Poetry enters the digital era (From Stroud News and Journal)

Poetry enters the digital era

The Poetry Archive, a major new project which aims to make poetry more accessible by recording the poets reading their own work and placing the results online, was launched last week by Poet Laureate Andrew Motion and Minchinhampton-based recording producer Richard Carrington. SNJ arts editor Adam Horovitz interviewed him about the project.

THE archive, says Richard, 'aims to be both serious and fun. It was designed to look authoritative but alive, though not too jazzy".

"We've had lots of comments from teachers just in the first two days, they appear to be using the site already," he said. "Teachers are often nervous about teaching poetry, we hope the archive will help new and experienced teachers.

"The aim is to have the poet, as it were, visit you at home and illuminate the poem."

The Poetry Archive came into being as the result of a conversation after a recording Richard made of newly-crowned Poet Laureate Andrew Motion.

"We realised that there were a number of poets who had never been recorded, like Thomas Hardy, and wondered who else we might be missing out," added Richard.

"Andrew came up with two names off the top of his head, one of whom was David Gascoyne, who died a month after we'd recorded him."

They decided that no one can give an idea of a poem better than the poet. "Poets understand that they don't need to bring the battery of effects to a poem that an actor brings. The poet has a unique right to their words," he said.

The archive, which includes Gloucestershire poets Jenny Joseph, UA Fanthorpe and PJ Kavanagh, is just beginning, says Richard.

"It currently contains just a sample of what we intend to be there eventually. There's lots of gaps - we're currently negotiating the rights for Ted Hughes, TS Eliot and Sylvia Plath - and our recording programme is continuing.

"We aim to go on forever if we can, like a kind of National Portrait Gallery for the voices of poets, if it isn't too grand to say that."

The Poetry Archive can be found at www.poetryarchive.org