If there were ever a poet whose work begged to be heard, it would be Dickinson. Depending upon the reader, rhymes and metrics can be emphasized or glossed over, giving words more freedom than they have on the page. The numerous voices reading here (including Meryl Streep, Sharon Stone, and Melissa Manchester) stress the varied emotions that exist or can be read into Dickinson's work: from anger to complacency to the supersweet voice one uses for nursery rhymes. One hundred poems, no matter how short they are, give listeners a substantial entrance into the work of any poet (though Dickinson is now credited with authoring more than 1700 poems). The editors have reached beyond the much-anthologized pieces and even those usually included in "selected" volumes, presenting a sampling that displays the wide range of Dickinson's concerns and insights. Background music seems an overstatement at times, but it serves to smooth over the gaps among the different voices. Recommended for most public libraries. Rochelle Ratner, formerly with "Soho Weekly News," New York