Contemporary Literature Free Audio & Video

An abridged edition of The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien narrated by Nicol Williamson and released in 1974.

The tale that sent Bach soaring to fame tells the story of a seagull who practices for a lifetime to begin to know the meaning of kindness and love.

Allen Ginsberg's Howl is the ultimate beat poem, and what better way to experience it than listening to Ginsberg read it himself. PennSound features two recordings of Ginsberg reading Howl, one from 1956 (the year he published it) and one from 1995 (a few years before his death).

A green hunting cap squeezed the top of the fleshy balloon of a head.... The revoltingly intriguing...

Renowned science fiction author Ray Bradbury (Fahrenheit 451, The Martian Chronicles) gives aspiring writers some encouraging insight in this short lecture provided on streaming video by UCTV.

In this somewhat unsettling documentary, author Don DeLillo takes viewers into the world of the image showing footage of assassinations and terrorism alongside other random images from TV and film.

On a world where nighttime only comes every 2,500 years, what happens when darkness is about to fall? Based on Isaac Asimov's classic story, this episode of Dimension X originally aired on September 29, 1951.

In this talk delivered at UCLA in 1985 about a year before his death, Herbert touches upon a number of the themes in his Dune saga.

Wired for Books is offering a page full of downloadable MP3 interviews with many of the best authors in contemporary literature. Compiled from the 1980s CBS Radio show, Book Beat, these interviews feature journalist Don Swaim spending roughly a half hour with the author discussing their books.

Famous recluse J.D. Salinger has hidden from the world since "The Catcher in the Rye" took the world by storm.