This project is now complete! All audio files can be found on our catalog page: https://librivox.org/the-west-by-francis-s-borton/
Each fortnight, a Librivox member chooses a poem to be recorded by as many LibriVox volunteers as possible!This fortnightly poem, read by 14 Librivox Volunteers, is from "The Call of California, and other poems of the West" by Francis Borton. It talks about harsh nature's cruel majesty and mastery over the animals, and then man's heroic attempts to master nature. (Summary by Michele Fry)
If you'd like to suggest a poem or coordinate a future project, please visit this thread.
Project Code: JpTz18oW
This fortnight'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:
0.5 to 1 second of silence, then say:
Then read the poem:The West by Francis Borton, 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:Along our blue Sierra's wall,
No moldering castles rest;
But there the Redman s Thunder-bird
Hath built his lonely nest.
No hoary donjons, foul with crime,
Oppress the good, clean sod
Where live-oaks meet, with knotted arms,
The blazing bolts of God.
Instead of doubtful titles stamped
On pride's dim vellumed page.
The sullen grizzly here hath left
The claw marks of his rage.
No silken halls, no softness here,
No courtiers, false as hell;
But from the echoing granite gorge
The panther's deadly yell!
Here, laws unflattering, primal, harsh ;
The desert's scorching breath;
Here, thorn, fang, claw and scalping knife-
The crimson trail of death!
And what are man-made kings and courts,
With cheap, brief honors set,
Where, in the red, raw clay of things,
God 's thumb-prints yet are wet?
Amid these awful solitudes.
With skies so still and blue,
Are held such deadly, fierce debates
As minstrels never knew.
Here howling winds of ocean meet
The wild winds of the sky,
While vast, dim shapes from desert wastes
Their spirals wheel on high.
Cliff calls to cliff; th' avalanche
Replies in thunders loud,
While shafts of blinding lightning split
The swirling, inky cloud,
That bursts, and ploughs the mountains down,
The salt plain's hissing sands,
Till fresh-torn cañon gulfs reveal
Earth's granite swaddling bands!
* * *
And here are men, sons of thy strength,
Oh, western land of mine,
Gay, tender, careless, swift and wild,
But upright as the pine.
Serene, clear-eyed, of Spartan speech.
The breed of men out here,
Who've trailed with hunger, thirst and death,
But never met with fear.
The wide, free winds are in their hearts,
The deep-voiced torrent's roar,
The solemn stillness of the woods,
Beside the lonely shore.
They need no finger-posts for faith;
No self-sure go-between;
They look God in the face and smile;
Their rugged hearts are clean.
They pluck the gray wolf from his den;
They tire the grizzly down,
Or peacefully their harvests reap
Along the foothills brown.
They beat the mountain into dust;
They burst its ribs apart;
Their laughter rings Homeric when
They clutch its golden heart!
Alone they win the chill, still heights,
By mountain sheep untrod;
They gaze abroad, they bare their brows
And shout, "Hurrah for God!";
Oh, little folk, who cringe and hedge.
Who cannot understand,
They tread a broader trail than yours
Across our Sunset Land,
Where man is kin to peak and star,
The wide plain's lonely space;
Where oft they ride so close to God
They meet Him face to face !
Leave 5 seconds of silence at the end.End of poem. This recording is in the public domain.
Name your file: west_borton_your initials in lowercase_128kb, and save as an .mp3 (e.g. west_borton_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 proof listening notes.
First-time readers, 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, and make any edits required by your DPL.
Deadline: Please submit your recording by 0600 GMT Sunday, JUNE 13 (12:00 AM CST)
Please don't download or listen to files belonging to projects in process unless you are the BC or PL. Our servers are not set up to handle the greater volume of traffic. Please wait until the project has been completed. Thanks!
Magic Window:
BC Admin
And remember, anyone can suggest a poem or coordinate an upcoming Fortnightly Poetry project! We hope you will!!!!!
If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask! Just post in this thread.
BC/DPL for this project is msfry/Michele Fry
MC is aradlaw/David Lawrence