Since ancient times, poetry has been experienced as an oral art form as well as a written one. These government publications include advice on performing poetry as well as recordings of performances of poetry. Many of the performances are by the poets themselves.
U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences: ERIC Database
- "A Poetry Coffee House: Creating a Cool Community of Writers," by Kristen Ferguson [ERIC Number: EJ1152839]This article in the ERIC database explores the sharing of writing through a coffee house–style poetry reading. it contains tips and ideas for implementing poetry coffee houses with elementary and secondary school students and preservice and inservice teachers. The coffee house activity with preservice teachers consists of three parts: a discussion about poetry, a poetry writing workshop, and an open mike sharing session. The goals of the coffee house are to broaden preservice teachers' conceptions of poetry, to model poetry writing with students, and to create a venue to share poetry as a community of writers. The article originally appeared in Reading Teacher 71, no. 2 (September 2017): 209–13. doi:10.1002/trtr.1610.
Library of Congress
- Audio Recordings in the U.S. Library of CongressThe Library of Congress audio collections contain historic and contemporary recordings featuring poets and writers reading and discussing their work at the Library of Congress (and beyond), digitized and right at your fingertips. Audio recordings of poetry are found in the following collections:
- Archive of Recorded Poetry and LiteratureRecordings of poets and writers participating in literary events at the Library’s Capitol Hill campus as well as sessions at the Library’s Recording Laboratory.
- The PALABRA ArchiveRecordings of poets and prose writers participating in sessions at the Library’s Recording Laboratory and at other locations around Spain and Latin America.
- Poetry of AmericaField recordings by a wide range of award-winning contemporary poets. Each poet reads a singular American poem of his or her choosing, and also speaks to how the poem connects to, deepens, or re-imagines our sense of American identity.
- Inaugural Poems in HistoryOnly four United States presidents so far have invited poets to read a new poem, specially composed for the occasion, at their inaugurations. This page at the poets.org website includes the text of each poem and a link to a video of the poet reading at the inauguration. (Robert Frost was having trouble seeing his manuscript because of the sun's glare bouncing off the snow, so he ended up reciting his poem "The Gift Outright" from memory instead of reading the newly composed poem, but you can read both poems here.)
You can also watch several of the the poets reading their inaugural poems on YouTube:- Amanda Gorman reads "The Hill We Climb" at Biden's inauguration
- Richard Blanco reads "One Today" at Obama's second inauguration
- Elizabeth Alexander reads "Praise Song for the Day" at Obama's first inauguration
- Miller Williams reads "Of History and Hope" at Clinton's second inauguration
- Maya Angelou reads "On the Pulse of Morning" at Clinton's first inauguration
- Robert Frost reads "The Gift Outright" at Kennedy's inauguration
National Endowment for the Arts
Line by Line: Transforming Student Lives and Learning with the Art of Poetry by Call Number: NF 2.2:P 75Publication Date: 2020Poetry Out Loud is a program of the National Endowment for the Arts and the Poetry Foundation, with support from state and jurisdictional arts agencies, Poetry Out Loud connects students with their literary heritage, instills a sense of poise and confidence, and in some cases, transforms lives. Poetry Out Loud starts in the classroom, where teachers can use free Poetry Out Loud materials to teach poetry recitation and run classroom competitions. Students select, memorize, and recite poems from an anthology of more than 1,100 classic and contemporary poems, choosing poems that speak to them at a personal level. In addition to introducing students to a wide range of poetry, the program helps them to master public speaking and build self-confidence, which can be critical for young people finding their way through adolescence.
White House Millennium Council
Poets Laureate: The American Voice in Poetry (Millennium Evenings at the White House: Honor the Past, Imagine the Future, Tape 3) by Call Number: PREX 1.21:M 61/PKG./ Tape 3Publication Date: 1999Also known as A Celebration of Poetry in American Life, this is a videocassette recording of President William Jefferson Clinton and First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton hosting the third Millennium Evening performance in the East Room of the White House, one of a series of lectures and cultural showcases presented by the White House in 1998 and 1999 to highlight American creativity and inventiveness through ideas, art, and scientific discoveries. In this Millennium Evening, Present and past Poets Laureate Robert Pinsky, Robert Hass, and Rita Dove recite excerpts of famous poems and speak about the evolution of poetry through the century. President Clinton, First Lady Hillary Clinton, and members of the audience read their favorite poems and participate in the discussion. Video is also available online to members of the UNT community as The American Voice in Poetry [online video] and to the general public on YouTube as White House Millennium Lecture Series #3 — Poets Laureate: The American Voice in Poetry.