Poetry bestsellers

The Odyssey

Penguin Audio Classics

By: Homer
Narrated by: Ian McKellen
Length: 13 hours 3 minutes

“Homer's Odyssey was always meant to be heard, not read. This is the best translation with the best reader. Accept no substitutes. Read more

Beowulf: A New Translation

By: Maria Dahvana Headley
Narrated by: JD Jackson & Maria Dahvana Headley
Length: 4 hours 8 minutes

“Bro! This is not your English teacher's Beowulf. Maria Dahvana Headley's "radical new translation" takes the familiar story of man versus monster and turns it into something both completely new and also as timeless as the original. What happens when Beowulf is less hero and more party boy? Or when Grendel's mother isn't a monster but just a... Read more

Devotions

The Selected Poems of Mary Oliver

By: Mary Oliver
Narrated by: Kimberly Farr
Length: 6 hours 21 minutes

“Reading any collection of beautiful poetry in a short period of time is immersive, dare I say life-altering. Reading Devotions is somehow more intimate than even that. Oliver’s way of viewing the world is so crystal-clear, so inviting. Every poem is like taking a step outside and breathing in a lungful of crisp, clean, cold air. Her way of... Read more

The Iliad

The Fitzgerald Translation

By: Homer
Narrated by: Dan Stevens
Length: 13 hours 59 minutes

Since it was first published more than forty years ago, Robert Fitzgerald's prizewinning translation of Homer's battle epic has become a classic in its own right: a standard against which all other versions of The Iliad are compared. This definitive translation of Homer's epic is timeless in its authority and always fresh in its vivid rendering... Read more about The Iliad

Time Is a Mother

By: Ocean Vuong
Narrated by: Ocean Vuong
Length: 1 hour 43 minutes

“I was stunned by Vuong’s gorgeous prose and raw revelations. Time is a Mother was an intense experience. The audiobook is less that two hours, but I have spent days thinking about Vuong’s words. I highly recommend this incredible poetry collection. Read more

The Iliad

By: Homer
Narrated by: Jeff Harding
Length: 20 hours 32 minutes

The Iliad is an epic Greek poem written by philosopher Homer, and is considered one of the oldest pieces of western literature still in existence. The story takes place during the last weeks of the ten year Trojan War, with a focus on the quarrels between King Agamemnon and the legendary warrior Achilles. However, this tale's most famous scene... Read more about The Iliad

The People's Project

Poems, Essays, and Art for Looking Forward

By: Saeed Jones & Maggie Smith
Narrated by: Hala Alyan, Victoria Chang, Tiana Clark, Jill Damatac, Mieko Gavia, Aubrey Hirsch, Mira Jacob, Kay Jones, Randall Mann, Abi Maxwell, Koritha Mitchell, André Santana & Jason Silverstein
Length: 1 hour 51 minutes

“A slim volume, but not one meant to be read in one sitting. Rather, this is a book to pick up to fortify yourself as needed and repeat. Saeed Jones and Maggie Smith have assembled some of our most talented living writers, people of color and white, queer and straight, transgender and cis, immigrants, Native Americans, parents, who have offered... Read more

The Totally Not Boring Book of Feelings

By: Jolie Taylor & Brandon Dorman
Narrated by: Jolie Taylor
Length: 50 minutes

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 about The Totally Not Boring Book of Feelings

Any Man

A Novel

By: Amber Tamblyn
Narrated by: Glenn Davis, Ben Foster, Marc Maron, Jason Ritter, John Roberts, Russ Tamblyn, Amber Tamblyn, January LaVoy, Phoebe Strole, Robin Miles, Therese Plummer, Dan Bittner, James Fouhey & Michael Crouch
Length: 4 hours 33 minutes

In this electric and provocative debut novel, Tamblyn blends genres of poetry, prose, and elements of suspense to give shape to the shocking narratives of victims of sexual violence, mapping the destructive ways in which our society perpetuates rape culture, brilliantly brought to life through a multi-voice performance featuring Glenn Davis, Ben... Read more about Any Man

Deep Wheel Orcadia

Winner of the 2022 Arthur C Clarke Award

By: Harry Josephine Giles
Narrated by: Harry Josephine Giles
Length: 4 hours 39 minutes

Please note, this audio edition alternates between sections written and performed in the Orkney dialect, and their English translations.

