THE WPR VOCARIUM

EMERGING WORK FROM THE POETRY ROOM

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The Latest with Stephen Burt
Oral History Initiative
Reel Time and WPR Works-in-Progress
WPR ThinkTank

The word "vocarium" was coined by Harvard Professor Frederick C. Packard Jr. to suggest "a place where recordings of voices are kept and used for study and enjoyment." Under the Harvard Vocarium record label, Packard recorded some of the foremost poets of his time, including T.S. Eliot, Elizabeth Bishop, Robert Lowell, Ezra Pound and Marianne Moore. Our online Vocarium honors and revives this creative vision for the 21st century by sharing new projects emerging from the Poetry Room, including oral histories, recording sessions, podcasts and multidisciplinary installations.

The Latest with Stephen Burt

Harvard Professor of English Stephen Burt—a prolific poet and regular reviewer for Boston Review and London Review of Books, who has been hailed as “the finest critic of his generation”—joins us several times each semester to share his latest fascinations and forays into recently published poetry collections. All of the books, chapbooks, and other media mentioned in this program are available for exploration in the Woodberry Poetry Room (and beyond).

	THE LATEST: EPISODE THREE On D.A. Powell, Camille Roy, Peter Scupham, Adrienne Rich, Craig Dworkin, Michael Collier, Regan Good & A.E. Stallings Recorded on March 24, 2012 play pause stop mute unmute previous next
	THE LATEST: EPISODE TWO On Bruce Smith, Noah Eli Gordon, Robert Seydel, Bryan D. Dietrich, Matthew Rohrer, Emily Fragos & Will Hubbard Recorded on October 27, 2011 play pause stop mute unmute previous next
	THE LATEST: EPISODE ONE On Allan Peterson, Laura Kasischke, Juliana Spahr, Harmony Holiday & Cyrus Console Recorded on September 14, 2011 play pause stop mute unmute previous next

ORAL HISTORY INITIATIVE

The Poetry Room's Oral History Initiative is a series of informal conversations and field recordings featuring friends, family members, students and colleagues of pivotal literary figures from the 20th century. It is the hope that these stories will form an intimate and cumulative mosaic of New England's poetic history and contribute to the national poetic narrative.

On Denise Levertov

Mark Pawlak, Dick Lourie & Donna Hollenberg

Recorded on April 20, 2010, at the Woodberry Poetry Room


	On Frank O'Hara Ron Padgett and John Ashbery Recorded on April 5, 2011, at Longfellow Hall, Harvard University play pause stop mute unmute previous next


	On Charles Olson Ammiel Alcalay, Peter Anastas, Chuck Stein, Ingeborg Lauerstein, Michael Rumaker & Ed Sanders Recorded on October 9, 2010, in Gloucester, Massachusetts play pause stop mute unmute previous next


	On George Oppen Rachel Blau DuPlessis, Linda Oppen, Patrick Pritchett & Bob and Helene Quinn Recorded on October 25, 2011, at the Barker Center, Harvard University play pause stop mute unmute previous next


	On George & Mary Oppen Linda Oppen & Gerald Albarelli (Interviewer) Recorded on October 24, 2011, in Cambridge, Massachusetts play pause stop mute unmute previous next

Reel Time and WPR Works-in-Progress

This section features highlights from two popular Poetry Room series: Woodberry Works-in-Progress and Reel Time. Our Works-in-Progress series was founded as a way to honor the liminal state of artistic and scholarly creation, offering authors an opportunity to share work at different stages of their process. Our Reel Time series is an opportunity to integrate archival audio and visual material into the exploration of 20th and 21st century poets and poetry communities. These casual conversations take place in a roundtable setting in the Woodberry Poetry Room.

	A MICE, A BRICK, A LOVELY NIGHT: On Poetry and Comics Stephen Burt and Monica Youn Recorded on March 3, 2011 play pause stop mute unmute previous next

	A LENS ON THE NOBEL PRIZE IN LITERATURE Kjell Espmark Recorded on April 14, 2011 play pause stop mute unmute previous next

	THE BATTLE OVER LANGUAGE AT GROUND ZERO Elizabeth Greenspan Recorded on March 21, 2011 play pause stop mute unmute previous next

	ON JAMES MERRILL: A Biography in Progress Langdon Hammer Recorded on March 3, 2010 play pause stop mute unmute previous next

	FROLIC ARCHITECTURE Susan Howe & David Grubbs Recorded on November 1, 2011 play pause stop mute unmute previous next

	REEL TIME: On Robert Duncan Lisa Jarnot Recorded on September 29, 2011 play pause stop mute unmute previous next

	WITH PAUL CELAN INTO THE 21ST CENTURY Pierre Joris Recorded on November 15, 2011 play pause stop mute unmute previous next

	HAMLET'S BLACKBERRY: Poetry & Disconnectedness in the Digital Era William Powers Recorded on April 16, 2009 play pause stop mute unmute previous next

	THE POETICS OF SCREENPLAY Bradford Winters Recorded on February 15, 2011 play pause stop mute unmute previous next

WPR ThinkTank

The WPR ThinkTank foregrounds ideas, debates, and scholarship emerging from the Poetry Room through its fellowships and its large-scale public programs (including panels and symposia).

IMPROVING ON SILENCE: Thoughts on Listening at the Woodberry Poetry Room

James Arthur, Joan Nordell Fellow ‘11