A website where poets recite their own works has been launched by poet laureate Andrew Motion.
The Poetry Archive aims to ensure that all major English-speaking poets are recorded for posterity. It features advice on teaching poetry, lesson plans and interviews and has recordings of Michael Rosen, Seamus Heaney and Harold Pinter.
Lord Adonis, the schools minister, said: “It provides an exciting opportunity for young people to engage with poetry. It will add a rich dimension to learning.”
The Poetry Archive’s education section was designed by a group including teachers and representatives from the Department for Education and Skills, the Poetry Society and the Reading Agency.
Mr Motion said: “The Poetry Archive proves that the ‘sound-sense’ of a poem is as important as its ‘page-sense’. I remember how, when I was a child and encountering poetry for the first time, recordings of poets speaking their own work helped me to enjoy as well as understand.”
My Best Teacher in Friday magazine www.poetryarchive.org