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The Nation's Favourite Poems
- Narrated by: John Nettles, Siobhan Redmond, Greg Wise, Emma Fielding
- Length: 2 hrs and 1 min
- Categories: Literature & Fiction, Poetry
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a great selection but could do with more poetry
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A timeless collection of poems chosen by Classic FM listeners and read by an outstanding cast of actors, including Sir John Gielgud, Joanna Lumley, and David Tennant.
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Name Checking Exercise
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Excellent Rendition, Memorable and Simple
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Great readings, but why no list of the poems?
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Originally broadcast on BBC Radio 4, Jeremy Irons' perceptive reading illuminates the poetry of T. S. Eliot in all its complexity. Major poems range from 'The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock' through the post-war desolation of 'The Waste Land' and the spiritual struggle of 'Ash-Wednesday', to the enduring charm of 'Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats'.
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I hope this helps........
- By Peter Clinch on 12-06-18
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Under Milk Wood (Dramatised)
- By: Dylan Thomas
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- Original Recording
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A classic BBC Radio full-cast production of Dylan Thomas' poetic play for voices starring Richard Burton as the narrator. To begin at the beginning: it is spring, moonless night in the small town, starless and bible-black.... When Richard Burton breathed the opening words of 'Under Milk Wood' into a microphone, broadcasting history was made.
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Under Milk Wood
- By Anonymous User on 16-10-10
Summary
More from the same
What listeners say about The Nation's Favourite Poems
Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Amazon Customer
- 08-06-16
Bad format, two chapters
I loved both the poems and narrators great performance. However, I'm really disappointed with the format of this audiobook, there's only two chapters. It will be nearly impossible to find a specific poem, unless it has been bookmarked, which should not be necessary. I really wish they could have made each poem as a chapter or maybe at least grouped them by author.
30 people found this helpful
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- AJ
- 08-09-17
Frustrating music
Great poems and great readings, which are unfortunately broken up by bits of music which would generously be described as fancy mobile ringtones. It's probably not an issue if you're listening while out walking or don't have a soul, but it massively ruins an otherwise relaxing listening experience. Have no idea what they were thinking.
11 people found this helpful
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- Paula09
- 21-11-18
Excellent readings; pity about the music
Must concur with the other reviews. John Nettles is brilliant. If he ever reads another anthology, I will buy it like a shot. His voice is warm and expressive, and his interpretation mostly excellent. I saw him in a completely different light. I just can't get past the music, which is hideous, overly loud, way too long, and often completely wrong for the mood of the poem. Mercifully the music disappears in the middle, but it sadly comes back towards the end. I have never wished so much for the ability to edit an audio track. Not sure I will listen to the book again, unless it is to make my own table of contents so I can jump straight to the Nettles readings without having to endure the interludes. (Don't get me started on the lack of useful tables of contents on Audible.)
9 people found this helpful
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- Peter
- 12-03-08
The Nation's Favourite Poems
This really is excellent, all the readers are very, very good but I feel John Nettles shines, especially his reading of the 'Rime of the Ancient Mariner'. Unfortunately this is, in my opinion, the weak point as it gives us all of this epic and I would have been happier with the inclusion of some of the other poems in the book which have been omitted. Or indeed have a longer CD (or download).
19 people found this helpful
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- r a clarke
- 14-11-15
great poems but badly designed / organised audio b
great poems but the audio book does not allow to filter by each poem.
this is really annoying especially as there is no content page either. very poorly designed audio book
6 people found this helpful
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- Rcm
- 27-10-18
No index
Shame there is no index or list of poems in order of reading, this would help to locate a particular poem.
5 people found this helpful
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- Anon
- 07-01-20
Please disregard the negative reviews.
Please disregard the negative reviews because:
Each poem now has a separate chapter with title etc
The incidental music is pleasing and certainly does not detract.
No collection is going to completely match the choices you would have chosen.
4 people found this helpful
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- Patj
- 11-07-17
Peaceful nostalgia mainly
Difficult to give stars for ' story' in poetry but as it is all written from the heart I have given 5. These poems are mostly what I have grown up with during my 80+ years and I loved hearing them read with a different emphasis from that which I am used to. The only thing I did not like was the music which was too loud between poems requiring me to lower the volume each time. I was so pleased to find these in Audible.
4 people found this helpful
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- lee
- 12-05-15
Total bliss
Poems selected here = nostalgia, contemplation, wisdom, heart-ache, passion, endearments, peace, security. The most delicious listening. Thank you so, audible.
3 people found this helpful
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- Amazon Customer
- 06-10-18
A Lovely Compilation
It is a nicer book to read than to listen too, but a wonderful compilation nonetheless.
I would rather there were one "chapters" per poem, but I am very glad I bought it
2 people found this helpful
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- Niamh
- 12-05-12
Love the poems from my school days and beyond!
What did you love best about The Nation's Favourite Poems?
I remember when they were voted for and have to concur with the number one and most of my favourites were way up there.
Which character – as performed by the narrators – was your favorite?
John Nettles performing "If" was very moving.
Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?
Poetry is very moving and I had to read a lot of it at school so it was great to hear it again, I have the full tapes but having this abridged version for my Kindle is great.
Any additional comments?
Its often hard to get stuff from my home country on Kindle so this was a nice surprise. I would love to see more stuff available for Kindle. Real copies are so yesterday, actually I have no more room to store them!
1 person found this helpful
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- Ray B
- 17-01-21
excellent reading of classic poems with caveat
Truly excellent readings of classic British poems, however liberally bracketed with very irritating music. At some point after I purchased, the publishers added proper chapter breaks and titles. Unfortunately, they got at least one of them very wrong (e.g. ‘driving’ instead of ‘drowning’ - accidental dark humor at its best).
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- Mia
- 14-11-20
Bizarre musical background to poems...
The poems are truly wonderful but some idiot has inserted musical clips between the poems that seem to have been taken from a cell phone menu or a children’s television show. The music is louder than the poems- and repeats the same tunes randomly. I have to pull my headphones out after each poem.