On National Poetry Day, BBC News Online looks at one young Northampton poet hoping to build on her web success.

For aspiring poet Jo Burns, it was the internet that prompted her to turn her "scribblings" into "something more solid".

The 20-year-old from Northampton clicked on website Scriberazone out of curiosity - and found its mixture of contemporary music and verse far removed from the "stuffy and old-fashioned" image with which poetry is burdened.

Now, countless poems later, she has swapped her career as a recruitment consultant for work as a shop assistant to give her more time for her art, and hopes to get her verse published in a book.

Scriberazone co-editor Pete Johnson said: "We want people to get uplifted by poetry like they do by music."

Jo Burns: Internet has widened poetry's audience

Miss Burns has two collections of poetry on the site - which gets 9,000 hits per week - and has performed her verse live.

She said: "When I started doing it I never thought, 'I'm going to write a poem'.

"It's just a way of processing life and translating that into something solid."

Although most of her inspiration comes from everyday experiences, she began jotting down her thoughts a few years ago after she suffered from kidney failure.

"That made me reflect on my life - I was thinking, it could all be over by tomorrow."

Nonetheless, Miss Burns says she likes to write with "a little bit of wit".

New audiences

"The stereotype of poetry is that it involves a lot of heavy experiences.

"I think the internet's brought poetry to a new audience - it's breaking down that whole image of old men sat in libraries."

Miss Burns' poetry was described by Mr Johnson, who founded Scriberazone in 1999, as simply "one person's thoughts put in a beautiful way."

He encourages people to submit their work but warns that unlike many, his site only picks the best.

"There are a lot of sites out there for angst-ridden 13-year-olds from California."

'Quite challenging'

On 31 October, Scriberazone will be hosting the fourth 'Words and Beats' evening of live readings plus mellow music at the Poetry Caf� in London's Covent Garden.

"We're trying to reach people who are happy to go clubbing.

"Even though some of the music they listen to may be quite challenging, they recoil from poetry.

"But the philosophy behind the Scriberazone is that everybody's got something poetic in them."