All audio files can be found on our catalog page: https://librivox.org/an-apology-for-the-bottle-volcanic-by-vachel-lindsay/
Each week a poem is chosen to be recorded by as many LibriVox volunteers as possible!And here we blame the writer for the words and ideas!
(Summary by David Lawrence)
This week's poem can be found here.
Project Code: nkauALsj
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 ½ to 1 second of silence at the beginning..
Then read the poem:An Apology for the Bottle Volcanic by Vachel Lindsay, read for librivox.org by [your name].
[Add, if you wish, the date, and/or your location.]
At the end of your reading, leave a space and then say:Sometimes I dip my pen and find the bottle full of fire,
The salamanders flying forth I cannot but admire.
It's Etna, or Vesuvius, if those big things were small,
And then 'tis but itself again, and does not smoke at all.
And so my blood grows cold. I say, "The bottle held but ink,
And, if you thought it otherwise, the worser for your think."
And then, just as I throw my scribbled paper on the floor,
The bottle says, "Fe, fi, fo, fum," and steams and shouts some more.
O sad deceiving ink, as bad as liquor in its way—
All demons of a bottle size have pranced from you to-day,
And seized my pen for hobby-horse as witches ride a broom,
And left a trail of brimstone words and blots and gobs of gloom.
And yet when I am extra good and say my prayers at night,
And mind my ma, and do the chores, and speak to folks polite,
My bottle spreads a rainbow-mist, and from the vapor fine
Ten thousand troops from fairyland come riding in a line.
I've seen them on their chargers race around my study chair,
They opened wide the window and rode forth upon the air.
The army widened as it went, and into myriads grew,
O how the lances shimmered, how the silvery trumpets blew!
Leave 5 seconds of silence at the end.End of poem. This recording is in the public domain.
Filename: apology_lindsay_your initials in lowercase_128kb.mp3 (e.g. apology_lindsay_klh_128kb.mp3)
Upload to the LibriVox Uploader: https://librivox.org/login/uploader
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MC to select: aradlaw
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