World Poetry Day

Happy World Poetry Day! Irina Bokova, the Director General of UNESCO, which nominated March 21st for the annual celebration back in 1999, writes that "Poetry is a window into the breath-taking diversity of humanity". Certainly every culture on the planet has its poetic tradition and practice, oral or written. Sadly, in Britain we seem to be less concerned with poetry in our everyday lives today than were our predecessors; perhaps days like today, appropriately acknowledged in the media, in our schools and community centres could go some way towards redressing this?

A small step yesterday was Radio 4's broadcasts of short poems at intervals throughout the day to celebrate the spring equinox. Perhaps someone turning on the news caught a few lines that made them think - maybe Philip Larkin's "The recent buds relax and spread / their greenness in a kind of grief" or Alice Oswald's "Birch, oak, rowan,ash / Chinese-whispering the change". You can hear all of the poems there were broadcast at
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/3yfnHlQT7vscVl7N2Zl9nYm/four-seasons-poetry-for-the-spring-equinox

And tomorrow evening at Smokey Joes in Bennington Street here in Cheltenham, Jennie Farley will be the guest poet at Poetry Cafe Refreshed. A really atmospheric venue and the promise of some great poems - 7pm if you can make it. Come and celebrate poetry with us!

"Can I believe there is a heavenlier world
than this?" Charlotte Mew