Digitized from my copy of the original vinyl LP: "The Poetry of Thomas Hardy" - as read by Sir Richard Burton Caedmon Records 1958 (Side 1) In Tenebris I. -- The souls of the slain. -- Shut out that moon. -- Reminiscences of a dancing man. -- Let me enjoy. -- Channel firing. -- Beyond the last lamp. -- Wessex Heights. -- At Caster-bridge fair! The ballad singer. Former beauties; After the club dance; The market-girl; The inquiry; After the fair. -- I found her out there. -- The voice. -- After a journey. -- (Side 2) Weathers. -- The phantom horsewoman. -- She charged me. -- In the servants' quarters. -- In the study. -- Timing her. -- Great things. -- Old furniture. -- The sunshade. -- At Castle Boterel. Thomas Hardy, OM (2 June 1840 -- 11 January 1928) was an English novelist and poet. A Victorian realist in the tradition of George Eliot, he was influenced both in his novels and in his poetry by Romanticism, especially William Wordsworth.[1] Charles Dickens was another important influence.[2] Like Dickens, he was highly critical of much in Victorian society, though Hardy focused more on a declining rural society. While Hardy wrote poetry throughout his life and regarded himself primarily as a poet, his first collection was not published until 1898. Initially, therefore, he gained fame as the author of novels, including Far from the Madding Crowd (1874), The Mayor of Casterbridge (1886), Tess of the d'Urbervilles (1891), and Jude the Obscure (1895). However, beginning in the 1950s Hardy has been recognized as a major poet; he had a significant influence on the Movement poets of the 1950s and 1960s, including Phillip Larkin.[3] Most of his fictional works -- initially published as serials in magazines -- were set in the semi-fictional region of Wessex. They explored tragic characters struggling against their passions and social circumstances. Hardy's Wessex is based on the medieval Anglo-Saxon kingdom and eventually came to include the counties of Dorset, Wiltshire, Somerset, Devon, Hampshire and much of Berkshire, in southwest and south central England. (Source: Wikipedia) Richard Burton, CBE (10 November 1925 -- 5 August 1984) was a Welsh actor.[1] He was nominated seven times for an Academy Award -- for My Cousin Rachel (1952), The Robe (1953), Becket (1964), The Spy Who Came in from the Cold (1965), Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966), Anne of the Thousand Days (1969) and Equus (1977) -- six of which were for Best Actor in a Leading Role, without ever winning. He was a recipient of BAFTA, Golden Globe and Tony Awards for Best Actor. Although never trained as an actor, Burton was at one time the highest-paid actor in Hollywood. (Source: Wikipedia) "Caedmon was formed in 1952 by college graduates Barbara Holdridge and Marianne Roney. Its first release was a collection of poems by Dylan Thomas as read by the author himself. The company went on to record other notable writers reading their own works, such as W. H. Auden, Robert Frost, T. S. Eliot, Ernest Hemingway, Gertrude Stein and many more. The label expanded further to encompass other types of spoken word recordings, including children's stories, speeches, plus English- and foreign-language classics. Theater performances were also staged for the label, starring either the Shakespeare Recording Society or the Theatre Recording Society, depending on the playwright. These performances included many famous actors and actresses, including Anthony Quayle, Claire Bloom, Richard Burton, Albert Finney, John Gielgud, Siobhán McKenna, Michael Redgrave, Vanessa Redgrave, Felix Aylmer, Paul Scofield, Alec McCowen, Donald Pleasence, Ralph Richardson, Max Adrian and Maggie Smith among others. Other notable readers for the label included Vincent Price, Basil Rathbone, and Louis Jourdan. Raytheon, who also owned D. C. Heath and Company, bought Caedmon in 1971. Harper & Row (now HarperCollins) purchased the label in 1987" (Source: Wikipedia) This performance of Thomas Hardy poetry has never been renewed or re-produced since its original release in 1958 and is now in the public domain. This upload is intended for educational and historical purposes to preserve it for time and future generations. Thank you for listening! Please Subscribe, Comment, and Like below. Make sure to check out my whole channel for a vast array of children's material, poetry, radio plays, audio books, and other rare and out of print audio dramatizations. This upload is intended for preservation and educational purposes. Please share with your children and students, and make sure to read the original material by the original authors. -amandanuchols

• published: 21 Sep 2013
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