THE GREAT POETS: JOHN MASEFIELD Selections

This appears to be the first recording of a Masefield collection since the poet's own LPs in the late 1950s and early '60s. The now unfashionable long narrative poems are only excerpted here, but the selection of Masefield's shorter works is well considered. It includes "Sea Fever," of course, but there's a great range of tone in the rest. Ronald Pickup finds the right voice for each type of poem--from the rough countryman for "Saul Kane's Madness" to the elegiac note of the WWI sonnets. The arrangement is (with one exception) chronological, so the listener can follow the evolution of this UK poet laureate's work and style. D.M.H. © AudioFile 2014, Portland, Maine [Published: MAY 2014]