Dial a Poem

Listen to and read original poems on the theme of calling by poets from around the world and discover new work by award-winning writers exploring communication in the digital age. Developed by Nottingham Trent University and supported by the Arts and Humanities Research Council, Dial-a-Poem is a free app that invites you to reflect on the poetry of the telephone.

Inspired by the poet, artist and activist John Giorno who launched his telephone poetry service in New York 50 years ago, this app gives you free access to over sixty new poems by contemporary award-winning writers from Africa, America, Asia and Europe. Reflecting on the relationship between poetry and calling, and read aloud by the authors and translators, these poems invite you to think about how we talk, text and listen across borders.

The app features newly-commissioned work from Claudia Berrueto, Vahni Capildeo, Rachael Boast, Amy Sara Carroll, Rishi Dastidar, Bruno Galluccio, Lisa Kelly, Raquel Lanseros, Janet McAdams, Andrew McMillan, Abi Palmer, Anita Pati, Vidyan Ravinthiran, Denise Saul, Nick Sturm, Chrissy Williams, Lyuba Yakimchuk, and Ather Zia, as well as the winning entries of a national poetry competition.

From the Home screen, dial ‘0’ to read and hear a poem at random, or use our online directory – available at http://www.crossedlines.co.uk – to search the direct number of a poet or poem of your choice.

Dial-a-Poem is part of the Crossed Wires project, supported by the Arts and Humanities Research Council and Nottingham Trent University. For more information, please visit http://www.crossedlines.co.uk