Thanks to Thea at the Quebec Homeschool Nations site for pointing out this great site. 

The Poetry Archive claims to be "the world's premier online collection of recordings of poets reading their work."  Andrew Motion and Richard Carrington, an audio engineer, came up with the idea for the site because they thought there was "something special about listening to a poet reading his or her own work ".   Most of the poets on the website are alive today but there are also some historic recordings by poets who are no longer alive.   It is a growing collection as they make new recordings or discover more old recordings.

On the right hand side of the main section of the site you can browse the collection by poets last names, by poem titles, by poetic terms, by theme, by form.  This makes it a great resource to use in literature lessons.  If you are studying a poem by a particular poet you can check the site to see if that poem, or some other by the poet, may be available to listen to.  If your are studying a particular form or theme of poetry you can check the site for avialable poems in that form or theme to listen to.  If you are learning about a poetic term you can check the site for a definition of the term and also to listen to poems that illustrate the term.

Aside from listening to the poems, you can also read the poems as there is a print version available along with the audio.  The site also provides background information about each poet featured, including any prizes they may have won. 

The Children's Archive has great kid appeal in it's graphics and in the poems included.  Under the poems section there is a Poem of the Week feature which would make a great addition to weekly lesson plans.

This site is a great resource for teaching,  or simply encouraging enjoyment of, literature.  It has something to offer for all ages.  Be sure to take the time to check it out.