• About
    • Sponsors and Supporters
    • Ambassadors
    • News
    • Our Organiser
    • National Poetry Day 1999-2020
    • COVID-19 Update
  • Poems
    • 40 Recommended Poetry Books
    • Tell Me the Truth About Life
    • BBC Local Poets
  • Events
    • Poetry Day Live Draw
    • The 24 Hour Poetry Lock In
    • Untold Stories: Poetry at English Heritage
  • Celebrate
    • Send a poetry card
    • National Poetry Day Blog
    • Competitions for Adults
  • Libraries
    • Library Resources
    • #haiflu
  • Education
    • Teaching resources
    • #MyNPDPoem
    • The Poetry Possibility series: workshops for teachers
    • Competitions for Children and Young People
  • Register
  • Contact

  • About
    • Sponsors and Supporters
    • Ambassadors
    • News
    • Our Organiser
    • National Poetry Day 1999-2020
    • COVID-19 Update
  • Poems
    • 40 Recommended Poetry Books
    • Tell Me the Truth About Life
    • BBC Local Poets
  • Events
    • Poetry Day Live Draw
    • The 24 Hour Poetry Lock In
    • Untold Stories: Poetry at English Heritage
  • Celebrate
    • Send a poetry card
    • National Poetry Day Blog
    • Competitions for Adults
  • Libraries
    • Library Resources
    • #haiflu
  • Education
    • Teaching resources
    • #MyNPDPoem
    • The Poetry Possibility series: workshops for teachers
    • Competitions for Children and Young People
  • Register
  • Contact

Menu

Join in

Find out how you can get involved

Drawings by Sophie Herxheimer

National Poetry Day - Enjoy, Discover, Share

  • 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
  • Competitions

    A selection of exciting poetry competitions for you to enter!
  • Blog

    Our National Poetry Day blog
  • Poems

    Discover some classics - old and new
  • News

    The latest about National Poetry Day
  • Resources

    Free teaching resources to introduce poetry to your class
  • Libraries

    Resources specially created for librarians
  • Impact

    What does poetry mean to young people?

The Lost Spells

Robert Macfarlane, illustrated by Jackie Morris, Hamish Hamilton, £14.99

Kindred in spirit to The Lost Words but new in form, The Lost Spells is a pocket-sized treasure, a new collection of ‘spells’ – acrostic poetry and artwork – by beloved creative duo Robert Macfarlane and Jackie Morris.

Written to be read aloud, calling to forest, field, riverbank, ocean and to the heart, these ‘spells’ summon back what is often lost from sight and care, and inspire protection and action on behalf of the natural world. From Jay to Jackdaw, Oak to Barn Owl, Silver Birch to Grey Seal, they capture the special, individual spirit of each plant and creature. Above all, they celebrate a sense of wonder, bearing witness to nature’s power to amaze, console and bring joy.

The Girl and the Goddess

Nikita Gill, Ebury Press, £12.99

With Nikita Gill, international poetry sensation, follow the inspirational journey of a young girl into fearless womanhood guided by powerful deities along the way. We’ll meet Kali, the goddess of death and time who is also a strong mother figure; Saraswati, the goddess of learning, without whom we are only confusion; Parvati, goddess of love, power and renewal, who can embody many forms when her emotions overtake her. Astrology, spirituality and beauty come together as a gift from the universe to help navigate love, loss, death and life.

Complete with beautiful hand-drawn illustrations, this book weaves ancient tales into a potent tonic for our times.

A Portable Paradise

Roger Robinson, Peepal Tree Press, £9.99

Afua Hirsch calls Robinson ‘the voice of our communal consciousness’ and his latest collection has been greatly lauded, winning both the TS Eliot Prize and the Royal Society of Literature’s Ondaatje Prize.

A Portable Paradise is a powerful exploration of grief and survival, depicting the racism, inequality and injustice of modern Britain in its many forms. These poems are powered by more than just anger: the tenderness of the portraits of Grenfell survivors, the joy as well as the pain he evokes in family life and the incisive subtlety of his imagery make Robinson a bright light in contemporary poetry.

My Darling From the Lions

Rachel Long, Picador, £10.99

The poems in My Darling from the Lions form a beautiful and expansive archive of growing up in London as a young mixed heritage woman. A narrative collection in three parts, it threads experiences of the learning and unlearning of shame, the body, sex, faith, Blackness, lineage, prophecy and healing. Rachel Long’s strong, soulful, wise and weary voice sings through the collection, with striking confidence for a debut collection. These are poems for now, and poems you will be desperate to press into the hands of others.

Rachel Long is an essential and dazzling new voice.

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.

National Poetry Day is a Forward Arts Foundation initiative

The Forward Arts Foundation is a charity that enables all to enjoy, discover and share poetry. We champion excellence in poetry and grow audiences through National Poetry Day, the Forward Prizes for Poetry and annual Forward books. If you love poetry, show it by supporting us here.

Our Registered Charity Number is 1037939

  • Register
  • Education
  • About Forward Arts Foundation
  • Contact
  • News and Press Releases
  • Forward Books of Poetry

X

Add my event to the map

Please only add events around National Poetry Day

Thank you for submitting your event to National Poetry Day’s listings. We will put it online as soon as possible.

With best wishes,
The National Poetry Day team

Something went wrong. Please contact info@nationalpoetryday.org.


    This will not appear on the map

    This will not appear on the map

    A couple of sentences about what is happening and who is taking part

    Link to a page with more information about your event
    PerformanceFreeLibraryPrizeOpen micExhibitionFamily eventWorkshopsOther

    We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it.Ok