had a shaky , senior moment , when i heard the voice of T.S. Eliot .
but at least he sounded a little more like a living person , when compared to Billy Yeats , whose sepulcheral tones would bring even Chuck Norris to a stand still .
what i remember of recordings of Yeats reading his own work , was the chanted, dead , dread intoning , of a thousand years of memories , all piled into one short moment .
i’d be interested in hearing what other , ahem … senior people think of the voices , original or not , in the vids .
and hey , hungry philosopher , thanks for the link .
well done ( even if you don’t think so yourself )
If you don’t look at the video (which I realise is supposed to be the point of the whole thing), it’s actually very good. He even has Wilde, which is lovely But I can’t watch the video…too weird.
I don’t like poetry. Maybe it’s just that all the poetry that I’ve ever been exposed to has sounded stilted, stuffy, self-absorbed, and too contrived. I like song lyrics. Lyrics sound more natural. I’m OK being unevolved on this issue. Maybe I’ll get struck by lightning and I’ll come to my senses or something.
Tell all the Truth but tell it slant—
success in Circuit lies
Too bright for our infirm Delight
The Truth’s superb surprise
As Lightening to the Children eased
With explanation kind
The Truth must dazzle gradually
Or every man be blind—
"I am he as you are he as you are me and we are all together.
See how they run like pigs from a gun, see how they fly.
I’m crying.
Sitting on a cornflake, waiting for the van to come.
Corporation tee-shirt, stupid bloody tuesday.
Man, you been a naughty boy, you let your face grow long.
I am the eggman, they are the eggmen.
I am the walrus, goo goo g’joob."
The images of the poets are mostly so familiar … It’s a bit like the bedtime scene in Amélie, when the Michael Sowa paintings start talking. Both whimsical and disconcerting.