When I heard the Learn’d Astronomer: Free Audiobook and Listening Guide

When I heard the Learn’d Astronomer, credited to Walt Whitman, is available as a LibriVox volunteer audiobook. This guide identifies the recording, its source summary and its audio tracks.

About the work

The LibriVox catalogue summary, preserved with the recording, reads:

LibriVox volunteers bring you 19 recordings of When I heard the Learn’d Astronomer by Walt Whitman. This was the Weekly Poetry project for February 19, 2017. Read in English by Algy Pug; Bruce Kachuk; Christine Lehman; David Lawrence; Newgatenovelist; Ezwa; fshort; Ian King; Jason in Panama; Julia Ward; Lee Ann Howlett; Maria Kasper; Matthew Datcher; notno; Phil Schempf; Peter Yearsley; Rachel Murray; Scotty Smith and Tomas Peter. Whitman claimed that after years of competing for "the usual rewards", he determined to become a poet. He first experimented with a variety of popular literary genres which appealed to the cultural tastes of the period. As early as 1850, he began writing what would become Leaves of Grass, a collection of poetry which he would continue editing and revising until his death. Whitman intended to write a distinctly American epic and used free verse with a cadence based on the Bible. At the end of June 1855, Whitman surprised his brothers with the already-printed first edition of Leaves of Grass. Whitman paid for the publication of the first edition of Leaves of Grass himself. ( Wikipedia )

Recording facts

• Recording title: When I heard the Learn’d Astronomer
• Author credits: Walt Whitman
• Language: English
• Original MP3 tracks: 19
• Listed recording duration: 19:28

Catalogue topics

• nature
• philosophy
• science
• stars
• astronomy

Track guide

1. 01 - When I heard the Learn’d Astronomer - Read by ALP — 0:58
2. 02 - When I heard the Learn’d Astronomer - Read by BK — 1:15
3. 03 - When I heard the Learn’d Astronomer - Read by CAL — 0:58
4. 04 - When I heard the Learn’d Astronomer - Read by DL — 1:05
5. 05 - When I heard the Learn’d Astronomer - Read by EL — 1:06
6. 06 - When I heard the Learn’d Astronomer - Read by EZWA — 0:59
7. 07 - When I heard the Learn’d Astronomer - Read by FS — 0:55
8. 08 - When I heard the Learn’d Astronomer - Read by IK — 1:07
9. 09 - When I heard the Learn’d Astronomer - Read by JCB — 1:01
10. 10 - When I heard the Learn’d Astronomer - Read by JW — 0:58
11. 11 - When I heard the Learn’d Astronomer - Read by LAH — 1:02
12. 12 - When I heard the Learn’d Astronomer - Read by MK — 1:02
13. 13 - When I heard the Learn’d Astronomer - Read by MSD — 0:59
14. 14 - When I heard the Learn’d Astronomer - Read by NWR — 0:56
15. 15 - When I heard the Learn’d Astronomer - Read by PS — 0:51
16. 16 - When I heard the Learn’d Astronomer - Read by PY — 1:00
17. 17 - When I heard the Learn’d Astronomer - Read by RHM — 1:15
18. 18 - When I heard the Learn’d Astronomer - Read by SWS — 1:03
19. 19 - When I heard the Learn’d Astronomer - Read by TP — 0:58

Listen to this recording

Open the complete recording and player on Internet Archive. The player includes the full track list and available download formats.

Source and rights

This is a record from LibriVox's official Internet Archive collection, with a public-domain licence recorded in its metadata. LibriVox's policy includes its catalogue summaries as well as its recordings. Its public-domain assessment follows United States law; copyright status can differ elsewhere. The summary and track facts are reproduced and reformatted from that record. Dates attached to the archive upload are not treated as original book publication dates.