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Readings

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Readings

Three Translations of Goethe and an Original Musical Setting for One of Them, by James A. Tweedie

The Society
November 15, 2020
Beauty, Culture, Music, Poetry, Readings, Translation
15 Comments
  Introductory Note These paraphrased translations represent three short poems composed by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, a person so well-known that I will pass on offering a biography and only note that he...

‘Poem for the Second Inauguration of President Donald J. Trump’ by Joseph Charles MacKenzie

The Society
November 7, 2020
Beauty, Culture, Deconstructing Communism, Poetry, Readings
17 Comments
originally published on November 2, 2020 on MacKenzie Lyric Poetry Where shall they hide now, the merchants of death, Who cloaked our eyes and robbed our throats of voice, Who muzzled minds and sought to...

‘Vote Joe’ by Wortley Clutterbuck

The Society
September 6, 2020
Deconstructing Communism, Humor, Poetry, Readings
3 Comments
    There’s lots of riots in the street or so I’ve heard from someone’s tweet; they’re pulling out all of the stops, those young people who fight the cops; I see the photos in...

Poetry Readings from 2020 SCP Symposium – ‘A Celebration of Meter and Rhyme’ (Session II)

The Society
July 28, 2020
Children's, From the Society, Poetry, Readings, Symposium, Video
1 Comment
All of the below poems were read on May 31, 2020 at The Society of Classical Poets Symposium, which was held online due to the pandemic. Below are poems from Session II....

‘Hidden in a Flyer’ by Daniel Magdalen, and Other Poetry on the Persecution of Falun Gong

The Society
July 20, 2020
Beauty, Deconstructing Communism, Human Rights in China, Poetry, Readings
12 Comments
on the 21st anniversary of the Chinese Communist Party's launching the persecution of the peaceful practice of Falun Gong on July 20, 1999   Hidden in a Flyer by Daniel Magdalen Slowing down my clockwork...
COVID 19 historical perspective

Documentary on Pandemic Features The Iliad and SCP Member

The Society
July 12, 2020
Coronavirus, Culture, Deconstructing Communism, Human Rights in China, Poetry, Readings, Video
6 Comments
...

A Poem in Tribute to Dame Vera Lynn (1917-2020), by Susan Jarvis Bryant

The Society
June 18, 2020
Beauty, Culture, Music, Poetry, Readings, Video
40 Comments
  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lZUryvFffTQ   Some Sunny Day A tribute to Dame Vera Lynn who died today, June 18, 2020 (aged 103). She was the British Forces' Sweetheart who sang to the...

Poetry Readings from 2020 SCP Symposium – ‘A Celebration of Meter and Rhyme’ (Session I)

The Society
June 17, 2020
From the Society, Poetry, Readings, Symposium, Video
All of the below poems were read on May 31, 2020 at The Society of Classical Poets Symposium, which was held online due to the pandemic. Below are poems from Session I. Session II readings are...

A Poem for the George Floyd Riots: ‘The Second Coming’ by W.B. Yeats

The Society
May 31, 2020
Culture, Poetry, Readings, Video
10 Comments
  Video and reading by Rob...

Friends of Falun Gong 2020 Poetry Contest Winners Announced

The Society
May 13, 2020
Culture, Deconstructing Communism, Human Rights in China, Poetry, Poetry Contests, Readings, Video
FIRST PLACE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F96xN0VV7JU The Virus and the Cure by Rob Crisell One hundred years of tyranny, One hundred years of pain and lies. If communists of China win, The...

A Reading of “I Wandered Lonely As a Cloud (Daffodils)” by William Wordsworth

The Society
May 10, 2020
Beauty, Poetry, Readings, Video
10 Comments
  https://youtu.be/bYg-ITiEEyM   "I Wandered Lonely As a Cloud," also known as "Daffodils," the poem by former British Poet Laureate William Wordsworth (1770-1850) read by the President of...

Online SCP Poetry Symposium 2020 – “A Celebration of Meter and Rhyme”

The Society
May 1, 2020
From the Society, Readings, Symposium
8 Comments
Due to the unprecedented circumstances regarding the CCP virus (COVID-19) pandemic, the Symposium has been moved online. The details of the event have been adjusted.   Sunday May 31, 2020 Session 1: 12...

Scots Translation and Poetry by George T. Watt for Tartan Day 2020

The Society
April 6, 2020
Beauty, Culture, Poetry, Readings, Translation
12 Comments
  The Last Bard o Scotland Translation by George T. Watt, frae the original by Joseph Charles MacKenzie Watters o Irvine an Annock, Ma saut tears mell wi the sautie ocean, Wast o Arran Isle...

