Hey, all you inspiring poets out there! Today is World Poetry Day, and at Dean Publishing we are celebrating the prose masters and stanza maestros who have given language its rich influence and beauty.
It doesn’t matter which style of linguistic genius you prefer – whether it’s William Shakespeare, Jalāl al-Dīn Muḥammad Rūmī, Maya Angelou, Emily Dickinson, T.S. Eliot, Robert Frost, Banjo Patterson, or even Eminem or Dr Suess. They all do something unique and magical with words. They encourage us to reflect and connect, or inspire and entertain us through their eloquent literary craft and clever use of metaphor and allusion.
Poets not only love words, they invent them. They use them. They worship the beautiful combinations that fall onto the page and reveal the truth of their insights. As Robert Frost said, “Poetry is when an emotion has found its thought and the thought has found words.”
So, what inspired World Poetry Day?
Well back in 1999, UNESCO introduced World Poetry Day with its primary aim to promote and support “linguistic diversity through poetic expression and increasing the opportunity for endangered languages to be heard.” It’s celebrated as the day we pay homage to the power and importance of poetry and the poets who pen the graceful sonnets.
UNESCO considers World Poetry Day as the “occasion to honour poets, revive oral traditions of poetry recitals, promote the reading, writing and teaching of poetry, foster the convergence between poetry and other arts such as theatre, dance, music and painting, and raise the visibility of poetry in the media. As poetry continues to bring people together across continents, all are invited to join in.”
So, in honour of this awesome day, Dean Publishing would like to give you five poetry classics for you to enjoy.
Download your 5 personal ePubs of some of the greats.
Edgar Allan Poe. “The Works of Edgar Allan Poe — Volume 5.”
Victor Hugo. “Poems.”
Emily Dickinson. “Poems by Emily Dickinson, Three Series, Complete.”
Maulana Jalal al-Din Rumi. “The Persian Mystics: Jalálu’d-dín Rúmí.”
Rudyard Kipling. “Kipling Stories and Poems Every Child Should Know, Book II”
And for those who don’t like to read poetry, we suggest watching the movie Dead Poets Society starring the late Robyn Williams, or check out the World Poetry Slam Finals: a modern-age arts event in which poets perform spoken poetry in front of a live audience and panel of judges. (Warning: for those who haven’t watched Poetry Slams before, it could change the way you feel about poetry forever. You may fall in love with it! Don’t say we didn’t warn you.)
Poetry slams began back in 1984 by American poet Marc Smith who believed that the poetry scene was “too structured and stuffy”, so he began open mic events where poets could read their original poems and entertain an audience with their creative genius. As William Shakespeare said, “All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players.”
Here’s an example of the epic poetry slam champ, Rudy Francisco taking the stage and blessing us with his lyrical mastery. Check it out.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1E3Wr2AoEho
Oh, and happy World Poetry Day everyone.
The Dean Publishing team.
