It takes just one poem...

National Poetry Day is the annual mass celebration on the first Thursday of October that encourages everyone to make, experience and share poetry with family and friends. Each year we come together because voices, words and stories help to bridge understanding in our community.

This year, National Poetry Day is on Thursday 5 October 2023.

The theme is Refuge.

Get Involved

Find out ways you can celebrate National Poetry Day

 

Poems

Discover some classics on this year's theme: old and new

 

Events

Find and register National Poetry Day events near you

 

Resources

Free teaching resources to introduce poetry to your class

 

‘Finding a complicity with how you feel, expressed more elegantly than you could ever express yourself, can be the most helpful way of making sense of your emotions and helping you to process them.’

William Seighart, founder of National Poetry Day

Support Us

National Poetry Day is run by a very small charity, the Forward Arts Foundation, and we rely on our audiences' support to help us promote the best new poetry in all its forms. We strive toward a society in which everyone – regardless their cultural background, health status, gender, sexual identity, physical ability or economic status – can develop creativity and agency by making, experiencing and sharing poetry. If, like us, you believe poetry has the power to make positive change, please make a donation today.