Description: The third installment of our exclusive The Voice of the Poet series, comprised of rare archival recordings -- some never before released -- featuring Randall Jarrell; an anthology of women poets: H.D., Edna St. Vincent Millay, Marianne Moore and Gertrude Stein; as well as current recordings by contemporary poet John Ashbery. Each audio production is accompanied by a book containing the text of the poems and a commentary by J.D. McClatchy.

H.D. (1886-1961) was born Hilda Doolittle in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. She attended Bryn Mawr and later the University of Pennsylvania where she befriended Ezra Pound and William Carlos Williams. In 1911, she traveled to Europe intending to stay only for a summer, but remained abroad for the rest of her life. Through Pound, she grew interested in and quickly became the leader of the Imagist movement. Her work is characterized by the intensity of her images, lavish use of language, and use of classical mythology.

Edna St. Vincent Millay (1892-1950) was born in Rockland, Maine and her first book of poetry appeared when she was just 25 years old. After graduating from Vassar, she moved to Greenwich Village where she led an uproarious bohemian life. Her subsequent books -- one of them was awarded the Pulitzer Prize -- were controversial for their description of female sexuality and feminism. Her canny romanticism has touched and puzzled the hearts of readers ever since.

Marianne Moore (1887-1972) was born and raised in St. Louis, Missouri. After moving to New York in her late twenties, she met other poets such as William Carlos Williams and Wallace Stevens, and began to contribute to the Dial. Among her many prizes were the Bollingen, the NationalBook Award, and the Pulitzer Prize. A famous eccentric, she wrote in a wholly individual way about the quirks of history and nature, and the quarrels of the heart. Her precision and her wisdom are legendary.

Gertrude Stein (1874-1946) After attending Radcliffe College, Gertrude Stein lived abroad, mostly in Paris, for the rest of her life, where her home became a cultural salon for writers and artists. Even among the Cubist painters who were her friends, her work stands out for its boldness and invention. She turned English on its head with results both witty and enigmatic. In addition to her poetry she wrote novels, memoirs, history, and libretti.

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