All audio files can be found on our catalog page: https://librivox.org/once_therewas_time-by-john-frederick-freeman/
Each week a poem is chosen to be recorded by as many LibriVox volunteers as possible!John Frederick Freeman was an English poet and essayist, who gave up a successful career in insurance to write full-time.
He was born in London and started as an office boy aged 13. He was a close friend of Walter de la Mare from 1907, who lobbied hard with Edward Marsh to get Freeman into the Georgian Poetry series; with eventual success. De la Mare's biographer Theresa Whistler describes him as "tall, gangling, ugly, solemn, punctilious".
This poem is taken from POEMS NEW AND OLD By John Freeman (1920) - Summary from Wikipedia
This week's poem can be found here.
New to recording? Please see our Newbie Guide to Recording for further instructions. A quick guide to our required technical settings can be found here. When you post your file, please tell the BC what name you would like to use in our catalog.
LibriVox recording settings: mono (1 channel), 44100 Hz sample rate, 128 kbps constant bit rate MP3. See the Tech Specs
Begin your reading with the abbreviated LibriVox disclaimer:
Leave 0.5 to 1 second of silence at the beginning.
Then read the poem:Once There Was Time by John Frederick Freeman, read for librivox.org by [your name].
[Add, if you wish, date, and/or your location.]
At the end of your reading, leave a space and then say:Let no tears fall
If then they fell not.
If eyes told nothing,
Now let them tell not.
Once there was time
For words, looks and tears:
That time is past,
is past— Heart, thou shalt tell not!
Beyond any speech
Is silence bitter,
As between love and love
Nothing is sweeter.
Once there was time, time yet
For words, looks and tears...
Past, past, past, past—
Nothing so bitter!
Now if tears come
That then fell never;
If eyes such sad, sad things
Look now for ever;
If words, looks or tears
Tremble with telling,
Oh, what returning voice is it whispers
Never, never, never!
Leave 5 seconds of silence at the end.End of poem. This recording is in the public domain.
Filename: time_freeman_your initials in lowercase_128kb.mp3 (e.g. time_freeman_klh_128kb.mp3)
Upload to the LibriVox Uploader: https://librivox.org/login/uploader
(If you have trouble reading the image above, please contact an admin)
MC to select: aradlaw
Copy and paste the file link generated by the uploader into a new post in this thread along with the file duration (mm:ss). Watch this thread for prooflistening notes.
When you post your link, please include your name as you would like it credited on the catalog page and any URL by which you would like it accompanied. (Note: This is only necessary if you have not done so for another project.)
Check back in a day or so for any feedback regarding your reading.
Deadline: Please submit your recording by 0600 GMT Sunday, February 28, 2021 (12:00 AM CST)
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And remember, anyone can suggest a poem or coordinate an upcoming Weekly Poetry project! If you'd like to suggest a poem or coordinate a future project, please visit this thread.
If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask! Just post in this thread.
