As part of the Shakespeare Lives in 2016 programme, celebrating the work of William Shakespeare on the 400th anniversary of his death, the British Council has supported The Poetry Archive to enable us to record and present the Shakespeare 400 Collection. The Shakespeare 400 Collection…

Poets have always written poems about love. We have put together a collection of recordings of some of the best classic love poems, introduced and read for you by today’s poets. From Elizabeth Barrett Browning asking “How do I love thee?” to Lord Byron declaring…

The Poetry Archive’s World War Poetry Showcase is based on the collection put together for our national poetry recitation competition, Poetry by Heart, to mark the centenary of the outbreak of the First World War. Of course, there are plenty of anthologies…

Our Mother’s Day Poetry Collection is different from others you may come across as it isn’t focused on poems specifically intended for your mother. What we have done is put together an ensemble of poems inspired by mothers. Amongst these…

The recordings in this collection were all made as part of the Writing Places project. This project allowed us to work in partnership with Literature Works, who created the project, The National Trust. Writing Places was designed to celebrate literature…

National Memory Day is an annual celebration of poetry and creative writing for people affected by memory loss. National Memory Day raises awareness of the challenges for families, carers and those living with memory loss face and raises funds to support…

This Special Collection brings together some of the recordings we’ve made over the years with poets from Scotland. Edwin Morgan recorded his reading for the Archive in his flat in Glasgow back in 2000, Douglas Dunn made his Archive recording…

National Poetry Day was founded in 1994 by the charity Forward Arts Foundation, whose mission is to celebrate excellence in poetry and increase its audience National Poetry Day is an annual celebration that inspires people throughout the UK to enjoy, discover and…

The Norton Anthology of Poetry has been in existence for almost fifty years, and during that time the way its audience experiences poetry has changed dramatically. Readers now expect to use their ears as much as their eyes when they encounter…