Site of the week: Association of Poetry Podcasting

Podcasting has been a gift to poetry and there's a wealth of lyrical shows available at iTunes, from the Easy French Poetry podcast (does what it says on the tin) to Little Red's Writing Hood (which doesn't, but is worth a listen). But how to sort the verse from the worse? Some of the early adopters of the medium are troubled that the cream of the crop is getting lost in the iTunes listings as the service offers no guidance on the quality of the podcasts it promotes. Their solution is the rather grand-sounding Association of Poetry Podcasting, which aims to "make it easier to get an earful". The website lists member podcasters and gives a brief description of their offerings. Most of the podders featured at the moment are US-based, but one of the founder members - the splendid Slam Idol Podcast - is British and more will surely follow. Would-be members must fulfil criteria for admission that act as a quality control mechanism. There is also a forum on which poetry podcasters and fans can discuss their favourite shows and poets.