Verses In Vox

Dramatic reading of "To Be A Pilgrim" by John Bunyan with original music by Natasha Green and sound design by Roy Allison. This poem was originally published in 1684 in Part 2 of the well-known allegorical novel that Bunyan wrote, The Pilgrim's Progress. The text was later modified and set to music in the early 1900s and sung as a hymn in churches. There are a few textual variations of the piece and it has also been known under several different titles including, "He Who Would Valiant Be" and "The Pilgrim". We have chosen to use the original text for this reading. More information: http://verses.porchlightfamilymedia.com/2016/04/to-be-pilgrim-by-john-bunyan.html

Born in rural Massachusetts in 1807, John Greenleaf Whittier began to write poetry at a young age with his first poem being published in the summer of 1826. Shortly thereafter, he began working as an editor of various periodicals. The poem "In School-days" was written in 1869 and Whittier may have drawn a bit on his own experience as a teacher in a one-room schoolhouse. The poem was praised by the public as well as by other poets with Henry Wadsworth Longfellow commenting, "There is something more in education than is set down in the school-books. Whittier has touched this point very poetically in that little lyric of his." Oliver Wendell Holmes said of the poem in a letter to Whittier, "...I had no sooner read them [the lines] that I fell into such ecstasy that I could hardly find words too high-colored to speak of them to my little household. I hardly think I dared read them aloud. My eyes fill with tears just looking at them in my scrapbook, now, while I am writing." Full notes: http://verses.porchlightfamilymedia.com/2018/11/in-school-days-by-john-greenleaf-whittier.html

Dramatic reading of "Fall, Leaves, Fall" by Emily Brontë with original music score and sound effects. More Information: http://verses.porchlightfamilymedia.com/2015/12/fall-leaves-fall-by-emily-bronte.html

"Autumn Fires" was first published in 1885 in a volume titled Penny Whistles which contained over 60 poems, including "My Shadow", "The Lamplighter", and "The Land of Story-books". The collection was later re-titled A Child’s Garden of Verses and has been reprinted many times. Robert Louis Stevenson is, of course, well-known for his short stories and novels, such as the pirate adventure story, Treasure Island, which was published two years prior to the aforementioned poetry collection. Full info: http://verses.porchlightfamilymedia.com/2017/11/autumn-fires-by-robert-louis-stevenson.html

Dramatic reading of "If--" by Rudyard Kipling with original music score and sound effects. Rudyard Kipling wrote the poem “If—“ in 1895, but it was not published until 15 years later. The piece is consistently listed among the best poems ever written by British poets and sections of it have been quoted or referenced in popular culture numerous times over the decades. Verses In Vox. Experience Poetry. More info: http://verses.porchlightfamilymedia.com/2015/07/if-by-rudyard-kipling.html

Dramatic reading of "Ballad Of The Tempest" with original music score and enhanced with sound effects. Full details: http://verses.porchlightfamilymedia.com/2016/03/ballad-of-the-tempest-by-james-thomas-fields.html

Dramatic reading of "In Flanders Fields" by John McCrae with original music score and sound effects. Written in May of 1915 by Canadian physician, Lt. Col. John McCrae, "In Flanders Fields" is one of the most recognizable poems about the First World War. It was first published in a London magazine about 7 months after being written. The poem is still well-loved in McCrae's native Canada and was even featured on a ten dollar note in 2001. Full notes: https://verses.porchlightfamilymedia.com/2015/11/in-flanders-fields-by-john-mccrae.html