PoetCasting

What is PoetCasting?

PoetCasting is contemporary British and Irish poetry online and out loud.

How do I get my poetry on PoetCasting?

Please read our submissions guidelines (available here) carefully.
Stage and Page

Poetry now broadly falls into two categories. Some poets consider themselves performance poets, and their work is performed exclusively for the stage. They might read at open mike nights, poetry slams and other live events. Other poets write to be read, appearing in the pages of poetry journals, magazines, anthologies and collections.

There has long been this duality in poetry. PoetCasting aims to bring together poets from all backgrounds to share the medium of the internet. Here poets can be read and heard in one place.

Podcasting Poets

If you search you can find a podcast on pretty much everything nowdays. This podcast is simple - poets reading their work - no background music, no adverts and certainly no jingles. It’s just the poet and the listener.

Many poets and publishers have recently started ‘podcasting’ their work. However this site features more in the traditional sense of podcasting. That’s why it’s a blog. If you are technically minded and wish to keep up to date via feeds, you can. If you just want to browse the site, you can do that too.

History

While most poetry now comes in books, poetry has always been a performance and oral art. Early ballads often featured rhyme and repetition so they could be easily remembered and retold. We may seem very different from people of those times, but we can still listen to, and appreciate poetry in the spoken form.

The PoetCasting project was created from a concern that ‘performance’ and ‘academic’ poets were becoming increasingly isolated from each other, and felt that the poetry community wasn’t aware of the potential the internet holds for the future of all media, including poetry.
Where do the Poets come from?

Some poets on this site have been recorded by PoetCasting, exclusively for this site. This involves effort, travel and lots of correspondence both on our part, and on the part of the poet themselves. Other poets already have audio files of their work, which we are happy to host and support.

The site also works in co-operation with other projects, for example Penned in the Margins, Pomegranate and Staple Magazine. The Poetry Society also provides help and support.

Where does PoetCasting record?

PoetCasting records anywhere and everywhere. The portable equipment has travelled the length and breadth of Britain, via plane, train, bus and taxi. Some of the more obscure recording locations have included a student bedroom, London City Hall, an art gallery, a library, offices and a living room.

Get Involved

If you want to get involved, find out how here.

Supporting PoetCasting

PoetCasting isn’t a charity - it is a non profit site provided for your own enjoyment. All content is provided by Alex Pryce and the poets themselves.

The best way to support us is to either send us an email about what you liked to poetcasting@hotmail.co.uk or support the poets directly by attending events and buying their books. You may also like to link to us from your own website, and tell all your friends!

More About PoetCasting

If you’d like to find out more about PoetCasting, check out the Reviews section to see what other’s have been saying. Or, read an interview about PoetCasting from The Cadaverine, a Yorkshire based webzine. The site also featured in PN Review 178.

If you would like to be kept up to date with PoetCasting, send an email to the address above saying ‘Updates’ in the title line. You will then be added to the mailing list.