Today is the 21st annual celebration of all things poetical. National Poetry Day has a different theme each year and this year’s topic is Light.
Lincoln celebrated National Poetry Day with a marathon poetry day reading at Speakers Corner.
Flash-mobs chanting poetry and poetry festivals will pop up in thousands of unexpected places around the country.
In 2007, the organisation of National Poetry Day was given to the Forward Arts Foundation (FAF) to co-ordinate. The FAF is a charity that encourages poetry to be part of everyday life.
The FAF want the public to get involved by sharing their favourite poem on Twitter with the hashtag #nationalpoetryday and #thinkofapoem.
The Golden Treasury is a collection of English poetry. The original author – Francis Turner Palgrave – published the book in 1861. The book has since been revised with new editions published, but it is still released under Palgrave’s name.
In honour of today’s celebrations, BBC Radio 4 is including poetry in their schedule from early morning until late at night, with some of the earliest British verses up to the most recent.