From Library Journal
With the second set of titles released in this innovative tape-and-small-book package (which includes text of the poems read, photos, and a short biographical essay), editor J.D. McClatchy continues to present some of the most esteemed modern poets in a highly listenable format. It's a delight to see Bishop, a fine poet whose work is too often overlooked, included. Culled from the few sparse recordings made between 1947 and 1977, her voice ages and then is suddenly young again, adding to the playful tone of many poems, not often recognized on the page. The majority of works read by Lowell are from his groundbreaking confessional volume Life Studies, but McClatchy rightly couches it between earlier and later pieces, demonstrating how they developed out of a classical exploration of his heritage, which lasted the rest of his life. Sexton, once Lowell's student, wrote confessional poetry constructed from "a poor middle-class life, nothing extraordinary." This listener could not have said it better. Sexton might have inspired generations of women writers, but, placed beside some of the masters of our time, her work pales quickly.ARochelle Ratner, formerly with "Soho Weekly News," New York Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From AudioFile
The Voice of the Poet series, produced in installments over a three-year period, is gleaned from Yale library's extensive archive of poetry read at the university over the years. Each program provides a survey of the poet's work at both its strongest and most characteristic; cumulatively, the series reveals the lifeblood of poetry: a human voice making experience into art. Not surprisingly, some of the poets read their work better than others. Anne Sexton's voice is strong and true, almost unrelenting in a 1960 reading, mellower in a reading two years before her suicide. All the programs in the series could not have been put together with more care. A sixty-minute cassette presents the poet reading his or her own work--each includes some never-before-released recordings of the author. Included also is a booklet with a ten-page insightful introduction by noted poet and critic J.D, McClatchy, the text for the twenty or so career-spanning poems read by the poet, and a brief reading list. Beyond the content is the stunning design of the individual packages. Overall, The Voice of the Poet series should stand as a benchmark for other audio poetry programs. P.B.J. © AudioFile 2001, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine

Book Description
Read by the Poet
One Cassette, 1 hour

The second installment of our exclusive The Voice of the Poet series, comprised of rare archival recordings, some never before released, featuring Anne Sexton.

This audio production is accompanied by a book containing the text to the poems and a commentary by J.D. McClatchy.

From the Inside Flap
Read by the Poet
One Cassette, 1 hour

The second installment of our exclusive The Voice of the Poet series, comprised of rare archival recordings, some never before released, featuring Anne Sexton.

This audio production is accompanied by a book containing the text to the poems and a commentary by J.D. McClatchy.

About the Author
Anne Sexton (1928-1974) was a suburban housewife and mother when she began writing poetry in 1956 at her psychiatrist's suggestion to help her recover from a nervous breakdown.  Born in Newton, Massachusetts, she stayed near Boston all her life, and from 1969 until her death she taught at Boston University.  Her early confessional work and virtuosic craft yielded in later books to a more surrealistic voice, flamboyant and searing, as she continued to explore her abiding subjects - the limits of sanity and the nature and roles of womanhood.  Sexton, one of the most distinctive voices of her generation and a figure of real importance in the development of American poetry, was awarded the Pultizer Prize in 1967.  She committed suicide in 1974.

J.D. McClatchy
J.D. McClatchy is a Chancellor of the Academy of American Poets, and since 1991 has been the editor of The Yale Review.  He is the author of four books and poems: Scenes from Another Life, Stars Principal, The Rest of the Way, and The Ten Commandments.  He has edited a number of books, including The Vintage Book of Contemporary American Poetry and The Vintage Book of Contemporary World Poetry.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

The second installment of our exclusive The Voice of the Poet series, comprised of rare archival recordings, some never before released, featuring Anne Sexton.

This audio production is accompanied by a book containing the text to the poems and a commentary by J.D. McClatchy.

FROM THE CRITICS

Library Journal

With the second set of titles released in this innovative tape-and-small-book package (which includes text of the poems read, photos, and a short biographical essay), editor J.D. McClatchy continues to present some of the most esteemed modern poets in a highly listenable format. It's a delight to see Bishop, a fine poet whose work is too often overlooked, included. Culled from the few sparse recordings made between 1947 and 1977, her voice ages and then is suddenly young again, adding to the playful tone of many poems, not often recognized on the page. The majority of works read by Lowell are from his groundbreaking confessional volume Life Studies, but McClatchy rightly couches it between earlier and later pieces, demonstrating how they developed out of a classical exploration of his heritage, which lasted the rest of his life. Sexton, once Lowell's student, wrote confessional poetry constructed from "a poor middle-class life, nothing extraordinary." This listener could not have said it better. Sexton might have inspired generations of women writers, but, placed beside some of the masters of our time, her work pales quickly.--Rochelle Ratner, formerly with "Soho Weekly News," New York Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.\

AudioFile