Ralph Waldo Emerson (1793-1882) was a 19th Century giant. On 9 September 1832, upon resigning from his ministry in the Unitarian Church, he in effect became an unaffiliated "modern minister" with radical views. He moved on to spearhead a broad spiritual movement still effecting our lives today. Chief spokesperson for the American literary/philosophic movement called Transcendentalism, Emerson lectured, published essays and wrote informational and instructive poetry to further his developing views of the "oversoul" —the absolute reality that is the basis of all existence. He included among his neighbors and friends the likes of Henry David Thoreau and Nathaniel Hawthorne. Although his poetry is not an easy read, as Harold Bloom has said, "...Emerson, after Walt Whitman and Emily Dickinson, is the most considerable poet of the 19th Century in the United States." These audio recordings are an attempt to open Emerson and make him listenable. Some recordings were made for LibriVox, others at public readings or in studios. (Sound qualities vary.)
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