Donald Hall Prose and Poetry

Hall, Donald

ISBN 10: 1883332265 ISBN 13: 9781883332266

Publisher: Audio Bookshelf, 1997

Synopsis

Author of more than thirty books of poetry and prose, Donald Hall performs here dozens of his best-loved poems, together with excerpts from six of his works of prose. Donald Hall has been writing poems for over fifty years and now stands as one of America's foremost poets. Winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award, the Robert Frost Medal of the Poetry Society of America, the New England Book Award for nonfiction, and former Poet Laureate of New Hampshire among other honors, Donald Hall gives each listener this gift of words--words painstakingly entwined with passion, energy and love. Prose & Poetry is a tour de force--an intimate convergence of poet, author, and listener.

About this title

About the Author:

Donald Hall is an American author and literary critic. A graduate of Phillips Exeter Academy, Harvard, and Oxford, he is the author of over numerous books and collections of poetry, including Caldecott Medal winner Ox-Cart Man, White Apples and the Taste of Stone, and New Poets of England and America. He served as the 2006-2007 US Poet Laureate and has won numerous awards for his contributions to literature, including the 1990 Robert Frost Medal, the Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize for his lifetime achievement, and the 2010 National Medal of Arts.

From AudioFile:

In his introduction to these selections of his prose and poetry, Donald Hall says, "It's good to read these pieces aloud. The poems are surely written for saying, but my paragraphs also must attend to cadence and rhythm . . . for the eye's ear or for the ear alone." It's refreshing to hear reaffirmation of what audiophiles have always known: that prose, as well as poetry, is enhanced by reading aloud. Furthermore, it's even more gratifying when this is said by a writer of 30 books of prose and poetry that have won almost every award going. What Donald Hall says is not too surprising. When you listen to these selections, you realize how close his prose is to poetry. (In fact, on these tapes it is sometimes difficult to tell which is which.) Certainly the combination of prose and poetry is a winner in this recording. Including excerpts from six nonfiction books (STRING TOO SHORT TO BE SAVED, SEASONS AT EAGLE POND, FATHERS PLAYING CATCH WITH THEIR SONS, HERE AT EAGLE POND, LIFE WORK, PRINCIPAL PRODUCTS OF PORTUGAL) and five collections of poetry (THE ONE DAY, OLD AND NEW POEMS, THE MUSEUM OF CLEAR IDEAS, THE OLD LIFE, UNCOLLECTED POEMS, it's an excellent introduction to the work of a writer many listeners may want to explore further. Since his complete work is mainly autobiographical--even his poetry--the readings present a portrait of Donald Hall the man, as well as Donald Hall the author. He emerges as a sensitive, intelligent human being with a remarkable appreciation for natural beauty, for the joy of enduring love and for the ordinary pleasures of a working life. The word "working" is central here. These tapes are almost a paean to the joy of work: his dedication as a poet who gets up every morning at five in the morning to write; the endless, backbreaking labor of his grandfather and grandmother on their beloved New Hampshire farm; even the dogged training, year in and year out, of professional baseball players. Not surprisingly, all of Donald Hall's ideas gain power when he discusses them in his own voice. He reads his own poems well, better than most poets, but conceivably a professional narrator might have given a more effective performance. Perhaps such a narrator could add drama to the action, smooth over rough passages (avoiding the occasional lapses into what sounds like the intonation of sacred text), deepen the intensity of the poetry with perfected eloquence. Perhaps. On the other hand, it may be that Donald Hall's own voice speaks so directly from the heart that no polished narration could be as moving as he is. Let the poet speak. J.C. (c)AudioFile, Portland, Maine

About this edition

• Publisher: Audio Bookshelf
• Publication date: 1997
• ISBN 10: 1883332265
• ISBN 13: 9781883332266
• Binding: Audio Cassette