Brief History and Celebration Process of World Poetry Day

Poetry is a great platform to express one's thoughts and release one's emotions. It has helped us understand and appreciate the world around us. Poetry is often used as a language, connecting minds and hearts. Its ability to shed light on the world is what makes each one of us want to share in the art of poetry even more. It teaches us how to live, how to adapt to changes, how to improve ourselves, and more. 

There is no doubt that a need for a celebration has been established for poetry. It offers us a way to empathize and understand one another. At the same time, it can show us the fractured world we are living in - chaotic, without mercy, and violent. But it also makes us realize that despite all those things, we can still make this world a better place to live in. Poetry serves as a bridge of change, helping people come together in one way or another. 

The beauty in poetry is that anyone can make it. People can write their own poems, whether they are following a structured form or freestyle. As poet William Wordsworth in his 'Preface to Lyrical Ballads' wrote, “Poetry is the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings: it takes its origin from emotion recollected in tranquillity.' Celebrating poetry through World Poetry Day reminds us how it has shaped us as individuals and even society. Recognizing this global event reminds us of the magic that poetry brings to our lives. 

The poetry people know today originated about 4,000 years ago. The first poem ever written came from Babylon called the Epic of Gilgamesh while the oldest English poem was written in the 8th century called Beowulf. Several centuries have passed, and poetry is continuously evolving, producing more poems that strike people in many ways. World Poetry Day gives an opportunity to people to share their works and, more importantly, celebrate the beauty of poetry. 

The initiative of establishing this global event came from the UNESCO when they declared March 21st as World Poetry Day in November 1999. According to an article by the Independent, this event aims to celebrate poetry’s power and recognize its transformative effect on culture. UNESCO hopes that this celebration will encourage reading, writing, and teaching all over the world. This event is also to “give fresh recognition and impetus to national, regional and international poetry movements.”

According to an article by the Holidays Calendar, World Poetry Day highlights several aspects related to poetry including giving it its rightful place in society given the fact that the modern times fail to recognize our poets; recognizing poetry as part of our ancestral values; the new roles poets are acquiring in our society; the social need for young people to return to their roots; and the revival and increasing number of poets around the world. 

This global event also serves as support for the small publishers in the publishing poetry as well as a way of strengthening the relationship between poetry and other forms of expression like music, dance, and painting. It aims to promote poetry in the media so it will not be regarded as an outdated form of art, showing it as a platform to let the society regain and assert its identity. 

Additionally, one of the main objectives of this event, when it was established by UNESCO, was to support linguistic diversity through poetic expression. At the same time, they wanted to serve this as an opportunity for endangered languages to be heard not only within their communities but also around the world. Up until now, countless poems are written for various forms. Whether it is ballads, sonnets, limericks, and haikus, poetry is indeed something to be celebrated. 

As an article by The Sun stated, World Poetry Day is all about celebrating each nation's identity and cultural expression that comes through poetry. People around the world recognize this event in several ways, showing that this treasured art form should be considered important now more than ever. Former Director-General of UNESCO Irina Bokova said, “Poetry is one of the purest expressions of linguistic freedom. It is a component of the identity of peoples and it embodies the creative energy of culture, for it can be continuously renewed.”

It's important for all of us to recognize and celebrate the contributions of poetry in our lives, but it is equally significant to celebrate our world's greatest poets. This year, World Poetry Day featured several iconic poets and authors such as Wilfred Owen, Emily Dickson, Walt Whitman, Pablo Neruda, TS Eliot, Maya Angelou, Sylvia Path, Dylan Thomas, and Margaret Atwood. 

One of the ways to celebrate this global event is to write poems. In this way, you're empowering the art form more. It would be helpful if you shared it with other people so they can also be motivated to create their own piece. You can also invite your friends or family to read poems from different cultures since this year's event focuses on celebrating every country's culture through poetry.