POETRY - The Poetry Foundation

This app has gotten me really into reading poetry recently. Unlike a book of poetry, which often requires a commitment to a specific poet, this app is great for people who are still finding out what they like, because it introduces you to a wide selection of different poems and then allows you to investigate a specific poet and their work if you're interested. Some of the poems seem to have editing issues, so that would be good to resolve, but overall I've had a good experience. I want to make one suggestion, though: it would be amazing if you added an annotation feature so that users could add their own comments on a poem or jot down ideas they had about it.

I really wish the people they hired to work on this had taken a look at the website. I don’t even think they’re working from the same database of poems. I find poems on the website that begin with an epigraph and have neat links in the text. All of that is missing in this app. This app is just plain text with an ugly box at the top to listen to audio. The formatting and typeface on the website are pleasing to the eye. On the app we get plain blocky text that looks more than a decade out of date. Opening the app immediately presents you with a “Spin” button which is useless. Not that it’s a bad feature, but it’s not the kind of thing most people want to start with. I just find it to be an ugly app that does not offer. The website will link you to free articles on certain poems, such as John Keats’ Ode On a Grecian Urn. That is not to be found here. And as I said, epigraphs, dedications, subtitles, are randomly cut from some poems. It’s 2020 and this app looks like something out of 2008.

I’m no expert or poet, but there are poems that stick with me because they say things that are meaningful in beautiful ways. Dylan Thomas, “Do Not Go Gentle,” for example. Many others. IMHO, there is a lot of ersatz poetry available in print and online that is no better than the earnest flights of an average straight-A high schooler. I love high schoolers, but I don’t want to read most of their poetry. Unless I’m a relative. 😃 The poems on this site are vetted and curated. The Poetry Foundation and its editors are among the top in the field. So I know that every poem on this site is deemed worthwhile by one or more knowledgeable and experienced poetry craftsperson. Even if I don’t understand it. And if I don’t, I can just go down the list or spin the wheel to find another. All this beauty and thought and feeling for free! The kind of non-monetized experience that America used to offer in spades. THANKS!

I enjoy reading poetry and love writing poetry. I think the Poetry Foundation had a good idea to have an app for its organization. People could then read poetry on the go if they don't prefer reading from books (although I prefer books). My main problem is that there is so much technicality going into how a poet wants their poem to be interpreted. When reading on the app, the lines don't match up to when I read it on my laptop or computer. For a poet, where you punctuate, which word will start the next line or stanza, etc., is SO important. This app messes with the rhythm of the poems, because of it. I am assuming smartphones aren't not wide enough and have to move some words to another line (which for engaged poet readers, is not a good sign). So, I wouldn't suggest downloading this on phones. You will lose some of a poet's voice and how he or she wants their work to connect to the reader by doing so.

I do like the app with its eclectic mix of masters and new poets. Only two things that are frustrating. First not all users want to spin upon entering. It’s fun sometimes but many times I have a target and reason for visiting. Second, I have a list of favorites that I like to read over and over. The app’s favorites only lets me get to 8 or 9 selections. As I scroll down and release the default brings me to the top of the list and any selection below the first screen are not selectable. Small things in a good app.