Astrid is returning home from art school on Mars, looking for inspiration. Darling is fleeing a life that never fit, searching for somewhere to hide. They meet on Deep Wheel Orcadia, a distant space station... Read more about Deep Wheel Orcadia

The Poetic Edda

By: Anonymous
Narrated by: Gunnar Cauthery
Length: 8 hours 4 minutes

The Poetic Edda is the most important collection of Norse-Icelandic mythological and heroic poetry, covering the creation of the world and the coming of Ragnarok, The Doom of the Gods. The mythological poems are an exploration of the wisdom of gods and giants, and tell of the adventures of the god Thor, against hostile giants, and rivalries... Read more about The Poetic Edda

A Rare Recording of Mary Oliver Reading Her Own Poetry

By: Mary Oliver
Narrated by: Mary Oliver
Length: 42 minutes

Mary Jane Oliver (September 10, 1935 - January 17, 2019), from Maple Heights, OH, was an American poet who won the Pulitzer Prize in 1984 and the National Book Award in 1992. She found inspiration for her work in nature and had a lifelong habit of solitary walks in the wild. Her poetry is characterized by wonderment at the natural environment,... Read more about A Rare Recording of Mary Oliver Reading Her Own Poetry

Leaves of Grass

By: Walt Whitman
Narrated by: Mel Foster
Length: 15 hours 55 minutes

Abraham Lincoln read it with approval, but Emily Dickinson described its bold language and themes as "disgraceful." And Ralph Waldo Emerson found Leaves of Grass "the most extraordinary piece of wit and wisdom that America has yet contributed," calling it a "combination of the Bhagavad Gita and the New York Herald." Published at the author's own... Read more about Leaves of Grass

Poems & Prayers: Matthew McConaughey's brand new inspirational book

By: Matthew McConaughey
Narrated by: Matthew McConaughey
Length: 2 hours 11 minutes

From the Academy Award-winning actor and #1 New York Times bestselling author of Greenlights comes an inspiring, faith-filled, and often hilarious collection of personal poetry and prayers about navigating the rodeo of life and chasing down the original dream, belief.

My prayers are my poems are my prayers.

I've always relied on logic to make... Read more about Poems & Prayers: Matthew McConaughey's brand new inspirational book

Intentions of Thunder

By: Patricia Smith
Narrated by: Patricia Smith
Length: 7 hours 50 minutes

WINNER OF THE 2025 NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FOR POETRY

“Patricia Smith is the greatest living poet. Every book is better than the last.” —Danez Smith, The Guardian

A collection of the finest new and selected poems from one of the most groundbreaking voices in contemporary poetry, a “masterful performer and poet of voices too little heard” (Poetry... Read more about Intentions of Thunder

Carnival of the Animals

By: Ogden Nash
Narrated by: Ted Danson
Length: 26 minutes

This star-studded rendition of Ogden Nash's humorous verses—backed by a full-orchestra performance of Saint-Saëns' Carnival of the Animals—will surely delight adults and children of all ages. A great way to introduce children to classical music, youngsters will enjoy the animal depictions in the sounds of Saint-Saëns' composition. Performed by a... Read more about Carnival of the Animals

The Collected Works of Billy the Kid

By: Michael Ondaatje
Narrated by: Nathan Osgood
Length: 2 hours 26 minutes

Drawing on contemporary accounts, period photographs, dime novels, and his own prodigious fund of empathy and imagination, Michael Ondaatje's visionary novel traces the legendary outlaw's passage across the blasted landscape of 1880 New Mexico and the collective unconscious of his country. The Collected Works of Billy the Kid is a virtuoso... Read more about The Collected Works of Billy the Kid

