Recognizing the need for poetry in our lives, the Oregon Poetic Voices Project (OPV) has begun to create a comprehensive digital archive of poetry readings that will complement existing print collections of poetry across the state. This sound archive will be available online to Oregonians of all ages and geographic locations at libraries, in schools, at home, or visiting the State Library Poetry Room. OPV is funded by the Library Services and Technology Act FFY2010.

Oregon Poetic Voices will draw from three major collections of recorded Oregon poetry: the two decades of sound archives of the Fishtrap Writers' Gathering in Wallowa County, collected by Rich Wandschneider; the fifteen years of weekly interviews conducted by Barbara LaMorticella and Walt Curtis at KBOO radio; and the recorded archives at Sandra Williams's long-running Mountain Writers project. Between them, these three archives contain recordings of almost every significant Oregon poet of the last quarter of the twentieth century, along with a good selection of recent innovators and creative spirits in the increasingly diverse world of Oregon poetry. We will also be soliciting from across the State recordings of Oregon Poets. We hope to be as inclusive as possible.

For more information on becoming a contributor to Oregon Poetic Voices please contact:

Doug Erickson
Project Manager
Lewis & Clark College
0615 SW Palatine Hill Rd
Portland, Oregon 97219
email: dme@lclark.edu

Listen to KBOO interview with the Oregon Poetic Voices project's Doug Erickson and Melissa Dalton: