THE GREAT POETS: WILLIAM BLAKE

Blake's poetry presents a series of challenges for those reading it aloud because it ranges from the exuberant to the frightening. The use of three narrators in this audio anthology is a wise editorial decision, as it allows the poems to benefit from a broader range of voices. For example, both versions of "The Chimney Sweeper" from SONGS OF INNOCENCE AND OF EXPERIENCE are narrated by the same boy, but with starkly different emotions. The poems are placed back-to-back here; one reader uses childlike dialogue, while the other switches to a darker tone to convey the despair of the second poem. In other selections, the power of Blake's apocalyptic verse is dramatic, almost chilling. D.B. © AudioFile 2008, Portland, Maine [Published: SEPTEMBER 2008]