Andre Yoskowitz
14 May 2007 14:25
Thanks to an online audio archive developed by professors at the University of Pennsylvania, recordings of poets' work are available for free thorugh Pennsound.
According to the site, PennSound currently feautures 200 writers and over 10,000 recording contributed either by poets, fans or global scholars. The site boasts that they recently recieved rare readings by Ezra Pound, the famous poet.
Hearing any poet "makes the poems easier to move into, in some cases," said Tree Swenson, director of the Academy of American Poets in New York. "Our ears are less logical than our eyes, somehow."
She continued on by praising Pound. "Pound is a perfect example of a poet whose tone and phrasing is so distinctive."
What differentiates PennSound from the rest is that the poetry does not need to be streamed and can be downloaded in MP3 format for use offline or on portable media devices. The iPod is compatible.
Emily Warn, editor of Chicago-based poetryfoundation.org, called PennSound a "fabulous resource" and one that she feels can help expand the current audience for poetry.
"People are afraid of poetry. They don't know where to begin," Warn said. "They value it in general, they think it sharpens the intellect ... but they know very little about it."
Source:
PennSound