Best Poems Of William Blake Podcasts (2024)

1
My Life had stood a Loaded Gun 3:17

4h ago3:17

3:17

I'm celebrating Emily Dickinson this month, and this is a poem, extraordinary even for her, the tragic story of a faithful gun. Since this is the Parlando Project I took Dickinson's poem and turned into a strange little song. That's what the Project does and has done over 750 times. We take various words (usually literary poetry) and combine them w…

1
I Sing to Use the Waiting 2:21

1h ago2:21

2:21

Another Emily Dickinson setting where my music seeks to bring out the strangeness that sits in-between some of her poems' lines. This lesser-known Dickinson poem might be paired with her "Because I could not stop for Death." She's singing here before the carriage arrives. For more than 750 other combinations of various words (mostly literary poetry…

1
The Day Undressed Herself 2:27

6d ago2:27

2:27

I'm planning a short series of Emily Dickinson poems combined with a variety of original music as I look forward to spending next week attending (online) a number of events in the Emily Dickinson Museum's Tell It Slant festival. Today's example is a musical setting for acoustic steel-string guitar of a poem portraying a day's sunset viewed in an in…

1
Quiet Night Thoughts 1:57

1d ago1:57

1:57

Each year on September 18th I do something to commemorate composer and guitarist Jimi Hendrix. This year I set this famous short poem by classical Chinese poet Li Bai. Later this morning I'll post more about thoughts on how this poet and that musician might fit together. This just one example of what the Parlando Project does: we combine various wo…

1
Heaven and Hail 3:26

5d ago3:26

3:26

The Parlando Project is less often able to present the live rock band performances that it started out with, but here's a little piece from one of those performances, one telling about the aftermath of a large hail and high-wind storm that struck in August of 2023. The Parlando Project combines various words (usually literary poetry) with original …

1
At the Threshold 2:58

18d ago2:58

2:58

Late 19th century American poet Richard Hovey translated many French Symbolist poems; but this sonnet, published in a posthumous collection, is apparently Hovey's own work in French under the title "Au Seuil." Hovey's poem considers dying and the possibility of a judgement and afterlife. I translated Hovey's French into English for this musical per…

1
Isabel 2:10

8d ago2:10

2:10

Here's a short love poem by written for the 1894 Songs From Vagabondia by Richard Hovey. This book found favor with young men in its day for eschewing moral uplift and earnest toil to write instead of wine, women, and joyful travels. The Parlando Project combines various words (usually literary poetry) with original music in differing styles. We've…

1
Down the Songo - Summer: Still Rowing, Still Dreaming 4:10

25d ago4:10

4:10

Labor Day weekend in America is often the occasion for end of Summer activities. In this poem from the 1894 Songs from Vagabondia, poet Richard Hovey rows down a river in Maine connecting a lake and ponds. What does he find? The sense that Summer feels like a dream. The Parlando Project combines various words (usually literary poetry) with original…

1
امرؤ القيس قفا نبك 11:20

14d ago11:20

11:20

قصيدة امرؤ القيس قفا نبك بصوت محمد بدر Imruʾ al-Qais Junduh bin Hujr al-Kindi (Arabic: ٱمْرُؤ ٱلْقَيْس جُنْدُح ٱبْن حُجْر ٱلْكِنْدِيّ, ALA-LC: Imruʾ al-Qays Junduḥ ibn Ḥujr al-Kindīy) was an Arabian king and poet in the 6th century, and also the last king of Kindite. He is sometimes considered the father of Arabic poetry. His qaṣīda, or long poem, …

1
The Mote: A 19th Century SF Prose Poem 3:31

17d ago3:31

3:31

Pioneering Canadian poet Bliss Carman included this fantastic prose poem in his breakthrough 1894 collection "Songs from Vagabondia." Is it the slightly intoxicated wonder-talk of two tipsy young men, or the account of two angels playing with the universe? That Carman seems to have designed that blurring makes for an interesting 19th century SciFi …

1
The Two Bobbies 2:07

20d ago2:07

2:07

Pioneering Canadian poet Bliss Carman's break-through collection was called Songs of Vagabondia, a popular 1894 book which extoled the adventurous and sensuous life. In this selection he jauntingly compares Robert Burns and Robert Browning. The Parlando Project combines various words (usually literary poetry) with original music in different styles…

1
O But My Delicate Lover 2:27

1M ago2:27

2:27

Ancient Greek poet Sappho's poetry survives in fragments and spaces, but in 1904 a Canadian poet imagined Sappho's poems as if they were complete. The audacity of that project undertaken by Bliss Carman must be conceded, but the results can be judged on their own merits. The Greeks said that Sappho's poems were sung with lyre music, and the Parland…

1
A Mother's Call 6:59

2M ago6:59

6:59

A Mother's Call is a poem written in 1996 by Mohammad Bader, remembering home and his mother. Read both in English and Arabic by the Arabian Traveler.

