Poetry to fall asleep by

Like many of you, sometimes (often) I like to ease myself to sleep with a good podcast. Not so good that it defeats the purpose, of course. If I really want to fall asleep, I'm looking for a particular kind of content and presentation: mildly engaging, measured, soothing.

I’ve given several bedtime podcasts a try - some explicitly made for pre-sleep listening, most not. I have several favourites now, but none of these lulls the right nerves every time. While I pondered what makes for the ideal sleepytime sounds, I decided I'd put my own ideas to the test and give it a try.

By try, I mean I have recorded a little of my own bedtime listening. Not so much listening for me; I’m not sure how I feel about falling asleep to the sound of my own voice. But maybe someone else out there needs to be lulled into a good nap.

So, for those of you who enjoy poetry and Poe, and are ready to doze....

Poetic Lullabies: Reading Poe

If you like to drift off to the sound of someone’s voice - to the rhythms of speech - without getting too caught up in the words themselves or their meanings, give this a listen.

• The Village Street
• The Forest Reverie
• Alone
• The Sleeper
• Israfel
• Ulalume
• To Helen
• The Coliseum
• To Isadore
• To One in Paradise
• The Happiest Day
• Romance
• A Dream Within a Dream
• Silence
• Evening Star
• A Dream
•  Eldorado
• Hymn
• Dreamland

All poems authored by Edgar Allan Poe and read by me, Laura Wiebe. Music also by me.