Association of Poetry Podcasting

John Rhodes of Mystic Babylon

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Association of Poetry Podcasting E-mail: mail@poetrypodcasting.org 

 http://www.poetrypodcasting.org POD PEOPLE UNITE FOR POETRY San Jose, CA -- June 22, 2006 -- A year ago, if you hit the Internet looking for poetry, you would have found a lot to read. But today, thanks to a growing group of poetry podcasters, you'll also find a lot to hear. "There’s definitely something for everyone," says Simon Toon of the Association of Poetry Podcasting (APP). "Poetry podcasts cover a vast range of performance styles from around the world. You can find everything from traditional 'page' poetry (the kind of stuff that actually rhymes), to vibrant 'Slam' performances and even rap-like poetry over R 'n' B or Hip Hop music." "Podcasting is perfectly suited to poetry," says the APP’s Mongo. "It’s a medium where poets can use the full range of their creative talents." As a result, the podcasting community is ever expanding. What began as a mere handful of poetry shows as recently as the start of this year, has grown into more than a dozen popular podcasts with thousands of listeners. "But there’s still work to be done," says Harry Lafnear of the APP. "Until now, it really has been hard to find the better shows. Services that list podcasts are not well set up to moderate poetry. Individual efforts easily get lost in the sea of inconsistent or amateur offerings. As a result, our community is often overlooked. We hope that by bringing the existing podcasters into a formal association, we can turn up the volume and bring the most vibrant poetry more public attention." The Association of Poetry Podcasting intends to make it easier to find good audio poetry on the Internet, support new and established poetry podcasters, foster emerging spoken-word recording artists, and spread vocal poetry to a wider audience. For additional information, contact: mail@poetrypodcasting.org The Association of Poetry Podcasting website can be found at www.poetrypodcasting.org. Founding members include podcasters in the U.S. and U.K.: Dan Adinolfi of the Florn.net podcast, Will Brown of Cloudy Day Art, Thom Ingram of The PoetGuru Podcast, Harry Lafnear of The Everyday Muse, Mongo of IndieFeed Performance Poetry, Belinda Subraman of Gypsy Art Show, Simon Toon of the Slam Idol podcast, Nic Treadwell of the Homegrown Podcast, Larry Winfield of Sundown Lounge, John Rhodes of Mystic Babylon and Tairy Woodard of Little Red's Writing Hood.