New Podcast on the Block :: Red Lion Square

With the staff of Amy Watkins, Host/Co-Editor, Jae Newman, Co-Editor, Shawna Mills, Artist, and Alex Copeland, Music/Technical Consultant – Red Lion Square is a free weekly podcast (archived monthly) of “contemporary poetry intended for a general audience.”

The podcasts are short (the ones I sampled were 8-12 min.) with a pleasant mix of transitional music, intros, different poets reading, and a segment called “the after party,” which might be music, interviews, or in the case of Episode 6, a visit to the Audubon Park Community Market to hear Poetry by Flashlight from Thomas Birchmire. The sound quality varies as some portions seem to be recorded by the writers themselves (tinny, in some cases) and most likely sent in, but what is recorded “in house” is top quality. Of course, the after party may allow the setting to lend its charm to the recording, but in the episodes I sampled, I had no trouble understanding the poet/musicians.

Cuurent contributors include: Thomas Birchmire, Therese L. Broderick, Mark Russell Brown, Debra Kang Dean, Teneice Durrant Delgado, Stacia M. Fleegal, Kenneth P. Gurney, Marci Rae Johnson, Erin Keane, Karen Kelsay, Russ Kesler, Steve Kronen, Richard Newman, Daniel Romo, Jesse Jay Ross, Katerina Stoykova-Klemer, Andy Trevathan, Matthew Vetter, Jonathan Weinert, and Johnathon Williams.

Red Lion Square is open for submissions: “looking for smart, accessible poems that sound great out loud. We believe there is a difference between easy poems and accessible poems and that a good reading of a good poem can turn on a person’s interest in poetry. We want those poems.” Writers can submit written works to be read, or read their own poems and send in quality recordings in wav or mp3 format along with written submissions.