"Hearing this poem spoken line by line by such a collage
of assorted voices gives a uncanny and atmospheric sense of dislocation
that goes to the heart of its strangeness. In its very different way this
transposition is as compelling as the Rick Emerson comic strip version.
But I was especially delighted that the Rime could be used by a multi-cultural
community in the wake of the “what does it mean to be British?”
debate stirred up by the July bombings; the ‘Rime's’ very
elusiveness makes it inclusive - a national folk poem that speaks to all."
Paul Cheshire (Trustee, Friends of Coleridge)
"As an English teacher always on the look out for new and inspirational teaching resources, I am excited by 'Coleridge's Rime of the Ancient Mariner'. Not only is the CD an inventive way of familiarising students with the work of Coleridge and introducing them to a difficult text, but it can also be used to inspire other such projects, whereby students are encouraged to chose an alternative poem that represents something about their own school community. What I love about the CD is the fact that every student has a distinct voice, disregarding accent and pronunciation; it is a unique patchwork of diction and tones - a true sound-scape. The Coleridge model and CD is a valuable resource for any English or Drama department."
Deborah Buley (St Ivo School, Cambridgeshire)
Listened this morning and found it gripping and moving. I'd always remembered it as Walter de la Mare so am glad to be put right. I was amazed how much I remembered and how many quotations from it have gone into common parlance. Lovely!
Marion Mardall