National Poetry Day

We are supporting National Poetry Day, and will hold an event:

• Waterbeach
• 3rd October 10am to 6pm

 

This year’s theme is “Truth”.  Bring along a cherished poem, or perhaps your own poem on this theme.

There will be refreshments all day, with requests for donations to Medicins Sans Frontieres’ work in the Middle East. Since 2013, we’ve raised nearly £1,000.

Background to National Poetry Day

National Poetry Day is a UK-wide celebration of poetry taking place every October. Across the UK, there will be thousands of events  in schools, libraries, bookshops and hospitals, on buses, trains and boats. All the events celebrate poetry’s power to bring people together.

National Poetry Day was founded in 1994 by William Sieghart, and run by the charity Forward Arts Foundation. Its mission is to celebrate excellence in poetry and increase its audience. The day enjoys the support of the:

• BBC,
• Arts Council England,
• Royal Mail,
• Leading literary and cultural organisations,
• Booksellers, publishers, libraries and schools.

 

Places of Poetry

If you’d like inspiration, try Places of Poetry,  a website where you find a map of the UK. The map could encourage you to write a poem about a place that matters to you.

The website aims to capture relationships between:

• People, places and the past.
• Different kinds of heritage, including:
  • Environmental,
  • Industrial,
  • Cultural,
  • Religious, and
  • Sporting.

 

The website provides toolkits to support writers. It’s for writers and readers of all ages, backgrounds and abilities.

The website is open for posting poems between 31st May and 4th October 2019.