1
I Dream I Am Falling 2:53

1M ago2:53

2:53

August 6th is the 8th anniversary of the launch of the Parlando Project — but it is also the 23rd anniversary of my late wife's death and Hiroshima Day. The Parlando Project is largely about performing other people's words (mostly literary poetry) with original music in various styles, but for this August observance I used a poem I myself wrote abo…

1
"If I Must Die," A Poem by Refaat Alareer 4:20

2M ago4:20

4:20

A poem written by Refaat Al- Areer رفعت العرعير read by The Arabian Traveler. Refaat Alareer, a prominent Palestinian professor, poet and writer, was killed in an airstrike in northern Gaza, on December 7. If I must die, you must live to tell my story to sell my things to buy a piece of cloth and some strings, (make it white with a long tail) so th…

1
Sara Teasdale again: Advice to a Girl 1:48

1M ago1:48

1:48

Not sure it's advice only useful for young women, but a savvy poem of love's boundaries none the less. The Parlando Project takes various words (usually literary poetry) and combines them with original music. We've done over 750 such combinations and you can find more at our blog and archives located at frankhudson.org…

1
Dooryard Roses 2:11

2M ago2:11

2:11

Sara Teasdale with a short heartbreak poem I've set to music and sung. That's what the Parlando Project does: we take various words (usually literary poetry) and combine them with original music in differing styles. We've done over 750 of these combinations, and they're available at our blog and archives located at frankhudson.org…

1
Rejoicing Veins 4:15

2M ago4:15

4:15

An Edna St. Vincent Millay sonnet of youth and aging is turned into a song, which is the thing the Parlando Project does. We take various words (usually literary poetry) and combine them with original music. We've done over 750 of these combinations, and you can find them at our blog and archives located at frankhudson.org…

1
Be Angry at the Sun 2:36

2M ago2:36

2:36

It's a poem, but in it Robison Jeffers wants to deliver a speech about political speech. I may not agree with Jeffers aims at the moment he wrote his poem, but I can feel the frustration he speaks of. You might too. The Parlando Project combines various words (usually literary poetry) with original music in various styles. We've done over 750 of th…

1
As far from pity, as complaint 2:41

2M ago2:41

2:41

Emily Dickinson's in a goth mood again, but she makes such things sound lovely, so we sing her poem of everlasting nature and non-everlasting life today. Not just Dickinson, but that's what the Parlando Project does: takes various words (usually literary poetry) and combines them with original music. We've got over 750 such combinations in our arch…

1
The Guitar after a poem by Federico García Lorca 3:20

2M ago3:20

3:20

I made my own English translation of from Lorca's Spanish poem "La Guitarra" and performed this with my own simple guitar accompaniment. That's what the Parlando Project does: combines various words (usually literary poetry) with original music. We've done over 750 of these combinations over the past 8 years. You can find more at our blog and archi…

1
Gone 2:41

3M ago2:41

2:41

Today's musical setting is Carl Sandburg's short ambiguous poem about a strong-dreaming woman. The reader is left to decide, why the poem's Chick Lorimer is gone. Has she left with her flags flying high? Or is the poem's seeming praise of many lovers and her uninhibited nature hiding a more complex relationship with the town? As a singing performer…

1
The Little Octoroon 3:48

3M ago3:48

3:48

For Juneteenth, a song from the 1860s written by George F. Root, a white songwriter, depicting an enslaved mother sending her child to the Union lines alone for freedom. I revised Root's melody a bit and performed it for today's holiday. The Parlando Project takes various words (mostly literary poetry) and usually combines them with original music.…

1
The Doomed regard the Sunrise 1:49

4M ago1:49

1:49

Goth Emily Dickinson again, with a poem about what stirs the sharpness of our attention now turned into a song. The Parlando Project combines words (usually literary poetry) with original music in various styles. You can find more than 750 of these combinations at our blog and archives located at frankhudson.org…

