Maurice Elliott is not a man of few words. In fact, he's now a man of many with the release of his new one-hour CD, featuring readings from Charles Dickens' classics.

    Elliott, an English professor, reads from David Copperfield, Great Expectations, and A Tale of Two Cities. He says he chose excerpts from the three novels that reflected the difficult conditions under which many children around the world learn.

    Elliott, who has taught at York since 1966, first earned a following for his readings of Dickens while master of Winters College. From 1980 to 1987, he read to college Fellows every Christmas season. "I would like to think, as I did not pay them to attend, that they received on those festive occasions as much pleasure from the words of 'The Great Inimitable', as I continue to do," he writes in his liner notes.

    "I've always thought the ear was more retentive than the eye," he says. "I grew up listening to radio dramas during the war. That might have had an influence on my liking for dramatic reading. I think it's clear people speak in different voices in Dickens, but not all critics agree."

    What makes for a reading that's not over-the-top? "It's really paying attention to the text, a receptivity to what's there. There has to be enough variation of tone, and I don't think accents matter that much. But probably the ultimate secret to a good spoken word recording is good editing -- you don't have to read everything onto the tape."

    Elliott attributes the rise in the audience for spoken word to commuting and traffic jams. "The car has had a lot to do with our interest in spoken word recording. The sound technology is much better than it used to be. Now people can listen to this material in many different places."

    Maurice Elliott reads Charles Dickens was recorded at Winters College with the help of producer Michael Coghlan, professor of digital arts in York's Music Department. Both Elliott and Coghlan donated their talents and time to the project. The new CD is part of the York Artists Signature Series, which includes four other new recordings of jazz and new music.