Foundation News

Record-a-Poem on SoundCloud

Originally Published: March 26, 2013

3-26-13_Record-a-Poem

We at Harriet Headquarters are still feeling the cold this early spring, one could even say we're down right Frosty (happy b-day today, btw), but despite the weather we're welcoming a flurry of poems at SoundCloud.

We've created the Record-a-Poem group where we invite everyone to post audio recordings of their favorite poems. People can upload recordings they have on their computers, or use SoundCloud to upload audio files directly to the group using the Upload button here.

To get started listening, here are a few of our faves:

"Susie Asado" by Gertrude Stein, read by Fred & August Sasaki.

"To the Virgins, to Make Much of Time" by Robert Herrick, read by
Garrison Keillor.

"The Crocodile" by Lewis Carroll, read by 1st grade students from St.
Giles School
in Oak Park, Illinois.

"Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird" by Wallace Stevens, read by Charles Morello.

"'Hope' is a Thing with Feathers" by Emily Dickinson, read by Emma Rahme.

Dig into our online archive to find poems of all stripes to record, including love poems, anti-love poems, poems about cats, gay & lesbian wedding poems, spring poems, basketball poems, you name it!

Afterwards, you can share your poem via Facebook and other social media. Heck, with National Poetry Month, why not celebrate by recording a poem and sharing it with the world.

If you're not up to speed on SoundClouding, here are the steps to upload you reading the poem of your choice:

1. Join SoundCloud and the Record-a-Poem Group.
2. Hit the round Rec (record button).
3. Check the box to approve that Flash can access your microphone.
4. Hit round Rec button again.
5. Record.
6. Hit the square Stop button.
7. Upload the sound.
8. Name the recording following this format: "POEM TITLE" by "POET" read by YOU; add author tags and the word "poem" and "poetry."
9. Click the "Add to Group" button below the track, and select "record-a-poem."
10. Keep in mind that we have to approve the tracks before they're added to the group, so it may take a day before you see it.