1
William Carlos Williams' The Birds 1:28

4M ago1:28

1:28

Williams melds birdsong, rain, and dawn into one instantaneous thing. I turned his poem into a short musical performance.By Frank Hudson for the Parlando Project

1
A little Madness in the Spring 1:45

4M ago1:45

1:45

American poet Emily Dickinson's enigmatic short Spring poem performed with new music as a Spring song. For more than 750 other combinations of various words (usually literary poetry) with original music visit our blog and archives located at frankhudson.orgBy Frank Hudson for the Parlando Project

1
Gaza Children أطفال غزة 6:25

4M ago6:25

6:25

Gaza Children written and read by The Arabian Traveler. Cover photo by Caroline Maltz.

1
Sexton! 1:33

4M ago1:33

1:33

Your presenter with an acoustic guitar galloping through Emily Dickinson's exhortation of Spring today.By Frank Hudson for the Parlando Project

1
Pea Brush 2:53

4M ago2:53

2:53

Robert Frost tells a little tale of nature and gardening for May. Being that it's Frost, there's a sharp observation woven into the story about man and nature. The Parlando Project combines various words (usually literary poetry) with original music in different styles. We've done over 750 of these combinations, and you can hear them and read more …

1
John Sinclair writes 2 poems of Thelonious Monk 2:05

5M ago2:05

2:05

John Sinclair (who died during this National Poetry Month) did a lot of things in his life, generating so many stances and actions that I suspect no one can agree with all of it. But one thing he did throughout his life was write Jazz Poetry, and so for International Jazz Day this year I thought I'd seek out and perform a couple of his poems. The P…

1
The Fairies Have Never a Penny to Spend 2:04

5M ago2:04

2:04

Rose Fyleman wrote charming and popular children's poems in the early 20th century, like this one. I set her poem for performance in a jaunty rock'n'roll trio as I approach the end of my National Poetry Month look-back at poems aimed at children in the first half of the 20th century. The Parlando Project combines various words (mostly literary poet…

1
Victims of A Map ضحايا الخريطه 23:59

5M ago23:59

23:59

Victims of a Map. Featuring three Arab Poets and their unique poetry both in English and Arabic. Reading from the Book Victim of a Map published in 1984 by Al Sami Books in London. ضحايا الخريطه كتاب نشر في لندن بالانجليزيه والعربيه

1
Dover Beach 3:56

5M ago3:56

3:56

I continue to examine poems from a pair of books of verse meant for the children who grew up to become "The Greatest Generation." This one's not a sunny day holiday for the kids: Matthew Arnold's at the beach, he puts a seashell to his ear, and hears....the future, or perhaps time itself, and it's harrowing. The Parlando Project takes various words…

1
Pippa Passes 1:58

5M ago1:58

1:58

A short Spring poem with a famous ending couplet that seems to be about contentment -- and after all, I found it inside a 1922 book of verse for children I'm looking at for National Poetry Month. In the context of the longer work Browning placed it in, it may not be that simple, but I perform it today as if it was. The Parlando Project combines var…

1
The Wind 2:03

5M ago2:03

2:03

For National Poetry Month this year I've been looking at poems from a pair of 1920s books of verse for children. Today's selection is a charming poem by Robert Louis Stevenson performed with an electric folk-rock band. The Parlando Project does this, takes words (mostly literary poetry) and combines them with original music. We've done over 750 of …

1
Hills: Children's poetry, but written by a child 2:34

5M ago2:34

2:34

To observe this National Poetry Month I've been diving into a pair of poetry anthologies for children published in the 1922/1923. One poet included in them was an unusual case: Hilda Conkling, a child herself. That this grade-schooler was composing poems that often seemed to share Imagism's approaches intrigued some Modernists. Here's one of her po…

1
The Coromandel Fishers 2:40

5M ago2:40

2:40

Sarojini Naidu's poem of stalwart Bengali fishermen asked to be sung, so I sang it. The author may have had a melody in mind, as she published this in a section of her poetry she called "Folk Songs." Naidu began as a promising poet ("The Nightengale of India") but left verse to for work for women's suffrage and Indian independence. The Parlando Pro…

1
The World Is Too Much With Us 2:04

5M ago2:04

2:04

William Wordsworth's well-known sonnet performed, as the word sonnet means, as a little song. Within the next 24 hour or so, I hope to have more to say about what you may have overlooked in this short poem on the Parlando Project's blog (see below). We've got a lot at the blog celebrating poetry and National Poetry Month. The Parlando Project combi…