A Poem Celebrating Tartan Day and 700th Anniversary of the Declaration of Arbroath

The Society
April 6, 2020
Beauty, Culture, Poetry, Readings, Translation
8 Comments
    Read by George T. Watt The Scrieve fae Arbroath Non enim propter gloriam, diuicias aut honores pugnamus set propter libertatem solummodo quam nemo bonus nisi simul cum vita amittit....

SCP Poetry Symposium 2020—“A Celebration of Meter and Rhyme”

The Society
March 6, 2020
From the Society, Poetry, Readings, Symposium
1 Comment
  NOTE: This event has been canceled due to the CCP virus (COVID-19) pandemic. A new online SCP Symposium has been planned. The details of the online symposium will be available here on May...

‘Edgar Allan Poe’s The Raven, Christmas Editition’ by Studio C

The Society
February 19, 2020
Culture, Holidays, Humor, Poetry, Readings, The Raven, Video
1 Comment
...

Poems for Christmas Day 2019

The Society
December 25, 2019
Beauty, Culture, Holidays, Music, Poetry, Readings
7 Comments
Come to Bethlehem / Silent Night   Song and Poem by James A. Tweedie Come to Bethlehem, come and see God stripped bare of majesty. Fragile as a flower; Emptied of might and power; Come to...

‘Sonnet XXXVIII: The Adoration of the Shepherds’ by Joseph Charles MacKenzie

The Society
December 24, 2019
Beauty, Culture, Holidays, Poetry, Readings
9 Comments
  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sA_UsvwgdQ8 Our nakedness was swaddled by the night, With Eden’s worn-out dust our feet were shod, When heaven opened and a being of light Announced that earth...

Review: The Secrets of Archery, by Alessio Zanelli, Greenwich Exchange, 2019

The Society
December 21, 2019
Beauty, Culture, Poetry, Readings
22 Comments
by James Sale Alessio Zanelli is a fascinating poet, and probably a fascinating man as well. This is his sixth collection of poems and part of his well-publicised and unique charm is that he is an Italian...

A Villanelle and Video by Joseph Charles MacKenzie

The Society
November 5, 2019
Beauty, Culture, Poetry, Readings, Video
originally published on MacKenzie Lyric Poetry Oh, run with the sun and the wind in your hair! Before the day-star sets in the west: Love flowers best in the wide, open air. Behold! The noon-tide waxes...

‘Mailied’ by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Translated and Read by David B. Gosselin

The Society
October 31, 2019
Beauty, Culture, Poetry, Readings, Translation
5 Comments
Mailied by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832) How brightly nature Shines this morning! What radiant sun! How the fields sing! The buds burst forth From each green frond! A thousand...

A Reading of Petrarch’s Sonnet No. 7, in Italian

The Society
October 11, 2019
Beauty, Culture, Poetry, Readings, Translation
23 Comments
  This recording was made by M. P. Lauretta for the Southend Poetry Group in August 2019.   Sonetto n. 7 dal Canzoniere di Francesco Petrarca La gola e ’l sonno e l’oziose piume hanno...

Joseph Charles MacKenzie’s Sonnet 5 Inspires the World of Pop (Video)

The Society
September 9, 2019
Beauty, Culture, News of Note, Poetry, Readings, Video
Originally published here. ALBUQUERQUE, NM — July 27, 2019 — Sonnet 5, a marriage poem from MacKenzie’s Sonnets for Christ the King, has inspired award-winning producer, composer, and vocalist D.G. Hall...

Bryant Park Poetry Reading: Two Poems by Theresa Rodriguez (Video)

The Society
September 4, 2019
Beauty, Culture, Deconstructing Communism, From the Society, Poetry, Readings, Video
9 Comments
...

SCP Symposium Readings (Videos): Joseph S. Salemi, James Sale, Adam Sedia, Michael C. Maibach

The Society
August 7, 2019
Beauty, Culture, From the Society, Humor, Poetry, Readings, Symposium, Video
...

Poems of Hibernia & Caledonia, by James A. Tweedie (with Audio)

The Society
August 1, 2019
Beauty, Culture, Music, Poetry, Readings
13 Comments
Poet's Note: These five sonnets and song are the product of a four-week journey taken in June to Ireland and through west central Scotland and the Inner and Outer Hebrides. Unlike the sonnets, the lyrics to...

