Audio Collections: Spoken Arts: Spoken Word
There are a wide range of spoken word materials. Many of the best-known examples are recorded radio programs. For example, early radio dramas can be found on cassette and CD. In addition, some of the current materials found on National Public Radio are also available. Listen to sample tracks at Amazon. This American Life: Lies, Sissies & Fiascoes CD contains tracks from a weekly radio anthology of stories. This is popular with fans of National Public Radio (NPR).
Sometimes called audio art, recordings may include spoken word, sound, and music. For the purpose of this website, we've placed the spoken word audiobooks on another page. A few of the options are listed below:
Children's. From classical music for babies to books-on-tape for teens, there many audio resources for kids. Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein is a well-known example. Some match the books and others are musical versions.
Comedy. Comedians such as Eddie Murphy, George Carlin, Ray Romano, Robin Williams, and Bill Cosby are known for their comedy audios. Listen to a clip of Bill Cosby’s Wonderfulness or Robin Williams' Live 2002 at Amazon. Notice that Robin Williams' is listed as containing explicit language. Collections can be found of famous comedians. For example, And It’s Deep Too! contains the works of Richard Pryor from 1968-1992. You’ll also want to explore comedic groups such as Monty Python that combine skips and songs.
Exercise. Many people enjoy listening to specialized CDs or audiotapes while they walk, run, or ride a bike. Some play music and others contain motivational talks. For example, Yoga Zone: Music for Yoga Practice by Windham Hill provides music to practicing yoga.
Historical Connections. Many teachers like to use music from specific time periods to bring learning alive. Check out title such as Lewis and Clark: Sounds of Discovery, The Civil War – Traditional American Songs and Instrumental Music Featured in the Film by Ken Burns, and Down from the Mountain and O Brother, Where Art Thou soundtrack.
Historical Works. There are many interesting materials from specific time periods. For example, The Beat Generation is a box set that contains music, poetry, and speeches from the beat era including people such as Kerouac, Ginsberg, and Burroughs. Famous speeches, poetry, and storytelling are only a few of the audio materials of interest. Every library should have a copy of Great Speeches of the 20th Century. This box set of four CDs contains well-known as well as lesser known speeches from politicians, scientists, sports figures, and more. Listen to a few examples at Amazon. Speech collections are available for people such as Winston Churchill, Walter Cronkite, Martin Luther King Jr., John F. Kennedy.
Instructional Audio. Whether you want to learn to dance, play the guitar, speak Spanish, you can find “how-to” instructional audios to help. Learning to play instruments such as the guitar, piano, harmonica, keyboard and others often contain a book, sheet music, charts, and sometimes even the instrument itself. Most popular languages are available on audiotape or CD including Spanish, Italian, German, French, Portuguese, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and even Yiddish. Other types of instruction such as learning to play cards games or win at gambling are also popular.
Interviews. There are many interviews with people such as musicians and authors. Many of these are recordings from radio such as Portraits from NPR.
Poetry. Recorded poems by poets such as Langston Hughes and Maya Angelou are a great way to enjoy poetry. In addition, compilations are also available. For example, Our Souls HaveGrown Deep Like the Rivers is a two-CD collection of African American poetry spanning the 20th century. Poetry can be brought to life by the right reader. Closed On Account of Rabies: Poems and Tales of Edgar Allen Poe is an example. The Raven is read by spooky Christopher Walken.
Radio Anthologies. Classic radio programs are still popular on tape and CD. Garrison Keillor’s Lake Wobegon stories from Prairie Home Companion is another example of a series that originated on Public Radio. Listen to excepts from Lake Wobegon Loyalty Days or A Prairie Home Companion 25th Anniversary Collection by Garrison
Keillor at Amazon.|
Self-Help Audio. Since the 1960s business executives have listened to promotional and sales tactics audiotapes. The area of self-help has grown in recent years. From Dr. Phil’s advice to self-help guru’s who will help with weight loss, stress, and financing, many tapes and CDs are available. Check out Sound Body, Sound Mind by Andrew Weil. It combines spoken word, sounds, and music. Some materials are based on books, while other are only available in an audio format.
Read the off-site article, Audiobooks or Aural Art? by Yuri Rasovsky. There's a growing controversy about the popularity of audiobooks and their relationship to other spoken arts. Do you think audiobooks are giving "audio art" a bad name? Or, do you think they can live happily together?