STARS is the theme for 2012’s National Poetry Day
John Clare Close Oakham
"Tasteful illumination of the night, Bright scatter'd, twinkling star of spangled earth!"
John Clare 1820
Twinkle twinkle little star
How I wonder what you are*
How I wonder what you are*
From our earliest days, the poetry of stars surrounds us. We look at the stars and see stories in the constellations, our scientific selves boggle at the concept of interstellar travel and we steal the stars’ metaphorical power to name our cultural heroes. How to express this wonder, if not in poems?
STARS is the theme for 2012’s National Poetry Day, and we’ll be celebrating on Thursday October 4th.
To kick off a week of poetry celebrations, the Forward Arts Foundation hosted the award ceremony for the Forward Prizes for Poetry in London on Monday 1st October. Click here for poems from the shortlists and the winners.
It’s a day for poetry readings, events, competitions, quizzes, exhibitions, commissions, creations, recitations and more, all planned and launched by the poets and poetry lovers of the UK. Find NPD on Facebook, follow theTweets for updates and announcements.
If you're planning a National Poetry Day event, please list it via our 'Add Your Event' page - thousands of people see our listings. It’s free and easy to use, and you can include details of any poetry event happening from now to November.
National Poetry Day is part of the Forward Arts Foundation family of poetry events, with Winning Words and the Forward Prizes for Poetry. We aim to make poetry a part of everybody's life, every day. Use this site to help you plan and publicise your National Poetry Day celebrations with resources including lesson plans, event suggestions, a listings service and updates from poetry bloggers and activists.
* Twinkle Twinkle Little Star was first published as a poem by Jane Taylor in Rhymes for the Nursery in London in 1806.
