All Ears for The Poetry Channel

Posted on: 25 June 2013

In terms of popularity, the all-time top five Poetry Channel podcasts are:

1. Seamus Heaney in conversation with Michael Laskey (Poetry Prom 2010)
2. Young Poets – with Caleb Klaces, Andrew McMillan, Rebecca Perry and Warsan Shire (Aldeburgh Poetry Festival 2012)
3. The Female Poem: Discussion with Maureen Duffy, Annie Freud, Pascale Petit and Jo Shapcott (Aldeburgh Poetry Festival 2009)
4. In Conversation: Poetry & Landscape with Alice Oswald (Aldeburgh Poetry Festival 2007)
5. Craft Talk with South Africa’s Antjie Krog (Aldeburgh Poetry Festival 2010)

This list makes interesting reading and reflects how we really like to programme across the range: big names, international poets and, most encouragingly, a podcast about Young Poets presented by brilliant livewire Andrew McMillan from last year’s Festival which has really caught on!

So what’s for the future of The Poetry Channel? Well, despite the continuing economic downturn and the endless challenge to raise money for the arts – both of which inevitably lead to funding constraints – the good news is that we’ve managed to keep going. Yes, there’s been less time and cash to curate, edit and promote more podcasts, but the listenership continues to be gratifyingly loyal and the potential to expand excitingly real. The average number of downloads remains around 2,000 each month and we’re committed to recording and producing new podcasts each year. We would like to commission more individually-curated podcasts by Festival poets. We would love to have a Poetry Channel Poet-in-Residence – recording and curating his or her own way through the Festival. We’ll always want to edit and make available more craft talks, close readings, discussions and lectures from previous Festival programmes. And above all, we’re planning something special to celebrate this year’s 25^th Aldeburgh Poetry Festival on The Poetry Channel. Watch this space. Or better still, listen out for it.

 

Naomi Jaffa (Director) and Dean Parkin (Creative Director) at The Poetry Trust

The Poetry Channel
www.thepoetrytrust.org/poetry-channel

Watch the recent short film for more about the journey of Aldeburgh Poetry Festival:
www.thepoetrytrust.org/events/film-a-journey-of-the-aldeburgh-poetry-festival/

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