National Poetry Day

National Poetry Day is a British <a href="/facts/List_of_minor_secular_observances/NmnLPP4X">campaign</a> to promote <a href="/facts/Poetry/ylGarm6p">poetry</a>, including public performances. Annually, on the first Thursday of October, events, readings and performances take place across the UK.
National Poetry Day was founded in 1994 by <a href="/facts/William_Sieghart/rYjDT6BS">William Sieghart</a>. 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 <a href="/facts/Forward_Prizes_for_Poetry/Ynbxrcpy">Forward Prizes for Poetry</a>. The day is run in collaboration with partners including <a href="/facts/Arts_Council_England/hzEPfNez">Arts Council England</a>, <a href="/facts/Literature_Wales/l0rwNxFW">Literature Wales</a>, <a href="/facts/Poet_in_the_City/pcmz8K91">Poet in the City</a>, the <a href="/facts/Southbank_Centre/IwV1fv1h">Southbank Centre</a>, <a href="/facts/Poetry_Book_Society/8CrsP6tx">The Poetry Book Society</a>, <a href="/facts/The_Poetry_Society/t7a8YTkW">The Poetry Society</a>, <a href="/facts/The_Scottish_Poetry_Library/Uwjx9cfI">The Scottish Poetry Library</a>, Poetry By Heart and <a href="/facts/The_Poetry_School/tkTLADcK">The Poetry School</a>.
<a href="/facts/Prince_Charles/EJItVkdz">Prince Charles</a> performed in the 2016 National Poetry Day, reading <a href="/facts/Seamus_Heaney/TYnGK5IP">Seamus Heaney</a>'s "<a href="/facts/The_Shipping_Forecast/I96Gecxw">The Shipping Forecast</a>". In 2015, National Poetry Day poems were included in the <a href="/facts/Blackpool_Illuminations/lqRxGKAW">Blackpool Illuminations</a>. In 2020, <a href="/facts/BT_Group/RV9sGpcD">BT</a> commissioned <a href="/facts/Poet_Laureate_of_the_United_Kingdom/86FzQU9q">Poet Laureate</a> <a href="/facts/Simon_Armitage/S3VKX4Sz">Simon Armitage</a> to write "Something Clicked", a reflection on lockdown during the <a href="/facts/COVID-19_pandemic_in_the_United_Kingdom/P28V4Ioq">COVID-19 pandemic</a>.

National Poetry Day open-in-new

National Poetry Day