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There are more than 250 audio clips on Poets.org, and our list is always growing. Please search by poem title or the author's name, or you can browse our most popular clips below.

Many of these clips are available for purchase on CD. Look through our Poetry Store for a full list of titles.


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Hear it! Hear it! "What Do Women Want?"
by Kim Addonizio
"I want a red dress...."
Kim Addonizio Read by the author
August 29, 2007
Oakland, California
From the Academy Audio Archive

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Hear it! Hear it! Edge and Fold, sections 15-49
by Paul Hoover
Read by the author
February 1, 2008
AWP Conference, New York City
From the Academy Audio Archive

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Hear it! Hear it! La Figlia Che Piange
by T. S. Eliot
"Stand on the highest pavement of the stair--..."
T. S. Eliot Read by the author
from Caedmon

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Hear it! Hear it! A Defense of Poetry
by Charles Bernstein
Charles Bernstein Read by the author
July 20, 2001
Philosophy Hall Lounge, Columbia University
From the Academy Audio Archive

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Hear it! Hear it! A Hermit Thrush
by Amy Clampitt
"Nothing's certain. Crossing, on this longest day,..."
Amy Clampitt Read by the author
December 01, 1987
Pierpont Morgan Library
From the Academy Audio Archive

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Hear it! Hear it! A Lesson for This Sunday
by Derek Walcott
"The growing idleness of summer grass..."
Derek Walcott Read by the author
October 15, 1964
Guggenhiem Museum
From the Academy Audio Archive

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Hear it! Hear it! A Light Says Why
by Karen Volkman
"A light says why. From all the poor prying. Again we attain a more..."
Karen Volkman Read by the author
May 13, 2008
The Academy Offices
From the Academy Audio Archive

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Hear it! Hear it! A Litany
by Gregory Orr
Gregory Orr Read by the author
October 13, 2006
Academy of American Poets Offices
From the Academy Audio Archive

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Hear it! Hear it! A Man Like You, But Older
by David Kirby
Read by the author
February 2, 2008
AWP Conference, Hilton Hotel, New York City
From the Academy Audio Archive

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Hear it! Hear it! A Perfume
by John Koethe
"There were mice, and even..."
Read by the author
April 14, 2003
From the Academy Audio Archive

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Hear it! Hear it! A Poem about Intelligence for My Brothers and Sisters
by June Jordan
June Jordan Read by the author
Academy Audio Archive
1992

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Hear it! Hear it! A Pot of Tea
by Richard Kenney
"Loose leaves in a metal ball..."
Read by the author
April 23, 2008
New York Public Library, Mulberry Branch
From the Academy Audio Archive

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Hear it! Hear it! A Season
by Joseph Brodsky
Joseph Brodsky Read by the author
December 18, 1980
Donnell Library Center
From the Academy Audio Archive

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Hear it! Hear it! A Slice of Wedding Cake
by Robert Graves
Robert Graves

December 03, 1966
Hunter College
From the Academy Audio Archive



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Hear it! Hear it! A Song for Many Movements
by Audre Lorde
1977
From the Academy Audio Archive

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Hear it! Hear it! A Supermarket in California
by Allen Ginsberg
"What thoughts I have of you tonight, Walt Whitman, for I walked..."
Allen Ginsberg Read by the author
from Rhino/Word-Beat

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Hear it! Hear it! Advice From the Geese
by Robert Bly
Robert Bly Read by the author
February 1, 2008
AWP Conference, Hilton Hotel, New York City
From the Academy Audio Archive

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Hear it! Hear it! After Making Love We Hear Footsteps
by Galway Kinnell
"For I can snore like a bullhorn..."
Galway Kinnell Read by the author
March 18, 1980
Guggenheim Museum
From the Academy Audio Archive

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Hear it! Hear it! After Vallejo
by A. B. Spellman
"i will die in havana in a hurricane..."
Read by the author
April 23, 2008
New York Public Library, Mulberry Branch
From the Academy Audio Archive

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Hear it! Hear it! Afternoon Memory
by Gary Soto
"Sometimes I'll look in the refrigerator..."
Gary Soto April 7, 1997
92nd St. Y
From the Academy Audio Archive

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Hear it! Hear it! All Their Stanzas Look Alike
by Thomas Sayers Ellis
"All their fences..."
Read by the author
August 9, 2006
Bryant Park, New York City
From the Academy Audio Archive

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Hear it! Hear it! America
by Walt Whitman
"Centre of equal daughters, equal sons,..."
Walt Whitman Read by the author
This is a 36-second wax cylinder recording of what is thought to be Whitman's voice reading four lines from the poem "America." For more information on this recording, see Ed Folsom, "The Whitman Recording," Walt Whitman Quarterly Review, 9 (Spring 1992), 214-16.

