Writing Seminars

Books and research tools for creative writers

Audio and Video

Three ways to find audio and video recordings of poetry:

1. Examine the wide range of audio recordings of poetry in the library's collection by using Catalyst's Advanced Search interface: type (poet or poetry or poem) with parentheses into the "Any Field" box. Then, under "Format," scroll down to the "non-musical sound recordings" option.

2. Explore e-resources we have acquired, like the listening room in The Columbia Grainger's World of Poetry or the multimedia section of LiOn.

3. Look for websites with audio and video recordings of poetry, such as:

From the Fishouse: an audio archive of emerging poets

The Academy of American Poets on Soundcloud

Internet Archive Audio Poetry

The New Yorker's Poetry Podcast Archive

Many free mp3 downloads at Learn Out Loud

PennSound

The Poetry Foundation's Poetry Archive

More suggestions at the Library of Congress' Poetry Audio Recordings: Guide to Online Resources

Small Press Titles

The library collects many books and journals published by small, independent presses, which often support new, experimental, and/or interdisciplinary works that traditional and commercial publishers do not.

There is no specific way to identify small press books in the library catalog. You can search for a particular press using the "publisher" field, but not a group of publishers who qualify as "small presses"--the catalog doesn't know what counts as a small press!

If you are interested in looking at small press books and journals in the library's collection, search for specific publishers who are carried by Small Press Distribution. You can learn more about--and see some great covers of publications from--small presses, mimeograph periodicals, and the like at Granary Books' From a Secret Location.

Slam and Spoken Word

"Spoken word" art is word-based performance art, which includes oral recitations of jazz and hip hop poetry, traditional poetry readings, prose monologues, griot and other forms of storytelling, and poetry slams, competitions of oral poets reciting/performing original work.

Some E-Lit Sites and Resources

Electronic literature, or e-lit, refers to works with important literary aspects that take advantage of the capabilities and contexts provided by the stand-alone or networked computer.