Happy National Poetry Day! For those who don’t know “National Poetry Day is an annual celebration that inspires people throughout the UK to enjoy, discover and share poems. Everyone is invited to join in, whether by organising events, displays, competitions or by simply posting favourite lines of poetry on social media using #nationalpoetryday. National Poetry Day was founded in 1994 by the charity Forward Arts Foundation, whose mission is to celebrate excellence in poetry and increase its audience. The Day enjoys the support of the BBC, Arts Council England, the Royal Mail and leading literary and cultural organisations, alongside booksellers, publishers, libraries and schools.” For more info, you can check out their Twitter or the hashtag #nationalpoetryday where people everywhere are sharing all sorts of poetry!
Back in 2015 I shared some of my favourite poems, but this year I’ve tried to add a bit of variety by sharing a few of my new favourites. I’m not an avid poetry reader – I know what I like, and I stick to it, which tends to mean a lot of early modern-era poems. However, poetry isn’t just sonnets and long epic poems and these have quickly become some of my favourite poems. Although they don’t strictly fit with this year’s theme of “Freedom”, I would loosely argue these poems have helped me free myself from the shackles of the older poetry I otherwise cling to… is that a bit of a stretch in interpretation? I don’t care, today is just about sharing poetry you love!