Reproduced courtesy of The Walt Whitman Archive, ed. Ed Folsom and Kenneth M. Price (www.whitmanarchive.org).

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Hear it! Hear it! An American in Hollywood
by Frank Bidart
Frank Bidart Read by the author
April 10, 2008
Affinia Hotel, New York City
From the Academy Audio Archive

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Hear it! Hear it! An Old-Fashioned Song
by John Hollander
"No more walks in the wood:..."
John Hollander Read by the author
January 14, 1992
Pierpont Morgan Library
From the Academy Audio Archive

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Hear it! Hear it! Anamorphosis
by Cole Swensen
Cole Swensen Read by the author
April 16, 2008
The Arsenal, Central Park
From the Academy Audio Archive

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Hear it! Hear it! And the City Stood in its Brightness
by Czeslaw Milosz
Czeslaw Milosz Read by the author
December 17, 1974
Guggenhiem Museum
From the Academy Audio Archive

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Hear it! Hear it! Ars Poetica
by Philip Schultz
Read by the author
April 3, 2002
The Academy Offices
From the Academy Audio Archive


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Hear it! Hear it! Ars Poetica (cocoons)
by Dana Levin
"Six monarch butterfly cocoons..."
from From the Fishouse

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Hear it! Hear it! Artifact
by Claudia Emerson
Read by the author
February 1, 2008
AWP Conference, New York City
From the Academy Audio Archive

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Hear it! Hear it! Autumn Begins in Martins Ferry, Ohio
by James Wright
"In the Shreve High football stadium,..."
James Wright Read by the author
March 20, 1964
Guggenhiem Museum
From the Academy Audio Archive

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Hear it! Hear it! Blur
by Andrew Hudgins
"Storms of perfume lift from honeysuckle,..."
Andrew Hudgins Read by the author

March 1, 2007
AWP Conference, Atlanta
From the Academy Audio Archive



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Hear it! Hear it! Bolshevescent
by Peter Gizzi
"You stand far from the crowd, adjacent to power..."
Peter Gizzi Read by the author
March 1, 2007
AWP Conference, Atlanta
From the Academy Audio Archive

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Hear it! Hear it! Borges at the Northside Rotary
by David Kirby
Read by the author
February 2, 2008
AWP Conference, Hilton Hotel, New York City
From the Academy Audio Archive

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Hear it! Hear it! By Small and Small: Midnight to Four A.M.
by Jack Gilbert
Jack Gilbert Read by the author
April 12, 2005
The New School, Wollman Hall, New York
From the Academy Audio Archive

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Hear it! Hear it! Catastrophe Theory II
by Mary Jo Bang
"The foot goes forward, yes..."
Mary Jo Bang Read by the author
November, 2007
Washington University
From the Academy Audio Archive

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Hear it! Hear it! Catastrophe Theory III
by Mary Jo Bang
"Now we sit and play with a tiny toy..."
Mary Jo Bang Read by the author
November, 2007
Washington University
From the Academy Audio Archive

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Hear it! Hear it! Certain Principles Must Be Observed
by Cole Swensen
Cole Swensen Read by the author
April 16, 2008
The Arsenal, Central Park
From the Academy Audio Archive

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Hear it! Hear it! Chorus from Oedipus at Colonos
by Anthony Hecht
"What is unwisdom but the lusting after..."
Anthony Hecht Read by the author
January 24, 1991
Pierpont Morgan Library
From the Academy Audio Archive

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Hear it! Hear it! Chosen by the Lion
by Linda Gregg
Linda Gregg

Academy Audio Archive
Recorded October 8, 1991
at the French Institute Alliance Francaise



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Hear it! Hear it! Clementene
by Jane Cooper
"I always thought she was white, I thought she was an Indian..."
Jane Cooper Read by the author
December 15, 1997
92nd St. Y, Unterberg Poetry Center
From the Academy Audio Archive