1
The Minstrel Boy 2:14

5M ago2:14

2:14

For National Poetry Month this year I'm looking at and performing poems found in a pair of 1920s anthologies of verse for children. The Girls of Verse and The Boys Book of Verse. Though "The Minstrel Boy" was included within books of poetry, this poem by Irish poet Thomas Moore was quicky adapted as a song and is best known as such today. Which sav…

1
Each in His Own Tongue 2:29

6M ago2:29

2:29

Today I read a summary of poet Mary Oliver's approach by poet and critic A. M. Juster. He concluded: "I also think her spirit wanted to write religious poetry, but her mind wouldn't let her." Lo & behold I was working this week on a singable version of this 1906 poem that I found in a collection of verse for children published in the 1920s that I'm…

1
Sea Fever 2:14

6M ago2:14

2:14

We're celebrating National Poetry Month with musical presentations of poems taken from a gendered pair of 100-year-old anthologies published as The Girls and The Boys Book of Verse. Today's is John Masefield's famous poem of seafaring. The Parlando Project takes words (usually literary poetry) and combines them with original music we write and perf…

1
There is no Frigate like a Book 2:01

6M ago2:01

2:01

We continue our National Poetry Month feature examination of a pair of century-old children's poetry anthologies with this famous invocation of book-fed imagination. The Parlando Project combines various words (usually literary poetry) with original music in different styles. We've done over 700 of these things, and you can listen to them and find …

1
Piping Down the Valleys Wild 2:33

6M ago2:33

2:33

My feature this National Poetry Month is going to be examination of two 1920's poetry anthologies, one for girls and one for boys. This William Blake poem invoking childhood visions bringing joy was in the opening section of the girl's volume and it seems like an apt poem to set to music and lead off our celebration this month. The Parlando Project…

1
Singing at Dusk 2:33

6M ago2:33

2:33

Emmy Hemmings is a forgotten Dada artist, launching the famous Cabaret Voltaire during WWI as am organizer, performer and poet -- yet no one translated her poetry from German until this century. I just got done doing a somewhat free translation of one of her poems, and since Hennings was a performer, it seems fitting to present her work here in the…

1
Whispering Often 1:58

6M ago1:58

1:58

Here's a poem for March, for Spring, and for Easter now turned into a song, The words were written about a hundred years ago by a largely forgotten Midwestern American poet Edwin Ford Piper. This month I wrote music for Piper's words, and today's piece is taken from a demo session where I recorded the freshly made song. The Parlando Project does st…

1
Cool Tombs 1:56

6M ago1:56

1:56

Poet Carl Sandburg goes gothic-graveyard for this poem about Love & Death. I decided to accompany my performance of it with some new music in my "punk orchestral" style, which means it's short, not-to-fancy, and uses whatever virtual orchestral instruments I can figure out something for them play. The Parlando Project takes various words (usually l…

1
The Wind Didn't Come from the Orchard Today 3:54

6M ago3:54

3:54

Here's a playful and mysterious Emily Dickinson poem for World Poetry Day. The Parlando Project enlists The LYL Band in this one to create a full-band folk-rock song out of Dickinson's poem. The Parlando Project has done that sort of thing for several years, taking words (usually literary poetry) and combining them with music in different styles. W…

1
The Drunken Singer 4:11

7M ago4:11

4:11

I remind myself today that I sometimes write lyrics, so here's a piece that features my own words and music. What the Parlando Project usually does is combine other people's words (usually literary poetry) with the variety of original music we compose and make. You can hear over 700 examples of that at our blog and archives located at frankhudson.o…

1
The Late Singer 2:06

7M ago2:06

2:06

William Carlos Williams' Spring poem reminds us that it's never too late to sing. I had to cancel a more pristine time in a recording space this week but produced this quick & dirty version of this song using Williams' words instead. Spring itself, has a way of being quick & dirty -- and I'll remind you of the musicians' and composers' prayer: "May…

1
The Last Antelope 4:23

7M ago4:23

4:23

Edwin Ford Piper is an early 20th century Midwestern American poet who's largely been forgotten. I've only started to read him this week, but this poem captured me immediately and I had to perform it with music, Parlando style. The Parlando Project combines various words (usually literary poetry) with original music in different styles. We've done …

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Poems Of William Blake Podcasts

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