COMPLETE: Weekly Poetry -Noiseless Patient Spider byWhitman

GordMackenzie · Post by **GordMackenzie** » December 6th, 2005, 6:39 am

all audio files can be found on our catalog page:
http://librivox.org/a-noiseless-patient-spider-by-walt-whitman/

Here's this week's poem to tackle!

As usual, each week a poem is chosen to be recorded by as many Librivox volunteers as possible! It's my turn to pick a poem this week, and since I'm also book coordinator for Whitman's Leaves of Grass, I thought a little Walt would be appropriate.

The following is one of my favorite Whitman poems and it comes from Book 30 of Leaves of Grass (which, by the way, does not yet have an assigned reader... so if you enjoy reading this one, why not take a hop over to http://librivox.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=61 and sign up!)

A Noiseless Patient Spider
by Walt Whitman

A noiseless patient spider,
I mark'd where on a little promontory it stood isolated,
Mark'd how to explore the vacant vast surrounding,
It launch'd forth filament, filament, filament out of itself,
Ever unreeling them, ever tirelessly speeding them.

And you O my soul where you stand,
Surrounded, detached, in measureless oceans of space,
Ceaselessly musing, venturing, throwing, seeking the spheres to
connect them,
Till the bridge you will need be form'd, till the ductile anchor hold,
Till the gossamer thread you fling catch somewhere, O my soul.

You can access the full text of Leaves of Grass here:

http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/etext98/lvgrs10.txt

If you wish to contribute, please have your readings submitted by 5:00 PST on Saturday, December 10th.

Please post a link to your version in a reply to this post.

File name: patient_spider_whitman_[your initials].mp3

ID-3 tags:

Title: a_noiseless_patient_spider
Artisit: whitman_w
Album: librivox_weekly_poetry

Have fun! I look forward to listening.

(and remember, anyone who submits a recording can choose the next weekly poem! If you'd like to pick next week's poem, just post here!)

Peter Why · Post by **Peter Why** » December 6th, 2005, 5:11 pm

Here you go

http://s57.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=03VZK3CNMQANB2KW82RX4XGFOD

... and may I suggest one of Siegfried Sassoon's war poems? I'll put the details here if you agree.

kayray · Post by **kayray** » December 6th, 2005, 6:24 pm

here's mine:

http://kayray.org/audiobooks/librivox/misc/patient_spider_whitman_ks.mp3

Post by **hugh** » December 6th, 2005, 6:37 pm

Hi peter, great!

post in this thread next Monday, with the format that gord has here, with the new poem.

GordMackenzie · Post by **GordMackenzie** » December 7th, 2005, 11:24 am

Here's my rendition:

http://www.gordmackenzie.com/librivox/patient_spider_whitman_gm.mp3

LibraryLady · Post by **LibraryLady** » December 8th, 2005, 1:00 pm

And mine...

http://www.anniecoleman.com/resources/patient_spider_whitman_ac.mp3

wedschild · Post by **wedschild** » December 8th, 2005, 3:46 pm

http://s40.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=0EEK6Q4A380XW2W4O4U2JXJT1A

-wedschild

thistlechick · Post by **thistlechick** » December 8th, 2005, 7:03 pm

Instead of reading this poem from the point-of-view of a sentimental naturalist, just for fun, I did a slightly different interpretation... *rotflmao*

http://betsie.info/librivox/patient_spider_whitman_blb.mp3

I completely understand if you decide not to include my version in this week's collection *grins*

osmia · Post by **osmia** » December 8th, 2005, 7:46 pm

Aren't you the prickly one, thistlechick - LOL !!!

I luvvvved that! Definitellllly want to see it included!

... and LOL, I came home from work to a spider safely ensconed in a jar, nestled amidst the jumble on the dining room table, with the comment, by my daughter, " ... 'Cause I thought you might like him."

Talk about inspiration! ... and then I had the great idea to take a pic. of it/him/her and post it on Flckr with a "librivox" tag so it'll show up on the LibriVox homepage, but it kept moving so fast that was just getting crummy pics, so moved spider in jar out to the deck to cool off/slow down and will post my version when have the pic to go with it : )))

thistlechick · Post by **thistlechick** » December 8th, 2005, 7:54 pm

hehe, i'm glad you liked my version... I actually quite like spiders, but there was just something about that "O my soul" that i couldn't get out of my head ....

wedschild · Post by **wedschild** » December 8th, 2005, 8:56 pm

Thislechick, I loved it.

GordMackenzie · Post by **GordMackenzie** » December 9th, 2005, 6:30 am

thistlechick wrote:...there was just something about that "O my soul" that i couldn't get out of my head ....

LOL! Well, I'm not sure that was quite what Whitman was intending when he wrote it... but great reading, Thistle!

Squiddhartha · Post by **Squiddhartha** » December 10th, 2005, 12:58 pm

Okay, thistlechick's a hard act to follow, but nevertheless, I sneak in under the wire with:

http://surly.org/librivox/patient_spider_whitman_s.mp3

For what it's worth, this is the first LibriVox recording I've ever done where it just came out as one take without a single edit needed...

kayray · Post by **kayray** » December 10th, 2005, 1:10 pm

Betsie! I've finally listened to yours. ROFLMAO! OH! my SOUL!

thistlechick · Post by **thistlechick** » December 10th, 2005, 1:15 pm

*grins*