A daily place for poetry.

Poetry for the Day, also called PotD, is a daily poetry reader created by Stephen Reitz. Read classic and contemporary poems on the web, or use the companion iOS app for home screen widgets and supported on-device AI features.

Where do the poems come from?

The included library has 218 poems: 206 historical works by Claude McKay, Sara Teasdale and Amy Lowell, plus 12 contemporary poems by Dave Bonta and Jatan Mehta. Random discovery also draws from PoetryDB. If PoetryDB is unavailable, discovery falls back to the included library.

How is the daily poem chosen?

The web reader selects a poem from the included collection using the UTC calendar date. It changes at midnight UTC, with a contemporary selection every third day. The iOS app uses its own selection and may display a different poem.

Can I read contemporary poetry?

Yes. Visit the contemporary poetry collection, or use the Contemporary voices filter in the reader’s library. Original author credits, source links and Creative Commons usage terms accompany these works.

Can I reuse a poem?

Check the source and license linked on the poem. Historical works in this collection are identified as public domain in the United States. Contemporary works carry their own license terms. Attribution stays with every poem; a credit alone does not replace permission or the work’s usage terms. See the source records.

Are the poems AI-generated?

The website’s reading collection contains credited works by its named poets. The website does not generate poetry. Its optional headline mood uses transparent keyword matching. On supported devices, the iOS app separately offers on-device AI poetry features.

Do favorites sync with the app?

Web favorites and reading history are stored in your current browser. They do not sync with iOS. Read the privacy policy for details.

Is there a poetry API?

Yes. The poetry and news API documentation explains daily and random poem requests, collection search, headline feeds and reading moods. Responses preserve source information.

Who maintains PotD?

Stephen Reitz maintains Poetry for the Day. For questions or corrections, use the project support tracker. Please include the poem’s source link when reporting a text or attribution issue.