Live Poetry Readings on the Web

I’d like to alert you to a new poetry reading series, Transatlantic Poetry on Air, available to view on the internet. This is an exciting project if, like me, you live outside a big city and/or you’re sometimes unable to make it to live readings because of caring for children or others.  Let’s face it, there are many reasons why it’s not always possible to attend poetry events but engaging with live readings really adds another dimension to poetry. The series has been created and is hosted by Robert Peake, an American poet living in England.

I say a new series but there have already been several readings this year, featuring British and American poets, so there is a small collection of films to watch – what a treat!

The first reading I watched was aired yesterday at 8pm UK time.  It features four British poets, Isabel Galleymore, Chris McCabe, Andrew Philip and Paul Stephenson.  I was only slightly familiar with the work of the three male poets and I hadn’t heard of Isabel at all so I was very pleased to discover her poems and to hear (and see) her read.  One of the advantages of this technology, if you’re watching after the live transmission, is the ability to pause, rewind, play again favourite poems.

Here’s the film of last night’s reading.  The next one to look forward to, featuring EIGHT British poets, is on Saturday, 19th October at 8pm BST / 3pm EDT / noon PDT.  Full details are here.