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Essay/Short nonfiction, Fiction, Humor
Chapter: 49 | Listen: 3

The Sunny Side is a collection of short stories and essays by A. A. Milne. Though Milne is best known for his classic children’s books, especially Winnie The Pooh, he also wrote extensively for adults, most notably in Punch, to which he was a contributor and later Assistant Editor. The Sunny Side collects his columns for Punch, which include poems, essays and short stories, from 1912 to 1920. Wry, often satirical and always amusingly written, these pieces poke fun at topics from writing plays to lying about birdwatching. They vary greatly in length so there is something for everyone. [chương_files]

Ballads and Poems

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Poetry
Chapter: 32 | Listen: 1

This is a volume of poetry by Dora Sigerson Shorter. This volume contains seven of Ms. Shorter’s Ballads, a series of miscellaneous poems, and finally two narrative poems. While the topics of the poems and ballads are all unique, many of them share the atmosphere of a fairy tale. – Summary by Carolin [chương_files]

Advent Days and Poems of Remembrance

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Poetry
Chapter: 20 | Listen: 2

This is a very short volume of poems by Canadian poet Kate Seymour MacLean, containing only twenty poems. – Summary by Carolin [chương_files]

Songs from Vagabondia

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Poetry
Chapter: 33 | Listen: 8

This is the famous collection “Songs from Vagabondia”, a collaboration between Bliss Carman and Richard Hovey, which at once catapulted both poets to extensive fame. The poems in this volume are widely read until today, as they carry a lot of meaning but convey this in a light tone and quick rhymes. – Summary by Carolin [chương_files]

23/07/2024

Culture and Anarchy

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Essay/Short nonfiction, History
Chapter: 12 | Listen: 2

Culture and Anarchy is a series of periodical essays by Matthew Arnold, first published in Cornhill Magazine 1867-68 and collected as a book in 1869. The preface was added in 1875. Arnold’s famous piece of writing on culture established his High Victorian cultural agenda which remained dominant in debate from the 1860s until the 1950s. According to his view advanced in the book, “Culture […] is a study of perfection”. He further wrote that: “[Culture] seeks to do away with classes; to make the best that has been thought and known in the world current everywhere; to make all men live in an atmosphere of sweetness and light […]”. His often quoted phrase “[culture is] the best which has been thought and said” comes from the Preface to Culture and Anarchy: The whole scope of the essay is to recommend culture as the great help out of our present difficulties; culture being a pursuit of our total perfection by means of getting to know, on all the matters which most concern us, the best which has been thought and said in the world, and, through this knowledge, turning a stream of fresh and free thought upon our stock notions and habits, which we now follow staunchly but mechanically, vainly imagining that there is a virtue in following them staunchly which makes up for the mischief of following them mechanically. [chương_files]

23/07/2024

Mark Twain’s Speeches

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Essay/Short nonfiction, Literature
Chapter: 105 | Listen: 1

Spanning the time between 1872 and the year before he died, this collection of after-dinner speeches, random thoughts to “the press”, etc. clearly documents, once again, the truly eclectic mind of Samuel Clemens. It also demonstrates how he dealt with adulation, compliments and notoriety…head on! This collection is a treasure-trove of Twain sayings, witticisms and pronouncements on a huge galaxy of issues and concerns in his life. [chương_files]

‘Twixt Earth and Stars

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Poetry
Chapter: 81 | Listen: 5

This is a volume of poetry by Radclyffe Hall. The poet and novelist led a highly scandalous lifestyle for the norms of her contemporary society, living openly lesbian in Germany and England. Some of the poems in this volume are also love poems to other women, a fact which was not generally known at the time the book was published. – Summary by Carolin [chương_files]

Songs, Merry and Sad

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Poetry
Chapter: 59 | Listen: 4

This is the only volume of poetry published during John Charles McNeill’s lifetime, containing 59 of his 400+ poems. McNeill was considered the unofficial poet laureate of his home state North Carolina until this position was established officially after World War II. His poetry enjoys enduring popularity, and is favoured by teachers and students for its accessibility. – Summary by Carolin [chương_files]

Fly Leaves

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Poetry
Chapter: 33 | Listen: 2

This is a volume of poetry by the English poet Charles Stuart Calverley. Calverley was considered quite a wit during his life time, and this disposition shines through in some of these poems as well. – Summary by Carolin [chương_files]

Satires of Circumstance, Lyrics and Reveries, with Miscellaneous Pieces

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Poetry, Single Author
Chapter: 107 | Listen: 5

Published in 1914, this is a compilation of 107 poems by Thomas Hardy (1840-1928), who is probably better known as the author of such famous novels as Tess of the d’Urbervilles and Far from the Madding Crowd. Similar to his novels, the underlying themes of the majority of the poems in this collection are death, departure and unfulfilled love, while the central piece is comprised of the 15 short “Satires of Circumstance,” funny poems with a bittersweet touch. The poems have been recorded by our trio of readers John Burlinson, Tomas Peter and Sonia. As an interesting touch, some poems can be considered short dramatic readings, and as such have been performed as dialogues. [chương_files]