The Poetry Archive is a free, web-based library formed to hold recordings of English language poets reading their own work.
[3] The resource is built on the idea that poets have a unique relationship with their own work and are often able to communicate the nuance, musicality and subtlety of it, with a deeper understanding than actors.
"[1] Contemporary studio recordings for the project began in 2000, shortly after Motion was appointed a Poet Laureate, and the site went live in 2005.
[10] Contemporary writers include Seamus Heaney, Billy Collins, Carol Ann Duffy and John Ashbery.
[15] That same year, the project worked with the BBC to archive rare readings by Siegfried Sassoon, Robert Graves and Philip Larkin.
[1] The Children's ARchive also includes work by poets such as Roald Dahl, Spike Milligan, Michael Rosen.
The website also features collections of classic poetry being read by contemporary poets and famous British voices, including Helen Mirren, Stephen Fry, Judi Dench and Alan Rickman.