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iPoetry In The UK

This just off the wire...

The era of the iPoem arrived yesterday with the unveiling of an internet site that will offer more than 1,000 poems to download for 50p each.

Verse by poets such as John Hegley, Jean ''Binta'' Breeze and Benjamin Zephaniah will be available through a service inspired by the Apple phenomenon iTunes. Each poem will be spoken by the writer.

The site, among the first of its kind in Britain, will also offer film downloads to illustrate the poems. It was welcomed as revolutionary by Andrew Motion, the Poet Laureate, who said: "This is an area with huge potential. If we can have symphonies and religious sermons to listen to on our iPods, why not poems?"

The new site, ipoems.org.uk, which will go live in October, will contain 1001 recordings of modern poetry which can be bought for 50p each after an annual subscription of £10. The first month will be free.

A spokesman for Apple said poetry was only available through podcasts submitted by individuals and relayed through the iTunes site.

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Meanwhile, you can get over a thousand poems - as text - for free - by checking out the archives at www.nthposition.com ...

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