The hills are alive with Litrus podcasts
There’s something about hearing someone read their writing aloud. Our voices are as unique as a fingerprint and can tell as much about us as a photograph. This man lingers over his words in a way that shows he loves language for language’s sake, and though he is a baritone, he laughs often and easily in an alto key. This woman’s voice is thin and reedy, which provides a powerful contrast to her strong and defiant words. We’re happy that Litrus podcasts give visitors to our site the chance to hear writers reading their work.
Through the magic of technology (we use a program called GarageBand) we can edit poems and other spoken word pieces, and add in beats, loops and music—either prerecorded or of our own devising. We can keep it simple or create a wall of sound that makes a recording into a multimedia experience. We can, and do, blur the artificial wall between poetry and music.
All of this is computer-age talk and, though writing benefits from technology, it always returns to its historic roots; writing, after all, is a basic and timeless human impulse. We know that poetry has been read aloud since time immemorial. Often with the help of that master mnemonic device, rhyme, epic stories were transmitted orally before they were written down. Before TV, movies, video games and the Internet, people relied on professional storytellers and traveling minstrels to fill their heads with words laced with wisdom, catharsis, distraction, magic and whimsy. Poetry WAS escapism.
Taking this concept to extreme, one might say that the writer who podcasts is a modern minstrel. His or her travels are now expanded with the limitless reach of the Internet, and the viral nature of the mp3. It’s truly an exciting time for writers and literature lovers. As the Ramones sang, “We want the airwaves.” We do, too, if just for a little while. We want to use the airwaves to rain words on our listeners and, just for a bit, remind them that, sometimes, a well-crafted story or poem is worth a thousand pictures.
—Sarah Torribio
Here the words of poets click each link to listen.
