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Audio Print

"The poet's voice need not merely be the record of man, it can be one of the props, the pillars to help him endure and prevail."
                           —William Faulkner

Beginning with John Berryman’s historic first reading of The Dream Songs on Halloween night, 1963, the Academy of American Poets has presented and recorded over 700 poetry readings, lectures, and symposia, making the Poetry Audio Archive one the world's richest aural records of poetry.

Search for Audio

Search for audio clips 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. Visit our Poetry Store for a full list of titles.

Browse by First letter of poem title:
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Most Popular Audio

1. Do not go gentle into that good night Hear it!
by Dylan Thomas
Do not go gentle into that good night...

2. The Road Not Taken Hear it!
by Robert Frost
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood...

3. We Real Cool Hear it!
by Gwendolyn Brooks
We real cool. We / Left school...

4. The Negro Speaks of Rivers Hear it!
by Langston Hughes
I've known rivers: / I've known rivers ancient as the world ...

5. "What Do Women Want?" Hear it!
by Kim Addonizio
I want a red dress. / I want it flimsy and cheap...

Free Album Download

Poets of Our Time Reading

Poets Forum Reading 2007 - Free Audio Download

The sold out Poets Forum Reading on October 18, 2007 provided the rare opportunity to hear some of the most acclaimed contemporary poets, reading together on one stage. Featuring the Chancellors of the Academy of American Poets, the reading celebrated the range of outstanding poetry being written in America.

Download selections from the evening's performance, including new poems by Frank Bidart, Rita Dove, Robert Hass, Lyn Hejinian, Galway Kinnell, Sharon Olds, Carl Phillips, Robert Pinsky, Kay Ryan, Susan Stewart, Gerald Stern, James Tate, Ellen Bryant Voigt. More >

Newest Poetcast

March 27, 2008

Ars Poeticast: For National Poetry Month, poems about poetry from Philip Schultz, Robert Kelly, Russell Edson, and Kenneth Koch.

Poetry Ringtones

"Rage, rage against the dying of the light" with free downloadable ringtones for your mobile phone, available in MP3, AAC, and iPhone (M4R) formats. Learn more >

Newest Audio Added to Poets.org

Sonnet [Nothing was ever what it claimed to be,] Hear it!
by Karen Volkman
Nothing was ever what it claimed to be, the earth, blue egg...

From Happily Hear it!
by Lyn Hejinian
If we thrill to low hills because they are not composed...

Thank Gerard Hear it!
by Marie Ponsot
Cascade: rain torrential rain...

Certain Principles Must Be Observed Hear it!
by Cole Swensen
The initial impression must be from a height, but only half...

Fixed Hear it!
by Christopher Stackhouse
"after image," articulate reversals, religious in premise...

Pot of Tea Hear it!
by Richard Kenney
Loose leaves in a metal ball or men in a shark cage steeping...

After Vallejo Hear it!
by A. B. Spellman
i will die in havana in a hurricane, it will be morning, i'll be facing southwest...

Primogeniture Hear it!
by Julie Agoos
Someone put that basket under the dresser. Chose to. Bent. Kicked it maybe...

America Hear it!
by Walt Whitman
Centre of equal daughters, equal sons, all, all alike endear'd...

Bestsellers from the Audio Archive

1. Robert Lowell & John Berryman CD
The first public reading of Berryman's Dream Songs.
more info >

2. James Wright CD
A rare collection of James Wright's radiant poems of astonishment.
more info >

3. Charles Simic CD (autographed)
A limited-edition CD of readings in 1974 and 1977.
more info >

Special Offer
Audio Archive Anthologies, Volumes I, II, & III
Each volume of our popular Audio Archive Anthology includes rare recordings of poems read by some of the most influential poets of the twentieth century.
more info >

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