Ruin the Sacred Truths

Poetry and Belief from the Bible to the Present

By: Harold Bloom
Narrated by: Mort Crim
Length: 7 hours 11 minutes

Harold Bloom surveys with majestic view the literature of the West from the Old Testament to Samuel Beckett. He provocatively rereads the Yahwist (or "J") writer, Jeremiah, Job, Jonah, the Illiad, the Aeneid, Dante's Divine Comedy, Hamlet, King Lear, Othello, the Henry IV plays, Paradise Lost, Blake's Milton, Wordsworth's Prelude, and works by... Read more about Ruin the Sacred Truths

The Poetry of Rudyard Kipling

By: Rudyard Kipling
Narrated by: David Philo
Length: 44 minutes

A collection of Rudyard Kipling's finest poetry read by David Philo, Christopher Hassall, Emma Topping and Rudyard Kipling himself. Read more about The Poetry of Rudyard Kipling

A Child's Garden of Verses

By: Robert Louis Stevenson
Narrated by: Terah Tucker
Length: 1 hour

This collection of 64 short poems has become a classic work of children’s literature. The poems are written from the point of view of a child. The author brilliantly recaptures the magical world of childhood innocence, in which the most mundane of experiences can become a source of wonder. Read more about A Child's Garden of Verses

The Poet Empress

The instant Sunday Times bestseller and BBC Radio 2 Book Club pick perfect for fans of R.F. Kuang and Madeline Miller

By: Shen Tao
Narrated by: Eric Yang & Katharine Chin
Length: 15 hours 42 minutes

*THE INSTANT SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER*
*A BBC RADIO 2 BOOK CLUB PICK*

'An impressive debut with real psychological depth' THE GUARDIAN
'Richly imagined and politically driven' THE I PAPER
'In a class of its own' THE DAILY MAIL
'It now holds a standard for fantasy standalones' GRIMDARK MAGAZINE
'An epic world of literomancy and magical dynasty'... Read more about The Poet Empress

Falling Back in Love with Being Human

Letters to Lost Souls

By: Kai Cheng Thom
Narrated by: Kai Cheng Thom
Length: 1 hour 34 minutes

“A perfect, poetic work of art by an imperfect, beautiful person. Do the audiobook version if you can. Her performance and words make you feel all the things. Read more

Sing a Black Girl's Song

The Unpublished Work of Ntozake Shange

By: Ntozake Shange
Narrated by: Alfre Woodard, D. Woods, Regina Taylor, Lynn Whitfield, Okwui Okpokwasili, Ifa Bayeza, Imani Perry, Robin Miles, Tarana Burke & Savannah Shange
Length: 9 hours 9 minutes

“Ntozake Shange, author of the seminal for colored girls who have considered suicide/when the rainbow is enuf, was one of our greatest writers, and this collection, curated by editor Imani Perry, is a feast for those who have loved her work and love the literary word. Sing a Black Girl’s Song collects essays, poetry, and plays taken from... Read more

Paradise Lost

Penguin Classics

By: John Milton
Narrated by: Adrian Schiller
Length: 12 hours 39 minutes

Brought to you by Penguin.

This Penguin Classic is performed by Adrian Schiller.

