THE CAEDMON COLLECTION OF ENGLISH POETRY

This collection of great English poetry is interesting but uneven. It is based on Caedmon's archives, which contain some rare gems and some pieces that work primarily as cultural oddities. In the first category are Sir John Gielgud, who does a magnificent job with Shakespeare, and the various poets (Auden, Eliot, Thomas, Ted Hughes) who read their own work. Other poets, such as Milton and John Donne, are read well, but, not surprisingly, without quite the flair Gielgud delivers. In the second category are works such as Boris Karloff reading Rudyard Kipling. Each individual rendition is interesting and well done, but the collection does not form a unified whole. G.T.B. © AudioFile 2002, Portland, Maine [Published: JUN/JUL 02]