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Hear it! Hear it! Cloud Country
by Carl Phillips
Carl Phillips Read by the author
October 18, 2007
The Times Center
From the Academy Audio Archive

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Hear it! Hear it! Constable's Clouds, For Keats
by Stanley Plumly
Stanley Plumly Read by the author
February 1, 2008
AWP Conference, New York City
From the Academy Audio Archive

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Hear it! Hear it! Cutthroat Christ
by James Fenton
Read by the author
November 29, 1994
The New School
From the Academy Audio Archive

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Hear it! Hear it! Day
by Ann Lauterbach
Ann Lauterbach Read by the author
April 29, 2008
Marymount Manhattan College
From the Academy Audio Archive

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Hear it! Hear it! Day Job and Night Job
by Andrew Hudgins
"After my night job, I sat in class..."
Andrew Hudgins Read by the author

March 1, 2007
AWP Conference, Atlanta
From the Academy Audio Archive



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Hear it! Hear it! Death By Wind
by Gerald Stern
Gerald Stern Read by the author
October 18, 2007
The Times Center
From the Academy Audio Archive

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Hear it! Hear it! Death Is The Cool Night
by Charles Bernstein
Charles Bernstein Read by the author
July 20, 2001
Philosophy Hall Lounge
Columbia University
From the Academy Audio Archive

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Hear it! Hear it! Death's Door
by Thom Gunn
Thom Gunn 1988
From the Academy Audio Archive

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Hear it! Hear it! Demolition Derby
by Mónica de la Torre
"Sonya's so good that all the guys..."
Read by the author
The Academy Offices
June 24, 2003
From the Academy Audio Archive

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Hear it! Hear it! Descriptions of Heaven and Hell
by Mark Jarman
"The wave breaks..."
Mark Jarman Read by the author
February 1, 2008
AWP Conference, Hilton Hotel, New York City
From the Academy Audio Archive

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Hear it! Hear it! Diamonds
by Christian Bök
Read by the author
February 1, 2008
AWP Conference, Hilton Hotel, New York City
From the Academy Audio Archive

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Hear it! Hear it! Do not go gentle into that good night
by Dylan Thomas
"Do not go gentle into that good night,..."
Dylan Thomas Read by the author
from Caedmon

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Hear it! Hear it! Don't Kill Yourself
by Paul Hoover
Read by the author
February 1, 2008
AWP Conference, New York City
From the Academy Audio Archive

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Hear it! Hear it! Dream Song 1
by John Berryman
"Huffy Henry hid the day,..."
John Berryman Read by the author
October 31, 1963
Guggenhiem Museum
From the Academy Audio Archive

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Hear it! Hear it! Dreaming About My Father
by Ed Ochester
Read by the author
January 31, 2008
AWP Conference, New York City
From the Academy Audio Archive

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Hear it! Hear it! Driver's Song
by Paul Hoover
Read by the author
February 1, 2008
AWP Conference, New York City
From the Academy Audio Archive

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Hear it! Hear it! Duende
by Tracy K. Smith
"The earth is dry and they live wanting..."
from From the Fishouse

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Hear it! Hear it! Early Saturday Afternoon, Early Evening
by Charles Wright
Charles Wright Read by the author
May 06, 1997
New School University
From the Academy Audio Archive

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Hear it! Hear it! Elvis Be My Psychopomp
by David Kirby
Read by the author
February 2, 2008
AWP Conference, Hilton Hotel, New York City
From the Academy Audio Archive

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Hear it! Hear it! Embodies
by Jorie Graham
"Deep autumn; the mistake occurs, the plum tree blossoms, twelve..."
Jorie Graham Read by the author
April 3, 2008
The New Museum, New York City
From the Academy Audio Archive

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Hear it! Hear it! Emptying Town
by Nick Flynn
Nick Flynn Read by the author
March 3, 2007
AWP Conference, Atlanta, GA
From the Academy Audio Archive

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Hear it! Hear it! Endings
by Mona Van Duyn
"Setting the V.C.R. when we go to bed..."
Mona Van Duyn Read by the author
May 21, 1991
New York Historical Society
From the Academy Audio Archive