In Paradise Lost Milton produced poem of epic scale, conjuring up a vast, awe-inspiring cosmos and ranging across huge tracts of space and time. And yet, in putting a charismatic Satan and naked Adam and Eve at the centre of this story, he also created an intensely... Read more about Paradise Lost

J vs. K

By: Kwame Alexander & Jerry Craft
Narrated by: Kwame Alexander & Jerry Craft
Length: 3 hours 31 minutes

“J and K reign supreme, top of the class! But when their school’s annual talent contest comes around, they know they’ll need to pull out all the stops. The question is: Can they stop sabotaging each other long enough to achieve greatness? I absolutely adored this funny, heartfelt story of creativity, competition, and friendship. Kwame Alexander... Read more

Helen of Troy, 1993

Poems

By: Maria Zoccola
Narrated by: Maria Zoccola
Length: 1 hour 50 minutes

“When I say there is something for every reader in this collection, I mean it. I could see myself on the dirt road following the high school football game, in the monotony of packed lunches, in the small town grocery stores. This debut collection not only perfectly captures growing up and life in a small town, but it adds a new and refreshing... Read more

The Hill We Climb

An Inaugural Poem for the Country

By: Amanda Gorman
Narrated by: Amanda Gorman & Oprah Winfrey
Length: 9 minutes

Amanda Gorman’s powerful and historic poem “The Hill We Climb,” read at President Joe Biden’s inauguration

“Stunning.” —CNN 
“Dynamic.” —NPR
“Deeply rousing and uplifting.” —Vogue


On January 20, 2021, Amanda Gorman became the sixth and youngest poet to deliver a poetry reading at a presidential inauguration. Taking the stage... Read more about The Hill We Climb

The Iliad

A New Translation by Caroline Alexander

By: Homer & Caroline Alexander
Narrated by: Dominic Keating
Length: 19 hours 46 minutes

With her virtuoso translation, classicist and bestselling author Caroline Alexander brings to life Homer’s timeless epic of the Trojan WarComposed around 730 B.C., Homer’s Iliad recounts the events of a few momentous weeks in the protracted ten-year war between the invading Achaeans, or Greeks, and the Trojans in their besieged city of Ilion.... Read more about The Iliad

Tao Te Ching

A New English Version

By: Stephen Mitchell & Lao Tzu
Narrated by: Stephen Mitchell
Length: 1 hour 41 minutes

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 about Tao Te Ching

Fierce Fairytales

Poems and Stories to Stir Your Soul

By: Nikita Gill
Narrated by: Nikita Gill
Length: 2 hours 44 minutes

“When I say listening to this was transcendent, know that I don't say such things lightly. The audiobook is narrated by the author herself, and it further reminded me that poetry is meant to be read aloud, to be listened to. To be spoken by the writers and consumed in the exact way they want you to. Reading poetry in your own voice, with your own... Read more

The Universe in Verse

15 Portals to Wonder through Science & Poetry

By: Maria Popova
Narrated by: Maria Popova & Lili Taylor
Length: 1 hour 28 minutes

“A dazzling constellation of science and poetry that will spark your curiosity and leave you in awe, The Universe in Verse sends us on a voyage through space and time on a vessel made of verse by Sylvia Plath, Maya Angelou, Tracy K. Smith, and more, about mycology and octopus intelligence, floriculture and the Hubble telescope, radioactivity and... Read more

Some Things I Still Can't Tell You

Poems

By: Misha Collins
Narrated by: Misha Collins
Length: 57 minutes

#1 PUBLISHERS WEEKLY BESTSELLER | USA TODAY Bestseller | NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER!

From Misha Collins, actor, longtime poet, and activist, whose massive online following calls itself his “Army For Good," comes his debut poetry collection, Some Things I Still Can't Tell You. Trademark wit and subtle vulnerability converge in each... Read more about Some Things I Still Can't Tell You

A Little Daylight Left

Poems

By: Sarah Kay
Narrated by: Sarah Kay
Length: 2 hours 23 minutes

“Sarah Kay’s poems are a balm and boon companion for those of us who often find ourselves “ever-clumsy footing through the haze of this humanness…” Read and return to this radiant book when life is unbearably messy and tender, and you’ll find a friend who will sit beside you and mirror the Little Daylight Yet into new prisms and perspectives.... Read more

A Fortune For Your Disaster

Poems

By: Hanif Abdurraqib
Narrated by: Hanif Abdurraqib
Length: 1 hour 36 minutes

“Hanif Abdurraquib’s powerful collection of poems explores the unending heartbreak of being black in America and how to find strength and self-actualization. Landscaped by graves, mirrors, and music these poems take the personal grief of being barked at by dogs and frames and re-frames those aggression into explorations on how our nation’s... Read more

I Still Believe in Miracles

Poems to Find Meaning in Difficult Times

By: Lucas Jones
Narrated by: Lucas Jones
Length: 1 hour 33 minutes

Brought to you by Penguin.

