[Catherine Chandler]

I agree with Tim. I find that I'm tempted to read along with the podcast, and, in doing so, something essential is lost.

[Julie Steiner]

Some I listened to, some I read along with the podcast, and I found that I enjoyed the read-alongs more...especially if there was a rhyme scheme, which natural phrasing makes harder to appreciate (unless it's relentlessly end-stopped, which Maryann doesn't do). I noticed this with Jehanne's Fresh Air recording, too--I honestly wouldn't have known they were sonnets, without seeing them.

I guess it comes down to different learning styles--I'm a very visual learner, while my kids are more auditory.

Something else to consider, since this was a recording of an event: occasionally the audience would read ahead a bit and respond to something they saw coming a few words away. I found this a little annoying when I didn't have the text in front of me. But when I could read ahead a bit, too, as I did in "Mid Evil", I could join their conspiratorial chuckle.

[Jeff Holt]

While I see merits to both sides of this issue, I'm inclined to agree with Julie for the simple reason that I, as a lover of poetry, have primarily learned to love poetry through the written page. That may be a shame, or a sign of the barbarism of my age group (I'm 39), but it's a fact nonetheless. Therefore, when I have the poems in front of me, I get more out of them. This is not to say that, when I hear Rhina Espaillat read tomorrow night, that I am going to go fumbling though her books to try to find the poems she's reading--that would detract from the moment. But in a podcast situation, since we have the technology, and also have the ability to pause the recording and reread something that we might not have grasped, or only grasped a tendril of at the beginning, I think it's a real boon to have the text printed out. On the other hand, since I am a bit "hearing challenged" when it comes to poetry, I also find it's a good exercise to close my eyes and let a poem or two spill over me without looking at the texts, but I will still want to have the texts to go back to.

That's my two cents.

Jeff

[Maryann Corbett]

Thanks for your thoughts on this! I hope there'll be more opinions offered; I'll alert Alex to these.

Another suggestion I've heard is that links (rather than full text) give listeners the option of reading along or not.

[Alex Pepple]

Thanks, Maryann, for querying our podcast enthusiasts. There appears to be no consensus from the answers regarding including the text. So, I'll continue including the text.

For those who don't want text, the solution for you is obvious -- skip it and just listen to the audio ... leave the text for those who prefer to have it included.

Cheers,
...Alex

[Tracey Gratch]

I like having the option to read the poems also. I downloaded Maryann's podcast to my ipod and listened to it a few times (during my infrequent workouts over the past weeks) before going back to the text, and even then, I didn't read the poems along with the recording. I was surprised at how much I'd remembered from listening.

I enjoyed the poems very much; a great selection, Maryann. Thanks to both you and Alex for providing this.

Tracey