Poetry at Waterloo Station for National Poetry Day 1994

National Poetry Day is a British

campaign Campaign or The Campaign may refer to: Types of campaigns * Campaign, in agriculture, the period during which sugar beets are harvested and processed *Advertising campaign, a series of advertisement messages that share a single idea and theme * Bl ...

to promote

poetry Poetry (derived from the Greek ''poiesis'', "making"), also called verse, is a form of literature that uses aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language − such as phonaesthetics, sound symbolism, and metre − to evoke meanings i ...

, including public performances. National Poetry Day was founded in 1994 by

William Sieghart William Matthew Timothy Stephen Sieghart (born 1960) is a British entrepreneur, publisher and philanthropist and the founder of the Forward Prizes for Poetry. He is former chairman of the Somerset House Trust. Education and career Born in 1 ...

. It takes place annually in the UK on the first Thursday in October. Since its inception, it has engaged millions of people across the country with live events, classroom activities and broadcasts. National Poetry Day is coordinated by the charity Forward Arts Foundation, whose mission is to celebrate excellence in poetry and increase its audience. Its other projects include the

Forward Prizes for Poetry The Forward Prizes for Poetry are major British awards for poetry, presented annually at a public ceremony in London. They were founded in 1992 by William Sieghart with the aim of celebrating excellence in poetry and increasing its audience. The ...

. The day is run in collaboration with partners including Arts Council England,

Literature Wales Literature Wales is the Welsh national literature promotion agency and society of writers, existing to promote Welsh-language and English-language literature in Wales. It offers bursaries for writing projects, runs literary events and lectures ...

Poet in the City Poet in the City brings poetry to life beyond books, digging out classic and contemporary gems and immersing audiences in the worlds of poets through events, commissions and participation. Poet in the City is a prominent London-based arts org ...

Southbank Centre Southbank Centre is a complex of artistic venues in London, England, on the South Bank of the River Thames (between Hungerford Bridge and Waterloo Bridge). It comprises three main performance venues (the Royal Festival Hall including the Nat ...

, The Poetry Book Society,

The Poetry Society The Poetry Society is a membership organisation, open to all, whose stated aim is "to promote the study, use and enjoyment of poetry". The society was founded in London in February 1909 as the Poetry Recital Society, becoming the Poetry Society ...

The Scottish Poetry Library The Scottish Poetry Library is a public library specialising in Scottish poetry. Since 1999, the library has been based at 5 Crichton's Close, just off the Canongate in Edinburgh's Old Town. History and status The library was founded in 19 ...

, Poetry By Heart and The Poetry School.

Prince Charles Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. He was the longest-serving heir apparent and Prince of Wales and, at age 73, became the oldest person to ...

performed in the 2016 National Poetry Day, reading

Seamus Heaney Seamus Justin Heaney (; 13 April 1939 – 30 August 2013) was an Irish poet, playwright and translator. He received the 1995 Nobel Prize in Literature.

' '' The Shipping Forecast''. On 2015 National Poetry Day poems were included on

Blackpool Illuminations Blackpool Illuminations is an annual Illuminations (festival), lights festival, founded in 1879 and first switched on 18 September that year, held each autumn in the British seaside resort of Blackpool on the The Fylde, Fylde Coast in Lancashire ...

. In 2020 BT commissioned

Poet Laureate A poet laureate (plural: poets laureate) is a poet officially appointed by a government or conferring institution, typically expected to compose poems for special events and occasions. Albertino Mussato of Padua and Francesco Petrarca (Petrarch) ...

Simon Armitage Simon Robert Armitage (born 26 May 1963) is an English poet, playwright, musician and novelist. He was appointed Poet Laureate on 10 May 2019. He is professor of poetry at the University of Leeds. He has published over 20 collections of poetr ...

to write "Something clicked", a reflection on lockdown during the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

. National Poetry Day 2022 is on 7 October. Events, readings and performances will take place across the UK to celebrate.

History

National Poetry Day was founded in 1994 by

who said, "There are millions of talented poets out there and it's about time they got some recognition for their work. They shouldn’t be embarrassed about reading their work out aloud. I want people to read poetry on the bus on their way to work, in the street, in school and in the pub." National Poetry Day is celebrated around the UK. In 1994 the ''

Radio Times ''Radio Times'' (currently styled as ''RadioTimes'') is a British weekly listings magazine devoted to television and radio programme schedules, with other features such as interviews, film reviews and lifestyle items. Founded in May 1923 by J ...

'' wrote "National Poetry Day has been created to prove that poetry has a place in everyone's life. From children chanting to advertising jingles and pop songs, it is used to entertain and communicate across the nation." The ''

Belfast Newsletter The ''News Letter'' is one of Northern Ireland's main daily newspapers, published from Monday to Saturday. It is the world's oldest English-language general daily newspaper still in publication, having first been printed in 1737. The newspap ...

'' reported, "National Poetry Day swept Ulster yesterday, transforming ordinary citizens into part-time bards or budding Heaneys or Wordsworths." ''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was fo ...

'' reported that in London at Waterloo station, "The announcement boards were given over to poems about trains by

T S Eliot Thomas Stearns Eliot (26 September 18884 January 1965) was a poet, essayist, publisher, playwright, literary critic and editor.Bush, Ronald. "T. S. Eliot's Life and Career", in John A Garraty and Mark C. Carnes (eds), ''American National Bi ...

and Auden." ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...

'' that reported Chris Meade, then director of the

Poetry Society The Poetry Society is a membership organisation, open to all, whose stated aim is "to promote the study, use and enjoyment of poetry". The society was founded in London in February 1909 as the Poetry Recital Society, becoming the Poetry Society ...

saying, "Readers are finding a place for poetry in their lives again. You can read one between stations on the Northern Line. It fits well into the modern experience." '' The East Anglian Daily Times'' reported, "National Poetry Day was the cue for a stanza bonanza, with railway stations, classrooms, theatres and supermarkets bursting with verse and echoing to epics".

Themes

Since 1999, National Poetry Day has been loosely “themed”. A list of previous themes is below: * 2022: The Environment * 2021: Choice * 2020: Vision * 2019: Truth * 2018: Change * 2017: Freedom * 2016: Messages * 2015: Light * 2014: Remember * 2013: Water, water everywhere * 2012: Stars * 2011: Games * 2010: Home * 2009: Heroes and Heroines * 2008: Work * 2007: Dreams * 2006: Identity * 2005: The Future * 2004: Food * 2003: Britain * 2002: Celebration * 2001: Journeys * 2000: Fresh Voices * 1999: Song Lyrics

References

{{reflist British poetry Thursday observances Holidays and observances by scheduling (nth weekday of the month)

History

Themes

See also

References