When we talk about having read a poem, we don’t necessarily mention in what form we read that poem. We are much more likely to be precise when talking about a performance or recital of a poem – we might ask, ‘have you heard Tom Waits reading Bukowski? (available online)’, but it’s less common to ask, ‘which edition does he read from?’ or, ‘does he read aloud from a book?’ And yet, the form in which you encounter a poem – in manuscript, in a first edition, a scholarly edition, in a popular anthology, a collected works, on a random piece of paper, on a computer screen, in an illustrated book – is just as significant for the meaning you make of it as is an actor, author or friend reading it aloud. This section of The Poetry Toolkit online looks at some of the issues around poetry’s material contexts – its relationship with the page, with performance, with visual culture, and with the public space it might occupy.