Glimpses of Unfamiliar Japan is a collection of essays by Lafcadio Hearn detailing his first impressions of the country he found so fascinating he decided to stay there for the rest of his life. In these essays and recollections he expresses his curiosity, bewilderment, and marvel at Japanese tradition, culture and lifestyle. Lafcadio Hearn is best known as the most notable person to introduce Japan to the West. He produced about thirty works, including translations, retellings of folktales, and travelogues. - Summary by mlcui
26 episodes
In these 10 short and witty essays, author Charles S. Brooks (1878-1934) muses on various topics, as wide-ranging as Shakespeare, travelling to foreign countries, or even fashion (night-caps and hoopskirts), to name only a few. - Summary by Sonia
10 episodes
Diese Sammlungsreihe erscheint unregelmäßig und umfasst 10 verschiedene deutschsprachige Prosatexte.
Die Texte wurden von LibriVox-Freiwilligen selbst (nach ihrem Interesse und Geschmack) ausgewählt und können fiktive und nicht-fiktive Inhalte behandeln.
Die Voraussetzung für die Aufnahme in diese Sammlung ist, dass alle Urheberrechte (soweit bekannt) abgelaufen sind - die Lesevorlagen und Audiobeiträge sind gemeinfrei und in der Public Domain.
Wegen diesen Grundlagen muss man sich auch bewusst sein, dass keiner der eventuell vorkommenden Sachtexte den wissenschaftlichen Status quo darstellt! Sämtliche Inhalte können in Stimmung, Erörterungsweise, durch den "zufälligen Charakter" und die jeweilige historische Epoche stark variieren und sich von "modernen" Sichtweisen und Darstellungsweisen unterscheiden. Dafür findet man in diesen Sammlungen auch so manchen kulturellen "Schatz", nachdenklich machende Beiträge, historisch Interessantes und Autoren, die im Allgemeinen in Vergessenheit geraten sind.
Anmerkung: Für Jugendliche, instabile Gemüter und Menschen in kritischen Lebenssituationen gibt es bei manchen Texten eventuell Gesprächsbedarf! Bitte kontaktieren Sie Bekannte oder Familienmitglieder und nehmen Sie (für Sie passende) Hilfsangebote in Anspruch!
10 episodes
Hillaire Belloc of French by birth, British by naturalization was a diverse and prolific writer of the early 20th century. His writing runs the range from poetry, political writings and children’s stories. He was a close friend, and sometimes collaborator with fellow Catholic G.K. Chesterton.
This book is a collection of essays and other short writings on a vast array of subjects ranging from observations on the barber, the duel, reflections on war and religion. Some are in the form of drama, dialogue and letters but always engaging with wit and satire.
- Summary by Larry WilsonProof-listened by LynnJM and ADKreader
39 episodes
Simple and unpretentious as a statement by Francis d’Assisi, yet full of a gentle modern sophistication and humour, this little work will bring delight and refreshment to all who seek flight from the heavy-laden hour. It is, moreover, one of the most subtle and penetrating studies of the psychology of the dog that has ever been written—tender yet unsentimental, realistic and full of the detail of masterly observation and description, yet in its final form and precipitation a work of exquisite literary art. - Summary from the Foreword by Herman George Scheffauer
10 episodes
This is the 27th Coffee Break Collection, in which Librivox readers select and read poems, fiction and non-fiction pieces of fifteen minutes' duration or less. In honor of the Super Bowl, the subject for this collection is "Sports".
20 episodes
A selection of poems and short prose pieces grounded in the landscape, history and legends of Coniston in the English Lake District. W. G. Collingwood gave up a promising academic career as a young Oxford graduate to become John Ruskin's personal secretary, living at first in his home, Brantwood, at Coniston. In the spirit of self-sufficiency that typified their community, Collingwood first published these pieces in 'Nothing Much', a faimily magazine edited by his young children and circulated to friends by private subscription. - Summary by Phil Benson
12 episodes
La préface est écrite en 1906, par Marcel Proust, il s'agit de ce texte très célèbre et passionnant : "Sur la lecture". Puis suivent deux conférences de 1865 de John Ruskin avec en 01: Sésame, et, en 02 : Les lys., traduites en français par Marcel Proust en 1906.
Lecture, littérature, l’importance de lire, et aussi des propos sur l’éducation. De jolies références à La Bible, Shakespeare, W. Scott, La Chevalerie … etc... Notes de bas de pages non lues. ( Christiane Jehanne)
9 episodes
Louise Imogen Guiney, and American poet and essayist, here presents twenty essays with her characteristic wit and poetic flair and often a touch of satire on sometimes common topics such as the apple, the moon, mathematics and the garret, even the provocative "On Teaching One's Grandmother how to Suck Eggs." - Summary by Larry Wilson
20 episodes
Alice Meynell was an English essayist, critic, and poet who was also a leading suffragist, serving as vice-president of the Women Writers' Suffrage League. She and her husband Wilfrid Meynell were active in publishing and editing literary works including helping to launch the first works of Francis Thompson, author of "Hound of Heaven." This is a diverse collection of essays ranging from reflections on The Sun, and The Flower to the literary figures of Oliver Wendell Holmes and James Russell Lowell. - Summary by Larry Wilson
20 episodes
Бесконечно преданный русской литературе, Юлий Айхенвальд видел писателя как уникальную личность и не признавал литературных школ и течений. Oн погиб в Париже, возвращаясь ночью от Набоковых погруженный в мысли о литературе, и попал под трамвай.
