Stephen Fry
Recordings of poetry interpreted by legendary Stephen Fry are being released as a supplement to the Times Literary Supplement from the 12th of August
Renowned poet, writer and translator Adam Zagajewski composed the selection of Czesław Miłosz’s poems for the UK audiobook. The project forms part of the Cultural Programme of the Polish Presidency of the EU, as well as a special programme commemorating the hundredth year since the Polish poet's birth. The publications engage various actors and writers who lend their voices for recordings of different selections of Czesław Miłosz’s poems in each country of publication. The graphic design and overall concept remains the same: The audio books, produced by the pan-European Polish Institutes, are an opportunity for European readers to acquaint themselves with the works of the Polish laureate of the Nobel Prize for Literature.
Stephen Fry is an award-winning comedian, actor, presenter and director. The artist rose to fame alongside Hugh Laurie in "A Bit of Fry and Laurie" (which he co-wrote with Laurie) and "Jeeves and Wooster". The actor also created an unforgettable role of Captain Melchett in "Blackadder". More recently he has presented a groundbreaking documentary on bipolar disorder, entitled "Stephen Fry: The Secret Life of the Manic Depressive". His legions of fans tune in weekly to watch him host the popular "QI" quiz show.
Fry remarked after the recording:
It gave me enormous pleasure to read these poems, which I count as amongst the best written in any language since the war. It would give me even more pleasure if I thought that this recording might bring Miłosz and his dazzling mixture of honesty, insight and pure poetic instinct to a wider, English-speaking readership.
Rosie Goldsmith, who also took part in the recordings, is the author of an introduction to the British Czesław Miłosz audiobook. Goldsmith is a journalist specialising in arts and international affairs. During her 20 years at the BBC, she has travelled the world presenting flagship shows, such as "Front Row" and "Crossing Continents". Today she combines broadcasting with chairing events and promoting arts and literature in Britain and abroad.The British edition of Czesław Miłosz's audiobook was co-produced by the Polish Cultural Institute in London.
Full list of Czesław Miłosz's poems on the British audiobook:
INTRODUCTION
PART ONE: POETRY AND APOCALYPSE
"Encounter"
"Campo dei Fiori"
"A Poor Christian Looks at the Ghetto"
"Farewell"
"In Warsaw"
"Dedication"
"Song on Porcelain"
"You Who Wronged"
PART TWO: RELOCATIONS
"Mittelbergheim"
"What Once Was Great"
"Rivers Grow Small"
"And The City Stood in Its Brightness"
PART THREE: EXERCISES IN POETRY
"Ars Poetica?"
"To Robinson Jeffers"
"My Faithful Mother Tongue"
"No More"
PART FOUR: EARTHLY RITUALS
"So Little"
"Gift"
"Bypassing Rue Descartes"
"Mary Magdalen and I"
"And Yet the Books"
"First Performance"
PART FIVE: RECOLLECTIONS
"Lecture IV"
"Conversation with Jeanne"
"Blacksmith Shop"
"Mister Hanusevich"
"December 1"
"In Szetejnie"
Date: Distribution starts on the 12th of August, 2011
Location: Nationwide in the UK, with Times Literary Supplement
Organised by: Adam Mickiewicz Institute and Polish Cultural Institute in London
Project cofinanced by the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage of the Republic of Poland.
Czesław Miłosz is a Flagship Project of the Cultural Programme of the Polish Presidency. For more information on the project, see: Czesław Miłosz
For more information on 2011 Milosz Year, see: www.milosz365.eu
Source: Adam Mickiewicz Institute