Natalie Merchant spent six years (and no doubt a load of money) bringing this project to life. Here she sings her own tunes set to the lyrics of poets like ee cummings, Gerard Manley Hopkins, Ogden Nash, and many more - some of whom I had never heard. Whether this improves the poems or not is up to the individual listener, but I have always liked her voice and her performance on this video clip is very pleasant. It may bring poetry alive for people who love gentle folk music and in doing so, perform a positive service to poetry in general. Maybe, just maybe, those listeners will seek further poems from the poets they particularly like on her CD, 'Leave Your Sleep'.
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/jacketcopy/2010/04/natalie-merchant-sings-poetry.html
More about the CD, including some samples, at http://www.nonesuch.com/albums/leave-your-sleep
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