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Hear it! Hear it! Explicit Version Number Required
by Charles Bernstein
Charles Bernstein Read by the author
July 20, 2001
Philosophy Hall Lounge, Columbia University
From the Academy Audio Archive

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Hear it! Hear it! Fairy Tale
by Ron Padgett
"The little elf is dressed in a floppy cap..."
Ron Padgett Read by the author
January 8, 2008
The Academy Offices
From the Academy of American Poets

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Hear it! Hear it! Father Outside
by Nick Flynn
"A black river flows down the center..."
Nick Flynn Read by the author
March 3, 2007
AWP Conference, Atlanta
From the Academy Audio Archive

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Hear it! Hear it! Father's Day
by James Tate
"My daughter has lived overseas for a number..."
James Tate Read by the author
October 18, 2007
The Times Center
From the Academy Audio Archive

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Hear it! Hear it! Fiat Lux
by Lynda Hull
"Static from the radio stippled grey as anesthesia dream..."
Lynda Hull Read by the author
October 27, 1992
French Institute
From the Academy Audio Archive

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Hear it! Hear it! First Things at the Last Minute
by Robert Hass
Robert Hass Read by the author
October 18, 2007
The Times Center
From the Academy Audio Archive

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Hear it! Hear it! First Things First
by W. H. Auden
W. H. Auden Read by the author
First Things First (Audio Only)

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Hear it! Hear it! Fit Audience
by Marie Ponsot
Marie Ponsot Read by the author
April 21, 2008
Housing Works Bookstore, New York City
From the Academy Audio Archive

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Hear it! Hear it! Fixed
by Christopher Stackhouse
Read by the author
April 21, 2008
Housing Works Bookstore, New York City
From the Academy Audio Archive

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Hear it! Hear it! For the Sake of Retrieval
by Linda Bierds
Linda Bierds Read by the author
March 23, 1993
Alliance Francaise
From the Academy Audio Archive

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Hear it! Hear it! For the Stranger
by Carolyn Forché
Carolyn Forché Read by the author
December 07, 1978
Guggenhiem Museum
From the Academy Audio Archive

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Hear it! Hear it! Fred Astaire
by Ed Ochester
Read by the author
January 31, 2008
AWP Conference, New York City
From the Academy Audio Archive

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Hear it! Hear it! Friday's Child
by W. H. Auden
W. H. Auden Read by the author
March 12, 1964
Guggenhiem Museum
From the Academy Audio Archive

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Hear it! Hear it! From
by A. Van Jordan
Read by the author
February 2, 2008
AWP Conference, Hilton Hotel, New York City
From the Academy Audio Archive

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Hear it! Hear it! From Deposition
by Julie Agoos
Read by the author
April 23, 2008
New York Public Library, Mulberry Branch
From the Academy Audio Archive

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Hear it! Hear it! From Happily
by Lyn Hejinian
"The manner in which we are present at this time to and fro appears, we come to point of view before us..."
Lyn Hejinian Read by the author
May 15, 2001
Academy of American Poets Award Ceremony
From the Academy Audio Archive

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Hear it! Hear it! from Helen in Egypt: Pallinode, Books I & III
by H. D.
H. D. Read by the author
from Watershed Records

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Hear it! Hear it! from Letter to Brooks [Spring Garden]
by Major Jackson
Read by the author
January 31, 2008
AWP Conference, Hilton Hotel, New York City
From the Academy Audio Archive

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Hear it! Hear it! from The Descent of Alette ["A car" "awash with blood"]
by Alice Notley
Alice Notley Read by the author
October 29, 2007
The Academy Offices
From the Academy Audio Archive

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Hear it! Hear it! from The End of the Alphabet [page 3]
by Claudia Rankine
Claudia Rankine Read by the author
July 20, 2001
Philosophy Hall Lounge
Columbia University
From the Academy Audio Archive

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Hear it! Hear it! from The Rwanda Poems
by Kamau Brathwaite

From the Academy Audio Archive
Recorded Oct. 6, 1994
New School University



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Hear it! Hear it! From the Long Sad Party
by Mark Strand
"Someone was saying..."
Mark Strand Read by the author
May 09, 1978
Guggenhiem Museum
From the Academy Audio Archive

