Anne Sexton - Anne Sexton Reads Her Works The 1959 And 1961 Readings

galanovias

Review by Galanovias

Anne Sexton Reads Her Works: The 1959 and 1961 Readings – A Raw, Unfiltered Journey Through Poetry If you're into poetry that punches you right in the gut, Anne Sexton Reads Her Works: The 1959 and 1961 Readings is gonna do just that. Released by Soundmark back in 2011, this album feels less like a recording and more like sitting across from Anne herself while she spills her soul over coffee (or maybe something stronger). It's not music—it's raw emotion wrapped up in words so vivid they'll stick to your brain like gum on a hot sidewalk. Two tracks really stood out for me: "Her Kind" and "The Truth The Dead Know." Let me tell ya why these ones hit different. First off, "Her Kind." Oh man, when Sexton reads those lines—"I have gone out, a possessed witch"—it’s like she’s whispering straight into your darkest corners. There’s no filter here; it’s messy, jagged, real. You can hear the weight of her voice cracking under the pressure of what she’s saying. She doesn’t just read it—she lives it. And honestly? That kinda scares me. But isn’t that what great art does? Makes you uncomfortable enough to feel alive? Then there’s "The Truth The Dead Know," which hits hard because it’s about loss but also freedom. Listening to Sexton narrate this one feels almost sacred, like eavesdropping on someone working through their grief out loud. When she says, “Gone, I say and walk from church,” it’s not just a line—it’s a whole life packed into six words. I found myself rewinding it twice just to sit with how heavy yet freeing it felt. What makes this album special is that it’s not polished or perfect. Sometimes her voice wavers, other times it cracks entirely. But that’s exactly what draws you in. This isn’t some actor reading poems—it’s Anne Sexton herself, flaws and all, letting us inside her head. Hearing her deliver her own work adds layers you’d never get from reading it on paper. And hey, here’s the kicker—I didn’t expect to laugh during an album full of such serious stuff. But near the end of “For A Friend Whose Work Has Come To Triumph,” there’s this tiny moment where Sexton lets out this little chuckle after a particularly biting line. It caught me off guard and reminded me that even in the depths of pain, there’s room for humor. Life’s weird like that. So yeah, if you’re looking for easy listening, this ain’t it. But if you want something that stays with you long after the last track ends—if you want to hear someone bare their soul without holding anything back—this one’s worth every second. Just don’t blame me if you end up staring at your ceiling at 3 AM thinking about mortality and moss-covered skin.

Download Anne Sexton - Anne Sexton Reads Her Works The 1959 And 1961 Readings
Artist: Anne Sexton
Album: Anne Sexton Reads Her Works The 1959 And 1961 Readings

Table of Contents

Download

Filename: anne-sexton-anne-sexton-reads-her-works-the-1959-and-1961.zip
  • MP3 size: 84 mb
  • FLAC size: 1169.7 mb

Tracks

TrackDurationPreview
Elizabeth Gone1:39
Noon Walk On The Asylum Lawn0:46
Some Foreign Letters4:42
The Operation6:23
Young0:57
All My Pretty Ones3:11
For John, Who Begs Me Not To Enquire Further1:51
Unknown Girl In The Maternity Ward3:39
Ringing The Bells1:19
For A Friend Whose Work Has Come To Triumph1:02
Old Dwarf Heart1:22
Kind Sir: These Words2:05
The Truth The Dead Know1:03
Her Kind1:16
Music Swims Back To Me1:43
What's That1:43
The Moss Of His Skin0:57
Said The Poet To The Analyst1:15
Lullaby1:04
Doors, Doors, Doors – Section 31:30
You, Doctor Martin2:15

Labels

Soundmark

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Formats

  • File
  • MP3 File
  • AAC

Credits

RoleCredit
NarratorAnne Sexton

Notes

Compilation of Anne Sexton's poems read by the author. The files were available as MP3s or AACs, distributed, among others, by Amazon UK and Germany (but not US), the Apple iTunes store and 7digital.com

About Anne Sexton

American poet, born 9 November 1928 in Newton, Massachusetts, USA and died by suicide 4 October 1974 in Weston, Massachusetts, USA.

Interesting fact about Album

Here’s something cool: Anne Sexton, a renowned poet, recorded herself reading her own works in 1959 and 1961. Decades later, those recordings were released as an album in 2011 by Soundmark. It’s not your typical music album—it’s poetry, raw and personal, narrated by Sexton herself. Tracks like "Her Kind" and "The Truth The Dead Know" let you hear her voice bring her words to life, offering a rare glimpse into how she intended her poems to sound. It’s like sitting in the room with her, listening to her share her inner world.