A collection of powerful contemporary poetry exploring themes of masculinity, love, grief and connection, from British poet and viral phenomenon Lucas Jones.

'You're here to make
All the wonder make sense
You're not the life -
You're the living itself'

How do you respond to fear, grief, heartbreak, war, loss, injustice and a... Read more about I Still Believe in Miracles

Call Us What We Carry

Poems

By: Amanda Gorman
Narrated by: Amanda Gorman
Length: 3 hours 32 minutes

The instant #1 New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today bestseller


The breakout poetry collection by #1 New York Times bestselling author and presidential inaugural poet Amanda Gorman

Formerly titled The Hill We Climb and Other Poems, the luminous poetry collection by #1 New York Times bestselling author and... Read more about Call Us What We Carry

At Blackwater Pond

Mary Oliver reads Mary Oliver

By: Mary Oliver
Narrated by: Mary Oliver
Length: 1 hour

Mary Oliver has published twenty-one volumes of poetry and six books of prose in the span of five decades, but she rarely performs her poetry in live readings. With At Blackwater Pond, Mary Oliver gives her audience what they've longed to hear: the poet's voice reading her own work. In this audio, she has recorded forty of her favorite... Read more about At Blackwater Pond

The Iliad - Abridged

Penguin Audio Classics

By: Homer
Narrated by: Derek Jacobi & Maria Tucci
Length: 8 hours 44 minutes

Dating to the ninth century BC, Homer’s timeless poem still vividly conveys the horror and heroism of men and gods wrestling with towering emotions and battling amidst devastation and destruction, as it moves inexorably to  the wrenching, tragic conclusion of the Trojan War. Renowned classicist Bernard Knox observes in his superb... Read more about The Iliad - Abridged

The Iliad

By: Homer
Narrated by: Vidish Athavale
Length: 21 hours 11 minutes

This translation of The Iliad equals Fitzgerald's earlier Odyssey in power and imagination. It recreates the original action as conceived by Homer, using fresh and flexible blank verse that is both lyrical and dramatic.


* This audiobook edition includes a downloadable PDF containing Notes on the Translation and Suggestions for Further Reading... Read more about The Iliad

Dog Show

Poems

By: Billy Collins
Narrated by: Billy Collins
Length: 39 minutes

“This lovely collection of poems, paying homage to our canine friends, is just perfect. Combined with the beautiful artwork of Pamela Sztybel, it’s truly a balm for the soul. I especially love “Trying to Write a Dog Poem In a House With Two Cats”. Read more

The Odyssey

By: Homer
Narrated by: Gordon Griffin
Length: 15 hours 28 minutes

The Odyssey is an epic poem, written by the ancient Greek Philosopher Homer, and is considered to be the second oldest piece of western literature still in existence. Scholars believe it was written at the end of the 8th century BC. Still heavily used in schools because of its unique literary makeup and historical value, the poems follow Greek... Read more about The Odyssey

The Thing About Falling

Poems

By: Tarriona Ball
Narrated by: Tarriona Ball
Length: 29 minutes

From Grammy award-winning spoken word artist and poet Tarriona ‘Tank’ Ball comes a powerful second collection of poetry about falling out of love and into a renewed sense of self.

