Literature Podcasts
Librivox: Epistle of Polycarp to the Philippians, The by PolycarpJoin Now to Follow
Polycarp's Letter to the Philippians (often simply called To the Philippians) composed around 110 to 140 AD [1] is described by Irenaeus as follows: There is also a forceful epistle written by Polycarp to the Philippians, from which those who wish to do so, and are anxious about their salvation, can learn the character of his faith, and the preaching of the truth. (J Stevenson, A new Eusebius [London: SPCK, 1965] p. 120) This is one quote from the epistle: "Stand fast, therefore, in this conduct and follow the example of the Lord, 'firm and unchangeable in faith, lovers of the brotherhood, loving each other, united in truth,' helping each other with the mildness of the Lord, despising no man." (Summary by Wikipedia)
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Librivox: Midsummer Night's Dream, A by Shakespeare, WilliamJoin Now to Follow
Magic, fairies, young lovers chasing each other through a forest, a man with a donkey's head, and impish Puck wreaking havoc right and left. What's going on here? It's A Midsummer Night's Dream , Shakespeare at his most fanciful. The play opens with Theseus, Duke of Athens, preparing for his wedding. Egeus complains to Theseus that his daughter Hermia refuses to marry Demetrius. When Hermia is given the choice between marriage to Demetrius or life as a nun, she and her true love Lysander flee into the forest. Demetrius follows them; and Helena, who loves Demetrius, follows him . Also in the forest are Oberon and Titania, king and queen of the fairies, at odds with one another. At Oberon's behest, Puck causes Demetrius to fall in love with Helena -- oops, he missed, that was Lysander instead. Mayhem ensues. In the meantime, a group of bumbling craftsmen rehearses a play. Puck gives one of them, Bottom, the head of an ass and makes Titania fall in love with him. Further hilarity results as Bottom sees nothing at all odd about this. Eventually everything is straightened out, Bottom and the rest "perform" their play, there is a triple wedding, and Puck assures us the whole thing has been a dream. Number of quotes you know: 5 (what fools these mortals be). Useful insults: 19. (Summary by Laurie Anne Walden)
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Librivox: Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, Written by Herself by Jacobs, HarrietJoin Now to Follow
Harriet Jacobs' autobiography, written under the pseudonym Linda Brent, details her experiences as a slave in North Carolina, her escape to freedom in the north, and her ensuing struggles to free her children. The narrative was partly serialized in the New York Tribune, but was discontinued because Jacobs' depictions of the sexual abuse of female slaves were considered too shocking. It was published in book form in 1861. (Summary by Elizabeth Klett).
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Librivox: Revelations of Divine Love by Julian of NorwichJoin Now to Follow
Julian of Norwich (c. November 8, 1342 – c. 1416) is considered to be one of the greatest English mystics. Little is known of her life aside from her writings. Even her name is uncertain, the name "Julian" coming from the Church of St Julian in Norwich, where she occupied a cell adjoining the church as an anchoress. At the age of thirty, suffering from a severe illness and believing she was on her deathbed, Julian had a series of intense visions. (They ended by the time she overcame her illness on May 13, 1373.)[1] These visions would twenty years later be the source of her major work, called Sixteen Revelations of Divine Love (circa 1393). This is believed to be the first book written by a woman in the English language[citation needed]. Julian became well known throughout England as a spiritual authority. (Summary from Wikipedia)
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Librivox: Thrush Before Dawn, A by Meynell, AliceJoin Now to Follow
LibriVox volunteers bring you 12 different recordings of A Thrush Before Dawn by Alice Meynell. This was the weekly poetry project for the week of June 8th, 2008.
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Librivox: Short Poetry Collection 065 by VariousJoin Now to Follow
LibriVox's Short Poetry Collection 065: a collection of 20 public-domain poems.
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Librivox: Fables de La Fontaine, livre 11 by La Fontaine, Jean deJoin Now to Follow
Ce onzième livre des fables de Jean de La Fontaine est celui qui contient le plus petit nombre de fables: 10. Toutefois, les textes de ces fables sont plus élaborés que ceux des textes des premiers livres du fabuliste. Le message est plus songé et aussi... moins accessible, ce qui pourrait expliquer que ces fables soient moins connues du grand public. (de Jean Lambert)
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Librivox: Tale Of Tommy Fox , The by Bailey, Arthur ScottJoin Now to Follow
Bailey's writing has been described thusly by the Newark Evening News: "Mr. Bailey centered all his plots in the animal, bird and insect worlds, weaving natural history into the stories in a way that won educator's approval without arousing the suspicions of his young readers. He made it a habit to never 'write down' to children and frequently used words beyond the average juvenile vocabulary, believing that youngsters respond to the stimulus of the unfamiliar. (Wikipedia)
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Librivox: Ideen zu einem Versuch, die Grenzen der Wirksamkeit des Staats zu bestimmen by Humboldt, Wilhelm vonJoin Now to Follow
Ein klassicher Text des deutschen Liberalismus (Summary by redaer)
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Librivox: Römische Geschichte Buch 2 by Mommsen, TheodorJoin Now to Follow
Mommsen (1817-1903) erhielt für die Römische Geschichte 1902 den Nobelpreis für Literatur. Zweites Buch Von der Abschaffung des roemischen Koenigtums bis zur Einigung Italiens This reading is in German.
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