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Audio Recordings

Our literary 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. Start below and see what you find.

Archive of Recorded Poetry and Literature The Archive of Recorded Poetry and Literature at the Library of Congress dates back to 1943, and contains nearly 2,000 recordings 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. Explore the full collection.
The PALABRA Archive The PALABRA Archive at the Library of Congress dates back to 1943, and contains nearly 800 recordings of poets and prose writers participating in sessions at the Library’s Recording Laboratory and at other locations around Spain and Latin America. To date, writers from 32 countries are represented in this collection. Explore the full collection.
Poetry of America Poetry of America contains field 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.

Program Poetry & Literature