Wednesday, December 9, 2015

Summertime Super-Fun-Pak! NZ Poetry on Vinyl -- Part One

Two records from the early 1970s -- private pressings for Waiata Recordings. All the golden voices from days of olde and yore, ever and anon are hither and yon -- Janet Frame, James K Baxter, Denis Glover, CK Stead, Sam Hunt, Bill Manhire, Charles Brasch -- reading their own works.

The recording quality on some of these tracks is simply shocking. My copies of the original vinyl are NM, but probably as a consequence of packing too much onto each side combined with the limitations of the original recordings, the sound varies: prepare for level peaks and drops, pops, echoes, and distortion. 

I won't try to write about these as poetry is mystery to me. I just wanted to digitise them for myself so I thought I'd share them with you. 



New Zealand Poets Read Their Works (1974)











New Zealand Poets Read Their Work For Children (1974)