AppI checked in with some new poetry apps a few weeks ago.

Daily Haiku
True, you get a daily haiku in the app but no information on who wrote it or how old it is. And with the cheap version, you can’t scroll backwards to see other haiku. Sure, you can upgrade but users online don’t recommend it. They say it’s just as disappointing on the other side.

Poetry Daily
This website has been publishing daily poetry since as long as I can remember being on the Interwebs, like from 1998? I remember reading their poems while I was still at Sarah Lawrence in New York. The good thing about this app is that Poetry Daily has worked to expand the daily post into actually selling the books the poems are in. They’re now a bookstore or they at least they link to the publisher sites in many instances. They also provide photos and bios when possible. But most annoyingly, I can’t resize the poems on my iPhone. They all appear like unattractive blocks that I have to scroll sideways to read. Turning my phone horizontally only helps the shorter-lined poems. Also, in the mobile version, the title of the poet disappears between <null> tags. But the app does let you scroll back through prior days and even run the “random” button for receiving random gifts of poetry. Recommended.

Poetry Foundation
I think I’ve covered this one before. You spin a dial for a poem or choose a category like Boredom, Pessimism, Aging, Family. You can even combine categories. It’s fun to spin the button and get random combinations of subjects. You can also browse by mood, subject or poet and you can access audio poems, too.  This app grows on you. Recommended.

Poem Flow
This app displays a poem like a textual movie of animation. An interesting format to help think about how reading this way affects your understanding of the poem. You can slow or quicken the pace. I’m not sure how long before the thrill of reading poems this way might wear off but it feels like an interesting art project, some beneficial way to experience words… at least once. Something to talk a friend into downloading so you can experience without it cluttering up your apps space.

Poetry Everywhere with Garrison Keillor
This app provides little videos about poets. For example, you can see a Coleman Barks reading of his Rumi translations from the Dodge Poetry Festival (the Ozzfest of Poetry). With this, you get two or so minutes of bite-sized education. I love hearing Barks' southern drawl reading Rumi.  This app provides a variety of sound for spoken word events and there’s a good amount of content here although the app hasn’t been updated in ages. Recommended.