The Academy of American Poets was one of the first organizations in the United States to showcase poets in public readings. Thankfully, since the 1950s we’ve been recording those events, and we’ve been able to make hundreds of audio tracks available on Poets.org. To hear a poet like Gwendolyn Brooks read her own poems is to understand something of the sonic forces driving each line.
As we’re able, we continue to upload audio from our extensive archive. And, we’re adding to our collection of audio by inviting poets featured in our Poem-a-Day series to read their work. Poets.org also features audio from our live events, including conversations between poets and leading artists of the day. Since we posted this conversation between Mark Doty and dancer/choreographer Bill T. Jones last November, more than 2,000 people have listened to it.
Because Poets.org does not have an endowment to support the site, we rely on the multitudes of members, donors, and partners who continue to make Poets.org possible. Poets.org is truly people-powered! Thank you for visiting Poets.org and helping us grow the audience for poetry.