Library of Congress Has New Audio Archive of Poets

By Dianna Dilworth 

The Library of Congress has uploaded a treasure trove of recordings of poets doing readings that dates back to 1943.

The Archive of Recorded Poetry and Literature at the Library of Congress collection, which is available for free online, includes almost 2,000 recordings of poets participating in literary events at the Library’s Capitol Hill branch and at the Library’s Recording Laboratory. Robert Frost, Mario Vargas Llosa, Ray Bradbury, Margaret Atwood, and Kurt Vonnegut are included in the collection. Here is more from the website:

Most of these recordings are captured on magnetic tape reels, and only accessible at the Library itself. In digitizing the archive and presenting it online, the Library hopes to greatly broaden its use and value. The material featured on this online presentation represents a sample of this collection. The site will continue to provide additional items from this archive on a monthly basis over the next several years.