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National Poetry Day - Enjoy, Discover, Share
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Libraries
Resources specially created for librarians. -
Poetry Recommendations
40 gorgeous new poetry books for all ages and stages to read, listen to and share. -
Education
Great ways to get your students enjoying poetry -
Workshops with Kate Clanchy
In partnership with Forward Arts Foundation, the charity behind National Poetry Day and the Forward Prizes. -
Poems
Discover some classics - old and new -
Resources
Free teaching resources to introduce poetry to your class -
Blog
Our National Poetry Day Blog! -
News
The latest about National Poetry Day -
Impact
New research into young people’s attitudes to poetry
Zonal
Don Paterson, Faber & Faber, £14.99
Don Paterson’s new collection starts from the premise that the crisis of mid-life may be a permanent state of mind. Zonal is an experiment in science-fictional and fantastic autobiography, with all of its poems taking their imaginative cue from the first season of The Twilight Zone (1959–60), playing fast and loose with both their source material and the author’s own life. Narrative and dramatic in approach, genre-hopping from horror to Black Mirror-style sci-fi, these poems change voices constantly in an attempt to find the truth by alternate means. Occupying the shadowlands between confession and invention, Zonal takes us to places that feel endlessly surprising, uncanny and limitless.
Smart Devices: 52 Poems from The Guardian ‘Poem of the Week’
Edited by Carol Rumens, Carcanet, £14.99
For over 12 years, the poet Carol Rumens has edited the brilliant ‘Poem of the Week’ feature in The Guardian. Picking poems that pique her interest, she shares them with readers, alongside her insightful reading of the work, and invites commenters to share their own thoughts and responses.
The welcoming enthusiasm of the blog has brought it popularity and many dedicated followers. Now Rumens has selected 52 of the best to compile an anthology which presents a dazzling array of contemporary poetry and mini-essays that will help you to enjoy them all the more.
She Will Soar: Poems of Freedom and Wanderlust by Women
Ana Sampson, Macmillan Children’s Books, £14.99
A stunning gift book featuring 150 poems about wanderlust, freedom and escape written by women. With poems from classic, well-loved poets as well as innovative and bold modern voices, She Will Soar is an essential addition to any bookshelf. Collected by anthologist Ana Sampson, She Will Soar contains an inclusive array of voices, from modern and contemporary poets. Immerse yourself in poems from Maya Angelou, Wendy Cope, Ysra Daley-Ward, Emily Bronte, Carol Ann Duffy, Fleur Adcock, Liz Berry, Jackie Kay, Imtiaz Dharker, Helen Dunmore, Emily Dickinson, Mary Oliver, Christina Rossetti, Margaret Atwood and Dorothy Parker, to name but a few.
Super Guppy: Poems for Children
Edward van de Vendel, illustrated by Fleur van der Weel, The Emma Press, £10.00
Have you ever had a pet? Or have you ever stopped to look at all of the small things in your home that make up your life? From wet socks to being tucked into bed at night, and strongly featuring one inspiring guppy fish with real staying power – Super Guppy stays close to home, but it’s a home full of fun, jokes and surprising adventure.
A funny, contemporary collection that will appeal to curious children who have questions about how the world, and everything in it, works. These poems confront the growing pains that every child has to face with good humour and the message that we can learn from our mis- takes. Featuring a number of writing prompts to get children working on their own poems.
Forward Book of Poetry 2021
Chosen by the judges of the Forward Prizes 2020, Faber & Faber, £9.99
Even in the most extraordinary year, the Forward Prizes – run like, National Poetry Day, by the Forward Arts Foundation – can be trusted to bring us ‘some of the most exciting new work in international poetry and to suggest the great variety of what is being published right now in Great Britain and Ireland’. Here you’ll find selections from the collections shortlisted for the 2020 Forward Prizes alongside highly commended work.
During the crises of 2020 people increasingly turned to poetry, leading Vanity Fair to declare poetry was ‘having a moment’. ‘Poetry had a moment that lasted through both world wars,’ counters Forward jury chair Alexandra Harris: ‘It has a moment whenever there is pressure and threat, and whenever we want to think carefully – together or individually.’
Tell Me the Truth About Life
Celebrating the 25th anniversary of National Poetry Day, Tell Me the Truth About Life is an indispensable anthology which celebrates poetry’s power to tap into the truths that matter. Curated and introduced by Cerys Matthews, this collection features poems nominated for their insight into truth by a range of ordinary and extraordinary people.
