The Poetry Archive

摘要

The Poetry Archive is an ambitious project whose aim is to collect, catalogue and make freely available recordings of poets reading their own work. Its scope is largely American and English poetry but this is due to what recordings are available. The program hopes to include more global representatives as time goes on though the archive does limit the scope to English-language poetry. The Poetry Archive is well organized and easy to navigate. It is possible to search poem titles, author names or even themes while also providing a glossary of poetic terms and concepts. This encourages browsing and exploration, discovering poets and their recordings serendipitously. The benefits of title and author search are self-evident but the ability to list by theme would allow researchers to find similar resources by tone or content. The user can also explore poems by type such as haiku, ballad or quatrain. The layout is aesthetically appealing, making navigation easier and more intuitive. A user can create a free login to save resources, create their own lists of recordings and so on. It also allows the user to participate in the online discussions and leave comments.