Poetry for a Change

National Poetry Day is a mass participation campaign that inspires people in the UK and beyond to enjoy, discover and share poems. Everyone is invited to join in, whether by organising events, displays, competitions or by simply posting favourite lines of poetry on social media using #nationalpoetryday.  Thousands of schools take the opportunity to celebrate with events, special activities and poetry reading and writing.  Over half a million children in the UK took part in National Poetry Day in 2017, and it is expected that even more young people will be involved in 2018. National Poetry Day was founded in 1994 by the charity Forward Arts Foundation, whose mission is to celebrate excellence in poetry and increase its audience. The Day enjoys the support of the BBC, Arts Council England, the Royal Mail and leading literary and cultural organisations, alongside booksellers, publishers, libraries and schools. National Poetry Day has its own team of Ambassadors, inspiring poets who bring poetry to new and young audiences – in schools, in bookshops, in libraries, in public squares. From well-established favourites such as Brian Moses, Michaela Morgan and Roger Stevens, to rising stars Victoria Adukwei Bulley and Remi Graves, they are busy not just on National Poetry Day but all year round.