World Poetry Day
A UNESCO-proclaimed day celebrating poetry as one of humanity's most cherished forms of expression, and supporting linguistic diversity through it.
Date21 March
TopicCulture & Heritage
Established1999
Ways to observe this day
- Read a favorite poem aloud or share it with a friend
- Try writing a few lines of verse or free-form text expressing your feelings
- Discover a poet from a culture or language unfamiliar to you
- Attend a poetry reading or literary club event in your city, if available
At its 30th session held in Paris in 1999, UNESCO's General Conference proclaimed March 21 as World Poetry Day, aiming to support linguistic diversity through poetic expression and give endangered languages a chance to be heard through poetry written in them.
The day celebrates poetry as one of humanity's oldest forms of expression and one of the most capable of condensing feeling and thought into few words, affirming its role in intercultural dialogue and in nurturing creativity in younger generations. UNESCO, along with cultural centers, libraries, and literary clubs worldwide, marks the occasion with poetry readings, writing competitions, and educational workshops that encourage children and young people to write and appreciate poetry, as well as events translating poems across languages in celebration of the world's cultural and linguistic diversity.
