A poem’s first written response matters. On Stanza it means a reply, a margin note or a critique from someone other than the poet. A Cheer is welcome, but it is not a response in this sense.
After you publish
When you publish, the sheet may offer up to two poems still waiting for a first reader. It is an invitation, never a requirement: choose Maybe later and nothing happens. It appears at most once a day. Turn it off under Settings › Writing (Suggest poems to read after I publish).
On Discover
Discover has a shelf of up to six poems waiting for a first reader, below the weekly prompt. It hides when nothing is waiting. Each card shows two lines of the poem, its form and the poet (unless it was posted anonymously), and when it was posted, such as “posted Tuesday”.
What is offered
- Poems that are public, published, with replies open and no response yet, posted between two hours and fourteen days ago, longest-waiting first.
- Never your own work, never anything you cannot open or from someone you have a block with.
- A poem by a reader under 18 is shown only to other readers under 18, staff and volunteers.
- Opening a card takes you to the poem with a hint to tap a line that stayed with you, so you can leave a margin note.
First readers
Stanza also has a small team of volunteer first readers, invited personally from adult poets. They read poems that have waited a while and answer as themselves. If yours is among the first to be answered, the notification tells you so.