Showing results by publisher "Spoken Realms" in Poetry

The Night Before Christmas by Clement Clarke Moore performed by Glenn Haskell will no doubt become a Christmas tradition in many homes.

In "Wake up England", published in 1914 at the start of the Great War, Poet Laureate Robert Bridges urges the British citizenry to support the war by appealing to their sense of patriotism and duty, mindful that God is on their side.

It is said that the observance of Memorial Day grew originally out of the custom of the widows, mothers, and children of the Confederate dead in the South strewing the soldiers' graves with flowers, including the unmarked graves of the Union soldiers. There was no settled date for this in the North until 1868, when General John A. Logan, as commander-in-chief of the Grand Army of the Republic, designated May 30. A touching poem in commemoration of Memorial Day narrated by Mike Vendetti.

A classic poem written to mirror the pain of the loss of romance. There is no remedy. There seems no hope. The anguish comes through loud and clear in this piece, written by William Hope Hodgson and narrated by Glenn Hascall.

While he may be less known for poetry, author Rudyard Kipling's "The Ballad of Clampherdown" is a yarn of seafaring conflict that chronicles the progression of losing a ship to war. Another great listen, another great tale. Narrated by Glenn Hascall.

Who but Mark Twain could express humor about the obituaries? In the end, however, we come face to face with an editorial bent Twain discovered (or slightly embellished) in postmortem poetry. An odd bit of honor, humor, and an example of what not to share in an obituary from one of the greatest American writers. Narrated by Glenn Hascall.

A classic poem from acclaimed author Alfred, Lord Tennyson. Grief sometimes comes at Christmas. We may believe there is no hope for happiness again on the day of Christmas bells and gifts, but in the midst of this grief there is the birth of hope. When something is lost - something new may be found. Not easy, but universally true.

"The Man Who Keeps His Head" by Harold Begbie (1871-1929) was published in Poems of the Great War in 1914 on behalf of The Prince of Wales' national Relief Fund. A reporter with the Daily Chronicle at the start of the war, Begbie wrote a number of recruiting poems and visited America to aid the recruitment effort there.

"We Willed It Not" by John Freeman (1882-1937) was published in Poems of the Great War in 1914 on behalf of The Prince of Wales' national Relief Fund.

Rudyard Kipling’s Gentlemen-Rankers first appeared in Barrack-Room Ballads and refers to young men of the privileged classes who may have suffered the indignity of bankruptcy or scandal, and joined the ‘rank-and-file’ of the British Army as privates.

Acclaimed writer Henry Van Dyke presents a staller collection of poems that also served as hymns in churches in the early 1900s. One is still sung today. Encouragement found in each stanza.

Robert Ernest Vernede [1875-1917] was an English poet and writer of short stories, most remembered as a war poet of WWI. Wounded at the Battle of the Somme in 1916, he recovered and returned to the front and was killed by machine-gun fire at Havrincourt in 1917. "England to the Sea" was published in Poems of the Great War, in 1914.

This author bears the unusual distinction of having Mark Twain as a friend when she was a young girl. Twain encouraged Dorothy to write. This memorable short poem is the result of Twain's encouragement.

The life of a Viking is prominent in this story poem. The listener is invited to the heights and depths of a Norseman's life. This is the stuff of ancient bards rekindled for a new generation. Narrated by Glenn Hascall.

The narrator pledges to donate 50% of his proceeds to The Royal British Legion Poppy Day Appeal - please support. The Fourth of August [1914] was the day that Britain entered into World War One. This poem by Laurence Binyon reminds the British public of their heroic past, and that the travails that lie ahead are justified by the righteous cause, and by following in the footsteps of those who fought before they will vanquish the foe.

Sir Yroncladde fought many brave knights. When he saw a new battle raging, he wanted to get into the fight. He faced warriors the likes of which he had never seen. Sir Yroncladde returned from the fray unwilling to face the "grid iron" again.

Written in 1914 by Owen Seaman, the poem "Pro Patria" is a call to arms to defend the righteous and noble values that England was deemed to represent. Calling upon God to support the coming actions of the war, based on a gallant national history, "Pro Patria" is an allusion to Horace and was also utilized in Dulce Et Decorum Est by Wilfred Owen.

Two women. Two stories. Two Wishes. Two outcomes. Life journeys often begin at the Wishing Bridge. A classic poem by a classic author. Narrated by Glenn Hascall.

This short poem should be required listening between father and son. Here are profound bits of wisdom and common sense that can help any young boy strive to be more of a man. Reimagined here as something akin to cowboy poetry, the poem is performed by Glenn Hascall.

The narrator pledges to donate 50% of his proceeds to The Royal British Legion Poppy Day Appeal - please support. "In Flanders Fields" is one of the most famous poems of The Great War, written by Lieutenant-Colonel John Alexander McCrae, MD, 1872-1918. It is believed that McCrae wrote the poem after presiding at the funeral of a friend killed during the second Battle of Ypres, in 1915. The poppy grew in abundance in the spoiled earth of the cemeteries and battlefields of Flanders, France.