Poetry audiobooks

The Odyssey

By: Homer

Narrated by: Ian McKellen

Length: 13 hours 2 minutes

Abridged: No

The Odyssey is literature's grandest evocation of every man's journey through life. In the myths and legends that are retold here, the energy and poetry of Homer's original is captured in a bold, contemporary idiom, giving us an edition of The Odyssey that is a joy to listen to, worth savoring treasuring for its sheer lyrical mastery. This... Read more

Beowulf: A New Translation

By: Maria Dahvana Headley

Narrated by: JD Jackson & Maria Dahvana Headley

Length: 4 hours 8 minutes

Abridged: No

"Narrator JD Jackson addresses his listener as "bro" in this decidedly contemporary retelling of the classic saga...His brilliant performance captures all the artistry, wit, and immediacy of this fresh translation, and breathes new life into what for most has been a literary fossil." -- AudioFile Magazine, Earphones Award winner

A new,... Read more

Now We Are Six

By: A. A. Milne

Narrated by: Joel Froomkin

Length: 1 hour

Abridged: No

This second collection of poems from A. A. Milne includes works such as Furry Bear, Sneezles, and Buttercup Days as well as an appearance by the beloved children's character Winnie-the-Pooh. With gentle humor and whimsical lines, Now We Are Six is perfect for anyone—whether you're six or sixty-six. Read more

Falling Back in Love with Being Human

By: Kai Cheng Thom

Narrated by: Kai Cheng Thom

Length: 1 hour 34 minutes

Abridged: No

A national bestseller in Canada, hailed by The New York Times as an “intimate expression of self-acceptance and forgiveness, tenderly written to fellow trans women and others.”

“Required reading.”—Glennon Doyle, #1 bestselling author of Untamed

A THEM AND AUTOSTRADDLE BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR • FINALIST FOR THE PAT LOWTHER MEMORIAL AWARD

What happens... Read more

The Totally Not Boring Book of Feelings

By: Jolie Taylor & Brandon Dorman

Narrated by: Jolie Taylor

Length: 50 minutes

Abridged: No

40 fun poems that explore big feelings and emotions. This whimsical journey through verse and illustrations can help children recognize and understand their big emotions. From the imaginative minds of Brandon Dorman, renowned illustrator of Goosebumps, Land of Stories, and Fablehaven, and Booktok creator Jolie Taylor comes a whimsical... Read more

The Iliad

By: Homer & Emily Wilson (Translator)

Narrated by: Nathan Brooks

Length: 15 hours 30 minutes

Abridged: No

"The Iliad," attributed to Homer, is an epic poem from the 8th century BC that centers on the dramatic events of the Trojan War. The narrative particularly focuses on the wrath of Achilles, a Greek hero, and explores themes of honor, glory, and the relationship between mortals and deities. This work is often regarded as one of the cornerstones... Read more

Goldenrod

By: Maggie Smith

Narrated by: Maggie Smith

Length: 1 hour 5 minutes

Abridged: No

NATIONAL BESTSELLER * NAMED A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR BY NPR

“To read Maggie Smith is to embrace the achingly precious beauty of the present moment.” —Time
“A captivating collection from a wise, accessible poet.” —People

From the award-winning poet and bestselling author of You Could Make This Place Beautiful, Keep Moving, and Good Bones, a... Read more

Dear Girl

By: Aija Mayrock

Narrated by: Aija Mayrock

Length: 44 minutes

Abridged: No

From a poet and celebrated spoken-word performer comes a debut poetry collection that takes readers on an empowering, lyrical journey exploring truth, silence, wounds, healing, and the resilience we all share.

Dear Girl is a journey from girlhood to womanhood through poetry
It is the search for truth in silence
The freeing of the tongue
It is... Read more

Tao Te Ching

By: Stephen Mitchell & Lao Tzu

Narrated by: Stephen Mitchell

Length: 1 hour 40 minutes

Abridged: No

In 81 brief chapters, Lao-Tzu's Tao Te Ching, or Book of the Way, provides advice that imparts balance and perspective, a serene and generous spirit, and teaches us how to work for the good with the effortless skill that comes from being in accord with the Tao—the basic principle of the universe. Stephen Mitchell's bestselling version has been... Read more

The Divine Comedy

By: Dante Alighieri

Narrated by: Kristin Atherton, Jot Davies & Robin Kirkpatrick

Length: 17 hours 16 minutes

Abridged: No

Brought to you by Penguin

The Divine Comedy describes Dante's descent into Hell with Virgil as a guide; his ascent of Mount Purgatory and encounter with his dead love, Beatrice; and finally, his arrival in Heaven. Examining questions of faith, desire and enlightenment, the poem is a brilliantly nuanced and moving allegory of human redemption.... Read more

44 Poems on Being with Each Other

By: Pádraig Ó Tuama

Narrated by: Pádraig Ó Tuama

Length: 8 hours 7 minutes

Abridged: No

This celebratory anthology explores human connection through forty-four poems curated by Pádraig Ó Tuama, the host of On Being's Poetry Unbound podcast.



