moment. Last spring, construction workers building the new home for Poets House were treated to a short poetry reading by the actor Bill Murray. We initially encounter Murray reading lines from Billy Collins’ Another Reason I Don’t Keep a Gun in the House. City Poems: A New Literary iPhone App Writing in The Guardian, Victor Keegan, a longtime journalist and poet, talks about his new iPhone app, City Poems. The newly released app will run you $2.99 on iTunes, which makes it less than open, I know. “April is the Cruellest Month…” T.S. Eliot reads from The Wasteland, one of the great poems of the last century. It begins famously: Carl Sandburg on “What’s My Line?” What’s My Line? aired on CBS from 1950 to 1967, making it the longest-running game show in American television history. During its eighteen seasons, the show featured hundreds of celebrities, including some of America’s leading cultural figures. Get the text here. T.S. Eliot Reads The Waste Land T.S. Eliot’s 1922 poem, The Waste Land, is often considered one of the great poems of the 20th century. Above, you can listen to Eliot himself reading his modernist masterpiece (text here). And, if you want more, how about Eliot reading The Love Song of J. Wallace Stevens Reads His Own Poetry This little collection gives you access to Wallace Stevens (1879-1955), one of America’s great poets, reading his own poetry. Among the poems, you will hear “The Idea of Order at Key West,” “The Poem that Took the Place of a Mountain,” “Vacancy in the Park,” and “To an Old Philosopher in Rome. The Life and Works of William Butler Yeats It’s a happy trend. Increasingly, we’re seeing museums launching dynamic online exhibitions to accompany their exhibitions on the ground. In the past, we highlighted the Tate Modern’s panoramic tour of Mark Rothko’s work. “September 1, 1939″ by W.H. Auden The poem was W.H. Auden’s. The date marked the moment when Germany invaded Poland, initiating the start of World War II. “September 1, 1939″ was originally published in The New Republic on October 18, 1939. You can find the text of the poem here. An FYI for art and poetry lovers: “Each month, TATE ETC. publishes new poetry by leading poets such as John Burnside, Moniza Alvi, Adam Thorpe, Alice Oswald and David Harsent who respond to works from the Tate Collection. (Subscribe to the Poem of the Month RSS feed.
Inaugural Poet Talks with Stephen Colbert Elizabeth Alexander recited one of her own poems at Obama’s inauguration last week and now talks poetry (both highbrow and lowbrow) with Stephen Colbert. All in all, she does a pretty good job of hanging in there. Rare Recording of Walt Whitman Reading From His Poem “America” Apparently, this is “an authentic wax cylinder recording of Whitman reading from his late poem ‘America’ that appeared in 1888 …”
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