You can explore the Archive in many different ways. You can look for poets you know, you can let us take you to poets whose work you may not know, you can chose poems on a particular theme, or you can ask our guides to show you the recordings they especially like. As the Archive grows, more guides will be added to the Archive. Some guides will be poets and some will be prominent people from other walks of life. All are poetry lovers who are keen to share with you the recordings they especially enjoy.

To come back to your guide when you've listened to a selection, use your BACK button.

Over the years I’ve become increasingly interested in the lyrical nature of poetry. I find that the more I’ve taken in, the more I’ve developed a palette for playful use of language; particularly rhyme. The pieces I’ve chosen from the archive all highlight the joy that can be found in messing about with words. I hope that these pieces also go some way to show how alive British poetry is, both in voice and on the page.