44 Poems on Being with Each Other is a new volume that offers immersive reflections on the human connection. With an observant eye, Pádraig Ó Tuama shares an enlightening meditation on each poem,... Read more

The Poems of T.S. Eliot Read by Jeremy Irons

By: T. S. Eliot

Narrated by: Jeremy Irons

Length: 3 hours 40 minutes

Abridged: No

Originally broadcast on BBC Radio 4, Jeremy Irons's perceptive reading illuminates the poetry of T. S. Eliot in all its complexity. Major poems range from 'The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock', through the post-war desolation of 'The Waste Land' and the spiritual struggle of 'Ash-Wednesday', to the enduring charm of 'Old Possum's Book of... Read more

The Carrying

By: Ada Limón

Narrated by: Ada Limón

Length: 1 hour 39 minutes

Abridged: No

WINNER OF THE NATIONAL BOOK CRITICS CIRCLE AWARDFINALIST FOR THE PEN/JEAN STEIN BOOK AWARDFrom U.S. Poet Laureate Ada Limón comes The Carrying—her most powerful collection yet.
Vulnerable, tender, acute, these are serious poems, brave poems, exploring with honesty the ambiguous moment between the rapture of youth and the grace of acceptance. A... Read more

Promises of Gold

By: José Olivarez

Narrated by: José Olivarez

Length: 5 hours 42 minutes

Abridged: No

"Listeners are privy to Olivarez framing each poem with rays of insight, to interspersed live recordings and selections recorded only for the audio....Olivarez gifts listeners gems of healing in this poetic affirmation of community and love." - Booklist

"A portion of the audiobook is performed in front of a live audience, which is such a smart... Read more

Book of Longing

By: Leonard Cohen

Narrated by: Leonard Cohen

Length: 3 hours 11 minutes

Abridged: No

“Book of Longing has exceptional range. It is clear yet steamy, cosmic yet private, both playful and profound.”—New York TimesLeonard Cohen wrote the poems in Book of Longing—his first book of poetry in more than twenty years after 1984's Book of Mercy—during his five-year stay at a Zen monastery on Southern California's Mount Baldy, and in Los... Read more

Helen of Troy, 1993

By: Maria Zoccola

Narrated by: Maria Zoccola

Length: 1 hour 50 minutes

Abridged: No

*A New York Times Book Review Editors’ Choice Pick*

“By turns hilarious and provocative, it’s an affecting character study and modern mythic retelling.” —Publishers Weekly, Books That Should Be on Your Radar in 2025

Part myth retelling, part character study, this sharp, visceral debut poetry collection reimagines Helen of Troy from Homer’s... Read more

The World Keeps Ending, and the World Goes On

By: Franny Choi

Narrated by: Franny Choi

Length: 1 hour 59 minutes

Abridged: No

From acclaimed poet Franny Choi comes a poetry collection for the ends of worlds—past, present, and future. Choi’s third book features poems about historical and impending apocalypses, alongside musings on our responsibilities to each other and visions for our collective survival.Many have called our time dystopian. But The World Keeps Ending,... Read more

Time Is a Mother

By: Ocean Vuong

Narrated by: Ocean Vuong

Length: 1 hour 43 minutes

Abridged: No

"Take your time with these poems, and return to them often.” —The Washington Post

The New York Times-bestselling collection of poems from the award-winning writer Ocean Vuong

How else do we return to ourselves but to fold
The page so it points to the good part
 
In this deeply intimate second poetry collection, Ocean Vuong searches for life among... Read more

A Fortune For Your Disaster

By: Hanif Abdurraqib

Narrated by: Hanif Abdurraqib

Length: 1 hour 36 minutes

Abridged: No

In his much-anticipated follow-up to The Crown Ain't Worth Much, poet, essayist, biographer, and music critic Hanif Abdurraqib has written a book of poems about how one rebuilds oneself after a heartbreak, the kind that renders them a different version of themselves than the one they knew. It's a book about a mother's death, and admitting that... Read more

How to Be a Good Savage and Other Poems

By: Mikeas Sánchez

Narrated by: Mikeas Sánchez, Wendy Call & Shook

Length: 3 hours 47 minutes

Abridged: No

The latest in the Seedbank series, the debut in English of a groundbreaking Indigenous poet of the Americas.In a fiercely personal yet authoritative voice, prolific contemporary poet Mikeas Sánchez explores the worldview of the Zoque people of southern Mexico. Her paced, steely lyrics fuse cosmology, lineage, feminism, and environmental activism... Read more

The Hurting Kind

By: Ada Limón

Narrated by: Ada Limón

Length: 1 hour 41 minutes

Abridged: No

An astonishing collection about interconnectedness—between the human and nonhuman, ancestors and ourselves—from National Book Critics Circle Award winner, National Book Award finalist and U.S. Poet Laureate Ada Limón.“I have always been too sensitive, a weeper / from a long line of weepers,” writes Limón. “I am the hurting kind.” What does it... Read more

Couplets

By: Maggie Millner

Narrated by: Maggie Millner

Length: 1 hour 29 minutes

Abridged: No

A dazzling love story in poems about one woman’s coming-out, coming-of-age, and coming undone.A woman lives an ordinary life in Brooklyn. She has a boyfriend. They share a cat. She writes poems in the prevailing style. She also has dreams: of being seduced by a throng of older women, of kissing a friend in a dorm-room closet. But the dreams are... Read more

Small Cures

By: Della Hicks-Wilson

Narrated by: Della Hicks-Wilson

Length: 41 minutes

Abridged: No

From the British viral poet Della Hicks-Wilson comes an empowering and lyrical collection of short, interconnected poems about the heart, letting go, and a healing love, that readers can carry and quote for a lifetime.
Small Cures is at once a compelling reminder to anyone struggling with heartbreak, mental health, or trauma, that they are not... Read more

Catalog of Unabashed Gratitude

By: Ross Gay

Narrated by: Ross Gay

Length: 1 hour 35 minutes

Abridged: No

Winner, 2015 National Book Critics Circle Award, poetry category
Winner, 2016 Kingsley Tufts Poetry Prize
Finalist, 2015 National Book Award, poetry category
Finalist, 2015 NAACP Image Awards, poetry category

Catalog of Unabashed Gratitude is a sustained meditation on that which goes away—loved ones, the seasons, the earth as we know it—that... Read more