Emily Dickinson

Poems and Letters

By: Emily Dickinson

Narrated by: Alexandra O'Karma

Length: 2 hrs and 8 mins

Publisher's summary

Eccentric and reclusive, Emily Dickinson wrote poetry that reflects the richness of her interior world and the peculiar beauty of her inner vision. During her lifetime, her poetry was considered too unusual to be publishable, but after her death in 1885, Dickinson achieved posthumous recognition as one of the great poetic voices of the 19th century. This collection, read by Alexandra O'Karma, includes commentary and some of Dickinson's letters as well as 75 of her over 900 poems, including such favorites as "Because I Could Not Stop for Death," "'Hope' Is the Thing with Feathers," "There Is No Frigate like a Book," and "There's a Certain Slant of Light."

Public Domain (P)1989 Recorded Books

Excellent selection of poems & letters

Excellent selection and outstanding narration, Worth your time if you enjoy Dickinson, some of her very best poems.

intriguing look into creative genius

Emily Dickinson: Poems and Letters (Audiobook)
by Emily Dickinson
an explicative book of verse and prose that shows the unique nature of this remarkable poet, showing how her nature causes her raw innovation in verse and chorus. She was so reclusive that her poetry was gathered in volumes that she kept under lock and key in her life. Her verse were not published until after her death. This book attempts to look at when, and how she created her poetry, and how it was rarely shared in her life time. I found so much explanation of the rare courage of writers particularly poets to share their work.

Superb reader

As everyone knows, the reader of the text is an interpreter.
Ms. O’Karma’s voice inhabits the poetry of Emily Dickinson. Thank you for your utterly humble and sensitive interpretation.

Inspiring

Her words give insights to woman’s role during her time period. Also based on her words, I believe she was enlightened.

Thoughts on enjoying this reading

Excellently read poetry. Most delightful to hear the unique words spoken so as to smoothly clarify the obscure patterns and rhythms…..

Performance truly brings Dickinson’s person and poems to life

I especially enjoyed the interplay between the biographical narrative and Emily’s poems and letters in this audiobook. This book truly brings the poet and her poems to life!

Truly appreciated

Truly appreciated how well her character was portrayed. Well read. I ha e listened to this book many times and found uniqueness each time.

Best Reading--But some bad information.....

O'Karma's reading is very fine, especially of the letters--and, thank God, does not simper like "The Belle of Amherst." The selection is fair-handed. However, listeners should be aware that there are many points in the commentary that have since been disproven. See especially "Lives Like Loaded Guns" and other examples of the latest Dickinson scholarship. Much of the speculation about love affairs and melodrama in Dickinson's life, carried over from biased or unreliable biographies, is based on gossip and pure fantasy. Listeners should especially distrust any denigration of Emily Dickinson's abiding friendship with Susan Dickinson.

great

a lovely array of words, very tender and intellectual.. I could not explain how beautiful her writing is.

Outdated

There has been a lot of new information about Emily Dickerson and her poems and letters found in recent years. I was particularly interested in hearing about the scrubbing and reorganizing of Emily’s relationship with her sister-in-law, Susan, but she was not mentioned. Instead, the history portion of this book really emphasizes her relationship with the Clergyman and even goes are far as to suggest that she was an infatuated and obsessed girl. Meh, it was the original thought behind her letters and poems, and I’m not saying she wasn’t, just that there’s more to her story and so this is outdated.