Memories of the Welsh Dial-a-Poem service | Letter

A piece on John Giorno’s Dial-a-Poem in New York takes reader Fay Cornes back to the Cardiff-based version of the early 1970s

The poet Ralf Webb’s article (He’s a poet and the FBI know it: how John Giorno’s Dial-a-Poem alarmed the Feds, 18 October) about John Giorno’s Dial-a-Poem in New York, which is being reproduced as part of the first posthumous exhibition of Giorno’s work at the Almine Rech Gallery in London, brought back happy memories of the Welsh Arts Council’s Dial-a-Poem service, launched in February 1970 for a year and run for another year in 1972.

At that time, arrangements were made to rent one recording machine (not 10 as in New York!) and other necessary equipment. Poets were invited to submit suitable poems for consideration and each one had to be less than three minutes of reading time to also allow for a short introduction about the poet.