After getting “vulnerable AF” on her 2021 book tour, Tank Ball realized she was truly ready to move on from her first love. In The Thing About Falling, she writes about... Read more about The Thing About Falling

Hekate

The Instant Sunday Times Bestseller from popular poet, Nikita Gill

By: Nikita Gill
Narrated by: Nikita Gill
Length: 6 hours 9 minutes

‘Atmospheric, engrossing, beautiful and sad, one of those books you find yourself wanting to be back inside when you’ve had to put it down' NATALIE HAYNES, author of A Thousand Ships and Stone Blind 
‘A vivid and imaginatively wrought divine world that is monstrous, magical and beautiful’ JENNIFER SAINT, bestselling author of Hera and... Read more about Hekate

An American Sunrise

Poems

By: Joy Harjo
Narrated by: Joy Harjo
Length: 1 hour 41 minutes

A stunning new volume from the first Native American Poet Laureate of the United States, informed by her tribal history and connection to the land.In the early 1800s, the Mvskoke people were forcibly removed from their original lands east of the Mississippi to Indian Territory, which is now part of Oklahoma. Two hundred years later, Joy Harjo... Read more about An American Sunrise

Milk and Honey

By: Rupi Kaur
Narrated by: Rupi Kaur
Length: 1 hour 19 minutes

“This is such a poetic/painful recollection of the female experience. Through early sexual abuse to navigating adult pair bonding, Kaur have compiled poems that feel like my own experiences. I’m sure others can relate to this as well - unifying her personal experiences with the readers. Read more

Troy

Our Greatest Story Retold

Stephen Fry’s Greek Myths: Book #3

By: Stephen Fry
Narrated by: Stephen Fry
Length: 11 hours 10 minutes

Brought to you by Penguin.

'An inimitable retelling of the siege of Troy . . . Fry's narrative, artfully humorous and rich in detail, breathes life and contemporary relevance into these ancient tales' -- Observer

THE #1 BESTSELLER.

AN EPIC BATTLE THAT LASTED TEN YEARS. A LEGENDARY STORY THAT HAS SURVIVED THOUSANDS.

'Troy. The most marvellous kingdom... Read more about Troy

The Canterbury Tales

Penguin Classics

By: Geoffrey Chaucer
Narrated by: Daniel Weyman, Derek Jacobi, Jay Bernard, Lesley Manville, Seroca Davis & Michael Balogun
Length: 16 hours 44 minutes

Brought to you by Penguin.

This Penguin Classic is performed by Lesley Manville (winner of the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actress and known for Phantom Thread and Mum), Derek Jacobi (winner of the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor and known for Gladiator and Gosford Park), Michael Balogun (known for National Theatre Live: Macbeth), Jay... Read more about The Canterbury Tales

You Are Here

Poetry in the Natural World

By: Ada Limon
Narrated by: Kim Ramirez
Length: 2 hours 12 minutes

In recent years, our poetic landscape has evolved in profound and exciting ways. So has our planet. Edited and introduced by the twenty-fourth Poet Laureate of the United States, Ada Limón, this book challenges what we think we know about "nature poetry," illuminating the myriad ways our landscapes—both literal and literary—are changing.



You Are... Read more about You Are Here

Cactus Pear For My Beloved

A Family Story from Gaza

By: Samah Sabawi
Narrated by: Samah Sabawi
Length: 11 hours 9 minutes

Samah Sabawi shares the story of her parents and many like them who were born as their parents were being forced to leave their homelands.

Filled with love for land, history, peoples it is more than anything else a family story and a love story told with enormous humanity and feeling. How the son (one of six), born at the height of the... Read more about Cactus Pear For My Beloved

The Hurting Kind

By: Ada Limón
Narrated by: Ada Limón
Length: 1 hour 42 minutes

“Ada Limon’s poetry is an experience unto itself, and The Hurting Kind is one of the most absorbing, rewarding collections of poetry I’ve ever heard. I loved getting pulled into the words and just listening, in the moment. If you’ve never heard Limon’s work before, do yourself a favor and listen to this book. Read more