The Academy of American Poets has
announced the launch of a mobile poetry archive which provides free and
direct access to the entire collection of over 2,500 poems on
Poets.org, as well as hundreds of biographies and essays, all in the
palm of a hand.
Designed using Web 2.0 Internet Standards and Apple's Developers Guidelines, the site at www.poets.org/m is optimized for the iPhone, and formatted for effortless access on
most mobile devices. Now, for the first time, mobile users have
unlimited access to the rich resources of Poets.org, one of the largest
poetry destinations on the web, a site which has steadily expanded and
evolved since it was first launched over a decade ago.
Poems can be browsed by author, title, occasion, or form, and
searched easily by keyword. Visitors can read a poem, anytime,
anywhere--whether to fill a spare moment, woo a darling, toast a friend,
find solace, or recite a few immortal lines--verse is now at your
fingertips.
Comment from Wireless and Mobile News Poet Laureate, LHA:
MobiPoem
Nothing is worse
Than being without verse
In your purse.
Just go to poets.org slash m,
Moved by your favorite poem,
You'll be inspired again.
"I have always believed that poetry has a necessary place in daily
life," said Tree Swenson, executive director of the Academy of American
Poets. "As the first arts organization to offer mobile content, the
Academy of American Poets affirms its imperative to connect people to
poetry by creating free and simple access for everyone. Ezra Pound
said, 'Literature is news that stays news,' and now you can find poems
while on the go, as easily as you can read the news, find a map, or
check the weather report."
This new mobile archive offers unlimited access to Poets.org just
in time for National Poetry Month in April, a month long celebration of
poetry and its vital place in American culture, which was inaugurated
by the Academy of American Poets in 1996. On April 17, mobile users can
instantly celebrate the first national Poem In Your Pocket Day by
reading poems and sharing them with co-workers, family, friends, and
even strangers.
The official website of Academy of American Poets, Poets.org offers
hundreds of essays and interviews about poetry, biographies of more
than 550 poets, over 2,500 poems, and hundreds of audio recordings.
Each month, the site receives over million unique visitors, making it
one of the largest and most popular poetry sites on the internet. The
site is programmed in partnership with Juxta Digital.
The Academy of American Poets is a
501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in 1934 to foster appreciation
for contemporary poetry and to support American poets at all stages of
their careers. For over three generations, the Academy has connected
millions of people to great poetry through programs such as National
Poetry Month, the largest literary celebration in the world; Poets.org,
the most popular site about poetry on the web, presenting a wealth of
great poems, audio recordings, poet biographies, essays, and
interactive discussions about poetry; the Poetry Audio Archive,
capturing the voices of contemporary American poets for generations to
come; American Poet, a biannual literary journal; and our annual series
of poetry readings and special events.
The Academy also awards prizes to accomplished poets at all stages
of their careers--from hundreds of student prizes at colleges nationwide
to the Wallace Stevens Award for lifetime achievement in the art of
poetry.