Эти очерки рассматривают только творчество, они не касаются биографических событий. Этот выпуск посвящен русским писателям конца XIX — начала XX вв.
A connoisseur of the Russian literature, Yuly Eichenwald wrote about writers as unique persons, and not as members of schools and movements. This installment is about the writers of the late 19-th - early 20th centuries. These essays focus on the oeuvre, not biographic events. - Summary by Mark Chulsky
36 episodes
Smoke Bellew, or really Jack London, leaves his less than satisfying writing job in San Francisco for the opportunity to search for gold in the Klondike region while writing about his adventures there. Smoke Bellew is the collection of the resulting twelve essay / stories.
19 episodes
This collection of articles came from Mark Twain's travels and experiences abroad. While many had been previously published, there also were many that had never before seen the light of day...which one reviewer said had never been Twain's intent for them, having consigned them to obscurity. With introductory essays by Brander Matthews and Albert Bigelow Paine, the book paints a clear picture of the complexity and wide variety of Samuel L. Clemens' thinking, where it originated and how it developed.
38 episodes
Alice Meynell was an English essayist, critic, and poet who was also a leading suffragist, serving as vice-president of the Women Writers' Suffrage League, She and her husband Wilfrid Meynell were active in publishing and editing literary works including helping to launch the first works of Francis Thompson, author of "Hound of Heaven." The Meynell's later converted to Roman Catholicism. In this volume, In this volume Meynell offers her impressions on some of the best known literary figures of her day including Charles Dickens, Tennyson.and the Bronte sisters. - Summary by Larry Wilson
6 episodes
These selections from the works of Mark Twain are presented in chronological order. They include the memorable whitewashing of the fence in "Tom Sawyer", events preceding the Mississippi River raft journey in "Huckleberry Finn", a dark moment during the exchange of identities in “The Prince and the Pauper”, and reflections of “A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court”. A critic wrote of another excerpt concerning a feud, "...as dramatic and powerful an episode as I know in modern literature." Also included are comments about travel abroad, Joan of Arc, a generous helping of Twain’s renowned quips, and mortality. (Lee Smalley)
19 episodes
This year is the 15th anniversary of our beloved LibriVox. The readings in this collection celebrate that "bunch of volunteers" who make up the worldwide LibriVox community. The readings are held together by their connection to the number "15." The collection is multilingual. Readings can be in any language. The selections, which are chosen by the readers, include fiction, nonfiction, poems, short stories, and articles. - Summary by KevinS
31 episodes
Twenty short nonfiction works chosen by the readers. "Our constitution is color-blind... the law regards man as man and takes no account of his surroundings or of his color when his civil rights...are involved." Justice Harlan's eloquent defense of equal rights for Black citizens in his 1866 dissent to Plessy v. Ferguson is one of several Vol. 076 selections which explore social issues and politics: John Adams; Gettysburg Address; Civil Rights Bill (1866); First Philippic of Demosthenes; Manifesto of the Humanitarian League; and Acadian Reminiscences. The multitudinal dimensions of human diversity are displayed in other selections: On Leveling from Amiel's Journal; Sufism; The Discovery of Witches; The Cruise of the Wasp; Nanook of the North; Fossil Hunting in the Permian of Texas; The Nation's Capital: What to See; Underground London; Poisons Used by Ancient Races; Genetically Engineered Crops; and Recipes for Ice Creams and Ices. Summary by Sue Anderson.
20 episodes
This first collection of the correspondence of Oscar Wilde begins with the Irish playwright's earliest extant letter, thanking his mother for the hamper she had sent to him at school. It includes letters about his travels in Italy, his American lecture tour, the staging of his first play (Vera, or the Nihilists), arrangements for the publication of a friend's poetry collection, and exchanges in the press with artist James McNeill Whistler. The letters, some of which have been excerpted or redacted, are sourced from auction catalogues, newspapers, biographies, and other texts in the public domain. For a complete collection of Wilde's letters, please see "The Complete Letters of Oscar Wilde," (2000) edited by Merlin Holland and Rupert Hart-Davis. - Summary by Rob Marland
57 episodes
Enoch Arnold Bennett (1867 – 1931) was an English writer. He is best known as a novelist, but he also worked in other fields such as journalism, propaganda and film. In 1911 Bennett paid a financially rewarding visit to the US, which he later recorded in this 1912 book Those United States in England; titled Your United States in America. He is a keen observer with an entertaining dry wit.- Summary by David Wales
8 episodes
