Directed by narrator V. C. Clinton-Baddeley, who worked with W. B. Yeats for the original BBC broadcast of his poetry in 1937, side one of this 1958 recording contains the Yeats’ classics “Sailing to Byzantium” and “An Irish Airman Foresees His Death.” Side two features three poems by Thomas Hardy—at the time known more for his novels than for poetry—along with writing from Robert Graves, Poet Laureate Cecil Day-Lewis (who also reads on the album), Walter de la Mare, and Gerard Manley Hopkins.

Track Listing