The First Jasmines

What it is

This is a LibriVox volunteer audio recording of Tagore's poem The First Jasmines. Fourteen different volunteer readers recorded it as part of a weekly poetry project timed to mark the author's birthday on May 7. None of the voices are Tagore's own.

Why it matters

Tagore was a Bengali polymath who reshaped Bengali literature and music and influenced Indian art. This small poem, still read and shared more than a century later, shows how his poetry continues to reach new audiences through projects like this one.

Look closer

• Why might a poem be recorded by fourteen different readers instead of just one?
• What does the choice to mark Tagore's birthday with a reading say about how he is remembered?
• How might a poem about jasmine flowers connect to Tagore's wider interest in nature?