Stanza has always been a place for poems, not for performance. With this release we lean further into that: new ways to write together, to be read, and to read, all built around the page rather than the scoreboard. There are no streaks here, no countdown clocks, and nothing invented to make you feel behind.
A prompt every Monday
Each week we set one writing prompt. It goes live on Monday at 12:00 UTC, and you can answer it with any poem you like.
- The prompt page. Read what other poets wrote for the week, in the order they were written or newest first. There are no rankings or leaderboards.
- Your poem, your call. Attach a poem to the prompt when you publish. Past prompts stay open, so you can answer an old one whenever it speaks to you.
- Quiet in the feed. The prompt appears as a single card, at most one non-poem card per screenful, and you can dismiss it.
The monthly call
The monthly call is a themed open call with a proper rhythm: a stretch for entries, a reading period, then a results day.
- Decisions held until results. Readers make their choices privately, and everyone hears at once when results are published.
- Recognition in words. Selected poems carry a short citation from the readers, and honourable mentions are named too. A selected poem shows a "Selected for" line.
- An issue to read. On results day the selected poems are gathered into a public list, so the whole call can be read in one sitting, respecting each poet's list settings.
First readers
Almost every poet knows the feeling of publishing a poem into silence. First readers is our answer: poems that have not yet had a written response are easier to find, and a written reply, margin note or critique is what counts. A Cheer is lovely, but it is not a response.
- Give to get. After you publish, we may suggest a poem or two that is waiting for a reader. It is an invitation, never a requirement, shown at most once a day, and you can switch it off in Settings under Writing.
- A waiting shelf on Discover. Up to six poems waiting for a first reader, shown as "posted Tuesday" rather than "waiting four days". It disappears when there is nothing to show.
- Fair by design. A poem that has been offered widely rests for a while, so no one poem is swamped, and nothing is ranked by popularity.
A quiet daily reading note
Some days we may send a short note: a prompt that just opened, a poem waiting for a reader, a poet you have read before. We only send one when it is true.
- At most one a day. Never more than four in a week, and fewer if earlier notes went unopened. Silence is the normal outcome.
- Your hours. Push notes arrive only in the daytime and evening of your own time zone, and never right after you were in the app.
- Yours to switch off. Turn reading notes off, or the push or in-app side separately, in Settings under Notifications.
Getting started
Update the app and open Discover to find the weekly prompt and the waiting shelf. Publish a poem and look for the invitation on the publish sheet. If you would rather not be nudged, Settings has the switches. We hope Stanza feels more like a reading room than a feed.