A Question

[abu nuwas]

I was speaking to-day with a very elderly lady, who has reams and reams of poetry by heart, and remains v sharp.

She was talking about 'Under Milk Wood', which I knew was written for the BBC (happy days!), and I had been speaking of Mucky Pig, and the wonderful audio stuff on here, which quite often brings poems to life for me, in a way I had never previously seen. She said, and seemed pretty sure, that this poem was actually written specifically for Richard Burton. Both Welsh, of course-- but is it true, or possible?

Separately, am I right in thinking that additions to these audio things have ceased?

[Leanne]

I don't know about the Richard Burton thing, but I kind of hope that's true as his voice was one of the most beautiful in the history of the universe (as far as I'm concerned).

As for additions... well, it takes a lot of time and they're not easy to find! We'll always be adding to the library (I think/hope) as it's quite important to highlight the fact that poetry is most often written to be read aloud as well as silently to oneself -- but housekeeping does require a quiet moment and those are sometimes in short supply

[abu nuwas]

Re Burton's voice - yes, I'd have married him myself!

Glad to hear that the audio thing has not halted, but I am sure there is a lot I have still to listen to, so it was more a long-term concern, really.

[billy]

the last question first.

i will be placing more audio stuff on the boards, but it will be individual poems (not by burton) we could have loads of libravox poetry but the voices kill the poetry i think.

the 2nd part, it's a nice thought. burtons voice could file steel .

[Leanne]

For anyone wanting to record poems, their own or someone else's (preferably out of copyright, so Big Brother doesn't get antsy), I suggest Soundcloud -- it's easy to use, you can upload files from your own computer or you can record straight onto the site. Post in Miscellaneous Poetry for your own stuff or if it's a famous poem, let a mod know and we'll post it in the reference section.

I think embedding Soundcloud files is disallowed for regular users but send me a PM and I can easily do it for you.

Sound adds a whole new dimension to poetry.

[abu nuwas]

For anyone wanting to record poems, their own or someone else's (preferably out of copyright, so Big Brother doesn't get antsy), I suggest Soundcloud -- it's easy to use, you can upload files from your own computer or you can record straight onto the site. Post in Miscellaneous Poetry for your own stuff or if it's a famous poem, let a mod know and we'll post it in the reference section.

I think embedding Soundcloud files is disallowed for regular users but send me a PM and I can easily do it for you.

Sound adds a whole new dimension to poetry.

My lap-top has an in-built microphone, which was good enough for Skype until Skype got flogged, so that now it does not work at all, but assuming I can get it back, is that adequate or do you need a separate microphone?

I might overcome my natural reticence and reserve, but my voice is very deep-- so much so, that some people do not hear it all, or feign not to. Worse, whenever I have heard it played back it sounds like that of a drawling drunk. I can improve it, by consciously putting an 'edge' on to it, and raising it half an octave. So, does Soundcloud permit one to listen and reject until satisfied? Even if it were a v long job? I did look at Soundcloud before, and I think it was these things which put me off.

[Leanne]

I think any microphone will do -- and yes, you can record and re-record until you're satisfied. I think you can also do the tricky sound editing things that change pitch and such, but I don't know how (obviously!). You can also stop, start and partially redo, which is very handy.

[billy]

Re Burton's voice - yes, I'd have married him myself!

Glad to hear that the audio thing has not halted, but I am sure there is a lot I have still to listen to, so it was more a long-term concern, really.

i'll try and get some more up once back in the philippines. sadly it very time consuming finding new stuff. for instance, i put a huge amount of youtubetube stuff up and it was taken down from youtube due to copyright...(which we have to obey. ) which meant it went down from here.

i will promise to see if i can find more though (when i get home)

one of the problems is the voice of some speakers...they stink.

---

Re Burton's voice - yes, I'd have married him myself!

Glad to hear that the audio thing has not halted, but I am sure there is a lot I have still to listen to, so it was more a long-term concern, really.

i'll try and get some more up once back in the philippines. sadly it very time consuming finding new stuff. for instance, i put a huge amount of youtubetube stuff up and it was taken down from youtube due to copyright...(which we have to obey. ) which meant it went down from here.

i will promise to see if i can find more though (when i get home)

i'm not sure milkwood was written for burton as burton recited a lot of dylan's work but it is possible i suppose.

[abu nuwas]

Re Burton's voice - yes, I'd have married him myself!

Glad to hear that the audio thing has not halted, but I am sure there is a lot I have still to listen to, so it was more a long-term concern, really.

i'll try and get some more up once back in the philippines. sadly it very time consuming finding new stuff. for instance, i put a huge amount of youtubetube stuff up and it was taken down from youtube due to copyright...(which we have to obey. ) which meant it went down from here.

i will promise to see if i can find more though (when i get home)

one of the problems is the voice of some speakers...they stink.

---

Re Burton's voice - yes, I'd have married him myself!

Glad to hear that the audio thing has not halted, but I am sure there is a lot I have still to listen to, so it was more a long-term concern, really.

i'll try and get some more up once back in the philippines. sadly it very time consuming finding new stuff. for instance, i put a huge amount of youtubetube stuff up and it was taken down from youtube due to copyright...(which we have to obey. ) which meant it went down from here.

i will promise to see if i can find more though (when i get home)

i'm not sure milkwood was written for burton as burton recited a lot of dylan's work but it is possible i suppose.

Agree 100% re some voices stinking...or more commonly, mumbling. Hope you are fit Billy, and can't get over you living with Addy's mum....she always seems so sharp and perceptive......

[rayheinrich]

abu:
if you want a quick and dirty recording, use the youtube direct record feature.
(for audio only, place a piece of black tape over the camera)

here's a link that explains it:
http://support.google.com/youtube/bin/an...swer=57409

[billy]

Agree 100% re some voices stinking...or more commonly, mumbling. Hope you are fit Billy, and can't get over you living with Addy's mum....she always seems so sharp and perceptive......

bastard... actually they're both serious sharp, specially when it comes to insights. her mum's was a strategig planner before being secunded to the ceo's go between/speech writer etc.

i'm improving rapidly thanks

i did find a site i can garner some mp3's from which is okay.

---

abu:
if you want a quick and dirty recording, use the youtube direct record feature.
(for audio only, place a piece of black tape over the camera)

here's a link that explains it:
http://support.google.com/youtube/bin/an...swer=57409

the only trouble with that is having to do the voice yourself and the screen even if black is always there. (it is a good idea for those who wish to create an audio poem)

i did store a lot of the recordings in a cloudbase but it's time consuming to strip out mp3's from other recordings such as video and load them to the cloud.

but as i said above, i think i found a decent site to get some more from, (come end of feb)