Press Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 9, 2026
The First Social Platform Built for Poets Launches at stanza.ink
Stanza (stanza.ink) launches today as the first social platform built specifically for poets and spoken word artists. Unlike general-purpose social networks where poetry is reduced to screenshots and afterthoughts, Stanza provides purpose-built tools for literary creation, spoken word performance, structured critique, and community building. The platform is free and available now on the web, with native mobile apps for iOS and Android coming soon.
A Platform Designed Around the Craft
Stanza offers two composition modes tailored to different writing styles: a Standard editor with rich text formatting for polished presentation, and an Advanced plain-text editor with line numbering for poets who prefer precise control over line breaks and whitespace. For spoken word artists, Stanza includes a built-in recording studio with waveform visualization and speech-to-text transcription, treating audio as a first-class medium rather than an afterthought.
Every submission can be customized with presentation settings including background colors, images, and ambient sound, allowing poets to create an immersive reading or listening experience. The platform's four-tab Stage feed organizes content into For You (personalized recommendations), Following, Trending, and Explore views, ensuring that both established and emerging voices can find their audience.
Key Differentiators
- The Encore System: In a world of infinite likes, Stanza introduces scarcity. Each user receives just five Encores per month — powerful endorsements reserved for work that truly moves you. This constraint transforms passive scrolling into active curation, making every Encore a meaningful signal of literary excellence.
- Structured Critiques: Move beyond "nice poem!" with a critique system that evaluates work across up to ten dimensions including imagery, meter, voice, structure, language, sound devices, theme, pacing, and emotional resonance. Annotate specific lines, stanzas, or audio timestamps for precise feedback.
- Inner Circles: Private literary groups with granular membership controls, entry gates (open, approval, password, invite-only), and dedicated feeds. Designed for writing workshops, poetry collectives, and MFA cohorts.
- Multiple Personas: Support for up to three profiles per account, allowing poets to maintain separate identities for different styles or genres without managing multiple logins.
- Five-Tier Privacy: Granular visibility controls — Public, Followers, Friends, Groups, and Private — so poets control exactly who reads their work.
AI-Powered Discovery
Stanza combines traditional keyword search with AI-powered semantic search, allowing users to find poetry by meaning and theme rather than just exact words. Built on pgvector with 768-dimensional embeddings, the search system understands the conceptual content of poems, surfacing relevant work even when the search terms don't appear in the text. The platform is built on a modern technology stack including NestJS, Next.js 15, Flutter, and Supabase PostgreSQL with row-level security on every table, ensuring both performance and data privacy at the infrastructure level.
A Home for Poetry on the Internet
"Poetry is one of humanity's oldest and most powerful forms of expression, yet it has never had a true home on the internet. Poets have been forced to adapt their work to platforms designed for photos, status updates, and short videos. Stanza exists because we believe poetry deserves its own space — one that honors the craft, supports the artist, and builds genuine literary community. We're not building another social network. We're building the platform poets have always needed."
— The Stanza Team
Availability
Stanza is available now on the web at stanza.ink. The platform is free to use with no advertising and no algorithmic manipulation designed to maximize engagement at the expense of quality. Native mobile applications for iOS and Android are currently in development, with desktop support for macOS and Windows to follow.
About Stanza
Stanza is a social platform dedicated to poets, spoken word artists, and literary communities. Founded in 2026, Stanza provides purpose-built tools for literary creation, performance, structured critique, and community building. The platform is committed to fostering genuine artistic growth through thoughtful design, meaningful interactions, and respect for the craft of poetry. For more information, visit stanza.ink or contact press@stanza.ink.
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Media Contact
press@stanza.ink