Emily Dickinson poem set to music

Posted on the site, the marginalian, this interesting blend of poetry and music, The Universe in Verse | Part One: 1, also focuses a visual spotlight on Emily Dickinson’s collection of flowers, pressed carefully in still viable form centuries after they were first collected. Sung by Joan As Police Woman, the poem is given an added dimension and fullness.

The marginalian, transformed from its previous manifestation, Brain Pickings, carries on the tradition of Maria Popova’s thought-provoking, mystery-laden journeys through the nature of existence, combining art, music, philosophy, and writing in a captivating way.

Sometimes by David Whyte

If there was ever a time when circumspection and personal reflection should be at the center of our daily lives—amidst a worldwide pandemic, onrushing climate disruption, and social upheaval—now is that time. Another excellent contribution from brainpicker, this reading by David Whyte, accompanied by additional context and observations from the poet, addresses the subtle art of self-discovery in the face of rapid transformation.

38, A Poem Read by Layli Long Soldier

The poem, 38, was read by Layli Long Solider from her collection Whereas, shortlisted for the 2018 International Griffin Poetry Prize.

Antidotes to Fear of Death: A Poem by Rebecca Elson

“The majesty of the universe is only ever conjured up in the mind. . . “

Astrophysicist Janna Levin reads "Antidotes to Fear of Death" by astronomer and poet Rebecca Elson, with music by Zoë Keating.

Poem text and context: https://www.brainpickings.org/2020/04/10/antidotes-to-fear-of-death-rebecca-elson

This is the opening of the 2020 Universe in Verse – an annual charitable celebration of poetry through science, created and hosted by Maria Popova at Pioneer Works – livestreaming on April 25, also starring Patti Smith, Neil Gaiman, Rosanne Cash, Amanda Palmer, Leland Melvin, Elizabeth Gilbert, and many more extraordinary artists, writers, and scientists broadening our cosmic and creaturely perspective.

Details here: https://www.brainpickings.org/the-universe-in-verse/

More About TL;DR Press

Here’s more of the interview with David Clark, co-founder of TL;DR Press, in which we talk about how themes are developed for upcoming collections, as well as the possibilities of bringing audio narration into the fold to provide additional revenues for charities.

Photo by Jack Sharp on Unsplash.

Beckett Reading from His Works

Playwright, poet, and novelist Samuel Beckett shied away from recording devices like a rabbit hides from red-tailed hawks, but the following reading—one of very few in existence—captures him narrating a poem and a portion of one of his works: the novel Watt. Lawrence Harvey, a professor of comparative literature, met with Beckett in Paris several times and made this recording during one of his visits in 1965. Beckett won the Nobel prize for Literature in 1969 after being judged “unsuitable for the award” in 1968 by some of the committee members.

The Genesis of TL;DR Press

In an era when print-on-demand technology makes it possible to create single copies of books in a few minutes and ebooks can be distributed anywhere in the world at the push of a button, the notion of a small press springing up from a Internet-based writer’s community is not very hard to believe.

In Part One of a series, David G. Clark, co-founder of TL;DR Press, talks about how a writer’s group on Reddit evolved into a non-profit book publisher that donates all of their revenues to charities. The original writer’s community has migrated to Slack although Twitter and Reddit contingents still exist as well. From a single anthology released in 2018, the TL;DR Press library of collections has expanded to several titles and more works are underway.

The following interview was an impromptu session (I twisted David’s arm to talk about the founding of the Press and he graciously complied). The history of TL;DR Press illustrates how a diverse group of writers can come together across the cosmic ether of the Internet and publish powerful, contemporary fiction.

Click through to listen to an audio version of a story by one of the co-founders, Joe Butler.

Project VOICE

A novel way of getting young people interested in poetry and spoken word performance, Project VOICE is transforming old, stale ideas about human communication—at all levels and ages.

Midlife Crisis in Boots

Here’s a poem I discovered on the GNAT website (Greater Northshire Access Television), part of a series, Mono, read by Steve Dunning.

The poet, Sjohnna McCray, has been earning plaudits for his highly original collection, Rapture.

Well worth a listen. . .

The Universe in Verse 2018

With Earth Day quickly approaching (April 22nd), thoughts worldwide are coalescing around the state of this blue planet and our collective efforts to rally the energies needed for a dramatic course correction. In these uncertain times, inspiration can be gleaned from last year’s event, The Universe in Verse, an evening of poetry readings and stories inspired by science, celebrating the joys of the natural world, both the beauty of it and the challenges we face in maintaining a healthy biosphere and practicing sustainability in our everyday lives.

The following video covers the entire event.

This year’s event promises to be equally rewarding. For more details and a roster of the participants in this annual benefit, visit the Brain Pickings microsite.