The practice of promoting public poetry readings has been steadily increasing over the past twenty years or so in many different forms Small literary societies in provincial towns conduct them in village halls or the sitting rooms of their members schools and colleges invite poets to read and talk to audiences of students arts festivals often advertise poetry readings by wellknown authors on their programmes The consequences of all these events and of poets being more or less obliged to become public performers are manifold and of uncertain benefit to them as mists