Poetry
Sappho
Sappho lived in the Greek-speaking Aeolian islands off the coast of Turkey. She is one of the very few female poets from antiquity. Although…
Holy Sonnets
John Donne (1572 – March 31, 1631) was a Jacobean poet and preacher, representative of the metaphysical poets of the period. His works, nota…
Sappho: One Hundred Lyrics
Sappho lived six centuries before Christ, at a period when lyric poetry was peculiarly esteemed and cultivated at the centres of Greek life.…
The Courtship of Miles Standish
During the late nineteenth century and until the middle of the twentieth, many elementary classrooms in America featured (along with a Gilbe…
More Goops and How Not to Be Them
Deep in the heart of every parent is the wish, the desire, to have other adults tell us, in an unsolicited way, just how very polite one’s c…
The Madman
Two short books by the Lebanese-American writer, poet, and mystic. Reflections on existence and life, purpose and meaning. His most famous w…
All Is Beautiful
Since the beginning of time, human beings have told the story of their own beginning, and of the origins of the four directions, the heavens…
The Psalms and Odes of Solomon
One of the Pseudepigrapha, the Psalms of Solomon is a group of eighteen psalms (religious songs or poems) that are not part of any scriptura…
Spirits in Bondage
Spirits in Bondage is C.S. Lewis’s first book and the first of his works to be available in the public domain. It was released in 1919 unde…
American Civil War Collection
Explore the profound impact of the American Civil War through a curated collection of poems and short literary works. This anthology brings …
Selection from The Temple
George Herbert (April 3, 1593 – March 1, 1633) was a Welsh poet, orator and a priest. Throughout his life he wrote religious poems character…
Kalevala, The Land of the Heroes
The Kalevala is a 19th-century work of epic poetry compiled by Elias Lönnrot from Karelian and Finnish oral folklore and mythology. It…
An Essay on Criticism
An Essay on Criticism is a foundational work of literary criticism by Alexander Pope, blending poetry and philosophical reflection. Written …
Morning and Evening Thoughts
James Allen was a British philosophical writer known for his inspirational books and poetry and as a pioneer of the self-help movement. Alle…
The Rape of the Lock
The Rape of the Lock is a mock-heroic narrative poem written by Alexander Pope, first published anonymously in Lintot's Miscellany in May 17…
The Real Mother Goose
The Real Mother Goose is a cherished anthology of nursery rhymes that invites listeners of all ages to rediscover the joy and whimsy of chil…
Venus and Adonis
Venus and Adonis is Shakespeare's narrative poem about the love of the goddess Venus for the mortal youth Adonis, dedicated partly to his pa…
Pearl
Written in the 14th century by the Gawain poet, 'Pearl' is an elegiac poem reflecting on the death of a young daughter, pictured as a pearl …
Robert Browning Collection
Celebrate the legacy of Robert Browning with this curated collection of his poetry and prose, brought to life by LibriVox volunteers. This a…
On the Nature of Things
Written in the first century b.C., On the Nature of Things (in Latin, De Rerum Natura) is a poem in six books that aims at explaining the Ep…