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Mark Van Doren

Mark Van Doren reads at Columbia University for The Speech Lab Recordings, c. 1935

Collection editor: Chris Mustazza

These recordings were originally made on aluminum records, as part of one of the first poetry audio archives, The Speech Lab Recordings, edited by Columbia professors W. Cabell Greet and George W. Hibbitt. Mark Van Doren was also affiliated with the production the series. These digitizations are made from reel-to-reel dubs of the aluminum records, made by the Library of Congress in 1978. For more information on this series of recordings, see Mustazza on The Contemporary Poets Series in Jacket2.

Grateful acknowledgement is made to the Columbia Rare Book and Manuscript Library, where the Speech Lab Recordings are stored.

  1. Civil War (1:58) MP3
  2. Man With Globe (0:44)MP3
  3. Above the Battle (Fragment) (0:33)MP3
  4. Above the Battle (2:08)MP3

From The Spoken Arts Treasury, 1960

  1. Introduction (1:38): MP3
  2. Morning Worship (2:11): MP3
  3. Dunce Songs (5:41): MP3
  4. Men Do Not Leave Things So (1:06): MP3
  5. Get Up, I Say (0:35): MP3

Mark Van Doren reads from his Collected and New Poems (Folkways Records, No. FL9782, recorded in 1967)

  1. O World / Morning Worship / Prophet (3:11): MP3
  2. Undersong (4:40): MP3
  3. The God of Galaxies / He Loves Me / The Bird Desire (3:21): MP3
  4. Sonnet XXVIII / Soft, Soft, Soft / My Poor Love (2:46): MP3
  5. The Sign in the Sky / Unresponsive / Woman of Few Words (2:47): MP3
  6. The Deepest Dream / Born Brothers / Dialogue in December (2:50): MP3
  7. Civil War / This Amber Sunstream (3:11): MP3
  8. The Child at Winter Sunset / After Dry Weather / To a Child with Eyes / Goodnight (3:20): MP3
  9. The Plague / Family Prime / Homer, Sidney, Philo / He's Coming (3:51): MP3
  10. The First Snow of the Year / Sleep, Grandmother (3:14): MP3
  11. Dunce Songs (5:16): MP3
  12. When The World Ends / Epitaph / Farewell and Thanksgiving (1:47): MP3

* Folkways

liner notes from the album: "Mark Van Doren: Collected and New Poems (PDF)

Mark Van Doren: Potrait of a Poet, 1994

film by Adam Van Doren
Mirror URL via media.SAS: MP4


Mark Van Doren on PennSound Daily


These sound recordings are being made available for noncommercial and educational use only. All rights to this recorded material belong to the literary estate of Mark Van Doren, represented by Charles Van Doren. © 2007 Estate of Mark Van Doren. Used with permission of Charles Van Doren. Distributed by PennSound. Grateful acknowledgement is made to the Smithsonian Institution, where the Folkways Records recordings are archived.