Audiobook · read by volunteers
Song My Paddle Sings
E. Pauline Johnson (1861–1913)
Read by Annie Coleman Rothenberg, Betsie Bush, Chip, Eugene Pinto, Brad Bush, KYO, Marian Brown, Marlo Dianne, Patricia Oakley, Paul Jacobus · 14 chapters · 37 min
About the book
Fourteen readings, one poem, and a river. E. Pauline Johnson's Song My Paddle Sings is a rhythmic celebration of canoeing, wind and water, in which the beat of the verse seems to follow the stroke of the blade. In this collection LibriVox volunteers read the same text fourteen times, and each reading gives it a different current. The poem comes from her collection Flint and Feather and was recorded as the weekly poetry project in early February 2006. It is short enough that you can hear several versions in one sitting and still feel refreshed rather than overloaded. A lively, outdoorsy half hour for lovers of verse and of travel by water. Pure motion, in sound. Come and paddle along.
Introduction
Emily Pauline Johnson, who lived from 1861 to 1913, was a Canadian poet and performer, also known by her Mohawk name, Tekahionwake. Her father was a Mohawk chief and her mother was an Englishwoman, and she grew up on the Six Nations reserve in Ontario, reading widely and writing from childhood. She became a popular reciter of her own work and published her poems in periodicals and in several books.
The Song My Paddle Sings appeared in Flint and Feather, the collection of her poems published in 1912, the year before her death. It is among the most popular of them, with galloping rhythm that mimics the sweep of a paddle and an exuberant love of wind, current and open water. It is a regular presence in anthologies of Canadian verse.
This recording is a multi-version collection from the weekly poetry project that LibriVox volunteers carried out in 2006. Fourteen readings of the poem fill separate chapters, and the whole collection lasts about half an hour. The pleasure of such a set lies in the differences of pace, emphasis and mood from one voice to the next. Listening to several versions in a row is a way of seeing, or rather hearing, how much an interpreter can bring to a text.
It is an inviting introduction to a poet worth discovering, whether you know Canadian literature or are encountering it for the first time. It is a good choice for a canoe trip, a lazy afternoon or a classroom, and a modest tribute to a poet whose work deserves to be better known outside her own country.
Public domain
E. Pauline Johnson died in 1913: the work is in the public domain in Switzerland, more than 70 years after the author’s death.
The LibriVox volunteers dedicated this recording to the public domain.
Sources : LibriVox page · Files at the Internet Archive · Original text