November 14, 2018 (New York, New York)—The Academy of American Poets is pleased to announce that poems from its curated collection on Poets.org, including those featured in its popular Poem-a-Day series, are now available to Alexa users. Thanks to support from the Amazon Literary Partnership Program, the application is available for free.
“We’re always looking for opportunities to make poetry available to a wider audience and more accessible to individuals. We’re deeply grateful to Neal Thompson for his vision and partnership in making this possible,” said Jennifer Benka, executive director of the Academy of American Poets.
“It feels like an exciting moment for poetry right now. There are so many vital, vibrant new voices out there, and people seem hungry for poetry, eager to understand the world through the power and beauty of a poem,” said Neal Thompson, director of the Amazon Literary Partnership, and author of the new book Kickflip Boys: A Memoir of Freedom, Rebellion, and the Chaos of Fatherhood (Ecco, May 2018). “Bringing Poem-a-Day to Alexa just seemed like a good fit, and I hope it exposes more people to the work of today’s best poets.”
“Ask Poets.org to read me Poem-a-Day” is one of many commands to Alexa that will prompt a reading of a poem from Poets.org. Other commands include:
“Ask Poets.org to read me a poem.”
“Ask Poets.org to recite a poem.”
“Ask Poets.org to read me the poem of the day.”
“Ask Poets.org to read me today’s poem.”
About the Academy of American Poets
The Academy of American Poets is the largest membership-based nonprofit organization fostering an appreciation for contemporary poetry and championing American poets. The organization produces Poets.org, the world’s largest publicly funded website for poets and poetry; originated and organizes National Poetry Month; publishes the popular Poem-a-Day series and American Poets magazine; creates and distributes Teach This Poem and other award-winning resources for K-12 educators; hosts an annual series of poetry readings and special events; and awards the American Poets Prizes. In addition, the Academy of American Poets coordinates a national Poetry Coalition working together to promote the value poets bring to our culture and the important contribution poetry makes in the lives of people of all ages and backgrounds.