Three Sonnets in an Antiquated Style by James A. Tweedie (with Audio)

The Society
July 13, 2019
Beauty, Culture, Love Poems, Poetry, Readings
11 Comments
Her Love for Him My true love laughs, and angel choirs sing; The mountains echo back his tuneful mirth While Nature dances, heav’n in step with earth. ‘Tis music to mine ear; mine heart takes...

‘The Loan’ and Other Poetry by Benjamin Daniel Lukey (with Audio)

The Society
July 11, 2019
Beauty, Culture, Poetry, Readings
7 Comments
A reading of the below poems by the poet:   The Loan a villanelle This life we hold so dear is but a loan. For good or ill, its balance must be spent, For life is not a thing that we can...

‘The Man Who Never Cries’ by David B. Gosselin (with Audio)

The Society
July 8, 2019
Beauty, Poetry, Readings
21 Comments
    The man who never cries is like the ship That never sailed, or left the sleepy shores, Who’s never felt the waves of peril whip Against his keel far off from peaceful...

On the 200th Anniversary of John Keats’ Odes (A Video Essay by Daniel Leach)

The Society
May 2, 2019
Poetry, Readings, Video
5 Comments
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f9LEnZ9T4F0&feature=youtu.be&app=desktop When I Have Fears That I May Cease to Be  by John Keats When I have fears that I may cease to be __Before my pen has...

Two Videos on the Reading of Poetry Out Loud

The Society
March 11, 2019
Beauty, Culture, Essays, Poetry, Readings, Video
5 Comments
The Bad The first video of Hannah Silva instructs us on the abyss that poetry reading has found itself in today. The irrationality and baseness of slam poetry has given way to experimental poetry that doesn't...

‘The Clockmaker’ by Benjamin Daniel Lukey

The Society
February 8, 2019
Beauty, Culture, Poetry, Readings
6 Comments
    When I was young, I’d disassemble clocks So I could understand what made them go. With tools in hand, and pieces in a box, I’d wonder, and I’d look, and then I’d know. But...

A Beginner’s Guide to Sapphic Verse (with Audio)

The Society
November 27, 2018
Essays, For Educators, Poetry, Poetry Forms, Readings
31 Comments
by James A. Tweedie My interest in Sapphic verse arose from a discussion thread on an SCP post some months ago. I researched the subject and decided to try my hand at it. Recently, I submitted my poem to...

‘The Swallows of La Cienega’ by Joseph Charles MacKenzie (with Audio)

The Society
October 12, 2018
Beauty, Poetry, Readings
92 Comments
  For Elizabeth La Cienega slept on a muted afternoon At old Las Golodrinas, when I spied a nest Of swallows beneath the age-worn latias, hewn By a hand that is gone with the days that were...

‘To the Class of 2018’ and Other Poetry by Benjamin Daniel Lukey

The Society
August 21, 2018
Beauty, Culture, Poetry, Readings
11 Comments
  Exodos, Prologos to the Class of 2018 In times uncertain, ask your truest friends For counsel, and take all they say to heart— But know that we are bound for different ends, And none but...

‘SonnetVision 27’ (Video) by Joseph Charles MacKenzie

The Society
June 21, 2018
Beauty, News of Note, Poetry, Readings, Video
9 Comments
Note: Joseph Charles MacKenzie would like to offer a 25% discount on the first edition hardcover of Sonnets for Christ the King to his fellow poets and readers of the Society of Classical Poets, in gratitude...

Video: A Reading of Sonnet 18 by William Shakespeare

The Society
June 14, 2018
Beauty, Culture, Music, Poetry, Readings, Video
A short film by Gleb Zavlanov. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VxnDmkKqaF4&feature=youtu.be Sonnet 18 Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day? Thou art more lovely and more temperate: Rough winds...

‘Canto 1’ by James Sale (with Video)

The Society
April 10, 2018
Beauty, Poetry, Readings, Video
71 Comments
Canto 1 is the provisional name for a sequence of 33 Cantos that James Sale is attempting to write in the style - and using the terza rima - of Dante. His aim is to create a contemporary epic of heaven and...

‘A Rounded Stone’ by Benjamin Daniel Lukey

The Society
April 3, 2018
Beauty, Poetry, Readings, Short Stories
5 Comments
    He pressed a rounded stone into my hand. He said, "Take care of this," and turned away To tend to things we needed for our trip: The boats, the lines, the paddles, and the...

‘I Know Why the Red Rose Weeps’ by David Bellemare Gosselin (with Audio)

The Society
April 2, 2018
Beauty, Poetry, Readings
11 Comments
  I know why the red rose weeps Why she hides her tears in dew As the summer breezes sweep From those seas of peaceful blue, And then like our dreams She fades with the morning dew. I know...
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