One would think that Poe's work would translate perfectly into dramatic interpretations, and certainly the first volume reviewed here works extremely well, but by the second tape, where poems are admittedly written from dreams, you realize how easily a poor reader can overdramatize poems best read quietly, if read at all. None of this is helped by the intent of New Millennium to gather as many readers as possible (Michael York, David Warner, among others) and inadvertently break up the unity of a poet's voice. Whitman fares no better, with the editors electing to present snippets here and there, out of context, and supplying no context, with performances by Joan Allen, Burt Reynolds, and others. Only Frost's poems seem well presented (there are 11 different readers, including Elliott Gould, Melissa Manchester, and Alfre Woodard), but he's also the poet whose work is best relayed in short poems from different periods in his career. The programs are recommended for comprehensive audio collections only, although readers such as Joel Grey, Gregory Hines, and Efrem Zimbalist Jr. might make these attractive to theater buffs. Individual poems are not listed on the packaging of the Poe and Frost tapes, where readers are listed en masse, giving no indication as who reads what. Rochelle Ratner, formerly with "Soho Weekly News," New York Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.

“Of all the poetry written in our generation, Frost's is most likely to stand the test of time.” —Lewis Gannett

“Of U.S. poets, none has lodged poems more surely where they will be hard to get rid of. . . . His lines often have the trenchancy and inevitability of folk sayings.” —Time

“No other American poet has so much art or so much subject matter.” —Mark Van Doren

“Frost was the first American who could be honestly reckoned a master-poet by world standards.” —Robert Graves