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Hear it! Hear it! Gold
by Donald Hall
"Pale gold of the walls, gold..."
Donald Hall Read by the author
Academy Audio Archive
1970

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Hear it! Hear it! Green Sees Things in Waves
by August Kleinzahler
"Green first thing each day sees waves—..."
August Kleinzahler Read by the author
May 5, 1995
From the Academy Audio Archive

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Hear it! Hear it! Groovin' Low
by A. B. Spellman
Read by the author
April 23, 2008
New York Public Library, Mulberry Branch
From the Academy Audio Archive

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Hear it! Hear it! Ground Swell
by Mark Jarman
"Is nothing real but when I was fifteen,..."
Mark Jarman Read by the author
February 1, 2008
AWP Conference, Hilton Hotel, New York City
From the Academy Audio Archive

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Hear it! Hear it! Hackett Avenue
by John Koethe
"I used to like connections:..."
Read by the author
April 14, 2003
From the Academy Audio Archive

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Hear it! Hear it! Hematite Heirloom Lives On (Maybe December 1980)
by Alice Notley
Alice Notley Read by the author
October 29, 2007
The Academy Offices
From the Academy Audio Archive

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Hear it! Hear it! Her Kind
by Anne Sexton
"I have gone out, a possessed witch,..."
Anne Sexton Read by the author
from Anne Sexton Reads
Caedmon

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Hear it! Hear it! homage to my hips
by Lucille Clifton
"these hips are big hips...."
Lucille Clifton Read by the author
May 03, 1983
Guggenhiem Museum
From the Academy Audio Archive

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Hear it! Hear it! Home to Roost
by Kay Ryan
Kay Ryan Read by the author
October 6, 2006
Kaye Playhouse, New York City
From the Academy Audio Archive

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Hear it! Hear it! Homecoming
by Claudia Emerson
Read by the author
February 1, 2008
AWP Conference, New York City
From the Academy Audio Archive

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Hear it! Hear it! How We Did It
by Muriel Rukeyser
Muriel Rukeyser Read by the author
December 7, 1976
From the Academy Audio Archive

Listen to this recording in the latest Poetcast

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Hear it! Hear it! Human Form
by David Wojahn
Read by the author
March 23, 1993
Alliance Francaise, New York City
From the Academy Audio Archive

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Hear it! Hear it! I'm A Fool To Love You
by Cornelius Eady
"Some folks will tell you the blues is a woman,..."
Cornelius Eady Read by the author
March 1, 2007
AWP Conference, Atlanta
From the Academy Audio Archive

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Hear it! Hear it! I'm Over the Moon
by Brenda Shaughnessy
"I don't like what the moon is supposed to do..."
Brenda Shaughnessy Read by the author
October 19, 2007
The New School, Tishman Auditorium
From the Academy Audio Archive

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Hear it! Hear it! If a Wilderness
by Carl Phillips
"Then spring came..."
Carl Phillips Read by the author
September 18th, 2007
East Harwich, Massachusetts
From the Academy Audio Archive

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Hear it! Hear it! If See No End In Is
by Frank Bidart
Frank Bidart Read by the author
April 10, 2008
Affinia Hotel, New York City
From the Academy Audio Archive

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Hear it! Hear it! In Memoriam Mae Noblitt
by A. R. Ammons
"This is just a place: / we go around, distanced,..."
A. R. Ammons Read by the author
October 28th, 1996
92nd St. Y
From the Academy Audio Archive

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Hear it! Hear it! In Paris With You
by James Fenton
Read by the author
November 29, 1994
The New School
From the Academy Audio Archive

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Hear it! Hear it! Influenza
by Claudia Emerson
Read by the author
February 1, 2008
AWP Conference, New York City
From the Academy Audio Archive

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Hear it! Hear it! Irritable Mystic
by Nathaniel Mackey
" His they their..."
Nathaniel Mackey November 15, 2006
Academy of American Poets Offices
From the Academy Audio Archive

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Hear it! Hear it! It Was Raining In Delft
by Peter Gizzi
"A cornerstone. Marble pilings. Curbstones and brick...."
Peter Gizzi Read by the author
March 1, 2007
AWP Conference, Atlanta
From the Academy Audio Archive

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Hear it! Hear it! Jeffers
by Mark Jarman
"To raise a stump of rock into a tower, rollin