Wake Up to Poetry

How would you like to wake up to poetry every morning – or just one special morning? Maybe there”s someone in your life that deserves to hear a poem when they pick up the phone? That”s the premise behind Wake Up Call, a six month old service based in Pittsburgh that has gone national. Based on the hotel wake up call, Wake Up Call allows you to schedule an automated poetry call to any phone number in the U.S. up to a year in advance.

The project is the brainchild of artists Damien Miller and Alexei Morrissey, who wondered what might happen if, instead of the usual robotic “Please hold for an important message”, people heard art when they picked up the telephone. “Wakeup Call is based on the hotel wake-up call,” explains Morrissey. It’s based on a functional thing that you need, but also, it’s like, wake up your mind. To do that, the pair began by soliciting local performance artists and spoken word poets, but went national with a Wake Up Call for Submissions in January.

If you want to place a Wake Up Call, you simply visit the Wake Up Call web site, where you”ll find a simple form to fill out. Enter phone number to which you want to send your message, then choose a poem or other message from the list available on the site. You can listen to each one (I particularly liked this one by Niki Allen) first to help you make a choice. Choose the date and time that you want the message delivered, enter your email address (which they promise not to publish) and click Schedule. That”s it – the poem you selected – along with your own message – will be sent by telephone on the date you chose.

Want to submit your poetry to be used for Wake Up Call? There”s a call for submissions on the site that tells you how to submit your own poetry (in CD form) to be used for wake up calls.