Using this archive
Accessibility
A poem should not be locked behind a screen that will not cooperate. This page says plainly what works today, what does not, and how to tell us when we have got it wrong.
Where we stand
We aim at WCAG 2.2 Level AA across the whole site, and we test the reading pages against it every quarter. Where we fall short, it is written below rather than quietly left out.
Keyboard
Everything reachable
Every control — search, script switch, filters, forms — is reachable with Tab alone, in the order the page reads. A skip link jumps past the header, and the focus ring is a 2px accent outline that never disappears.
Screen readers
Tested
Tested with NVDA on Firefox, VoiceOver on Safari and TalkBack on Chrome. Landmarks, headings and form labels are real, and the poem text is marked up as verse rather than as a block of run-on lines.
Contrast
AA on text
Body text sits at 4.5:1 or better against the cream ground; interface chrome and large headings at 3:1 or better. The terracotta accent is only used for paragraph-size text in its darkest step.
Motion
Respected
Nothing autoplays, nothing flashes, and transitions are removed entirely when your system asks for reduced motion. Audio recitations start only when you press play.
Zoom and reflow
To 400%
The site reflows to a single column at 400% zoom and on a 320px screen without horizontal scrolling. Text can be resized in your browser independently of the reader controls.
Manuscript scans
Partly transcribed
Scans in the digital library are images. Roughly two-thirds now carry a typed transcription beneath them; the rest are being transcribed by volunteers, oldest first.
Reading a poem your way
Script
Switch between the original script and the Roman transliteration, where one has been prepared.
Text size
Six steps from 16 to 34 pixels, applied to the poem alone so the rest of the page stays where you left it.
Recitation
Where a recording exists, it uses the browser’s own audio player, with keyboard controls and no autoplay.
Your settings
Script and size are remembered on this device, so the next poem opens the way you read the last one.
Known gaps
A third of the library scans still have no transcription, so a screen reader announces only the title and date.
Q4 2026
Recitation recordings have no transcript. We are captioning the fifty most-played first.
Q1 2027
The events calendar is a list, not a grid, and its date filter is not yet operable by voice control.
Q4 2026
Tell us what is broken
Write to us with the page and what happened. We reply within five working days, and if a fix will take longer we will send you the text of the page by email in the meantime — no one should wait on a release to read a poem.
Email the accessibility team