Listen to the world’s best poetry read out loud.
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Poet
Kae Tempest
B. 1985
Born in south-east London where they still live, Kae Tempest made their live debut as a spoken-word artist at sixteen. Having initially conceived of themselves as a rapper, Tempest found their work was also extremely popular at poetry slams; they…
Poet
Richard Harrison
B. 1957
Canadian poet Richard Harrison is a shrewd writer who is as much concerned with the question of poetry and its composition as he is personal histories; his poems are discursive and self-referential, yet never subordinated to the cerebral in a…
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Interview
Did you know there is more than one Simon Armitage? In this interview, the best-selling poet and novelist introduces you to them and talks about the importance of voice in his work.
Interview
Wendy Cope muses on the lines that keep coming back, the challenges of formal verse and how a poem can be seriously funny.
Interview
Sujata Bhatt is a poet of many different cultures: in this interview, she talks about her travels and how they've influenced her writing and lets us into the "private and inner world" of making poems.
Interview
Join acclaimed poet Jo Shapcott in her Welsh retreat as she talks about the pleasures of science and music that inform her work - and the importance of getting up early to write!
Interview
Jean Sprackland talks about her inspiration and process for writing poetry.
Interview
Choman Hardi answers questions on her Kurdish background and the influence this has on her poetry and painting.
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Poet
Edgar Allan Poe
B. 1809 D. 1849
Edgar Allan Poe was born in 1809, the son of poverty-stricken actors. His father died from consumption; soon afterwards, his English mother, who in her time had played Juliet, Ophelia and a range of Shakespearian leading roles, died and left…
Poet
Phyllis Wheatley
B. 1753 D. 1784
Phillis Wheatley was the first US slave to publish a book of poems. Born in Africa in about 1753 and shipped as an 8 year old child to the Boston Slave Market, she was purchased by John Wheatley to be…
Poet
Valerie Gillies
B. 1948
Valerie Gillies’ poems are of a startling clarity. The precision of thought and image that coalesce in her vivid and occasionally microscopic descriptions might prompt a line of comparison between her work and that of the earlier, American poet, Elizabeth…
Poet
Sarah Howe
B. 1983
Sarah Howe was born in Hong Kong in 1983 to an English father and Chinese mother, and moved to England as a child. She studied English at Cambridge, where from 2010-2015 she was a Research Fellow at Gonville and Caius…
Poet
Ethel Carnie Holdsworth
B. 1886 D. 1962
Ethel Carnie Holdsworth (1886 – 1962), grew up in East Lancashire. She is now best known as a working-class writer, feminist, and socialist activist, but she was first noticed as a poet, journalist and children’s writer. She is believed to be…
Poet
Jim Carruth
B. 1963
Jim Carruth was born in Johnstone, Renfrewshire, in 1963. He grew up on his family’s far near Kilbarchan, and studied for a degree in Geology at Glasgow University. After spending time in Turkey, he returned to Scotland, where he now…