The United Nations (UN’s) World Poetry Day is annually observed across the globe on 21 March to promote linguistic diversity and support endangered languages through poetry, a form of art that connects different cultures, languages, and generations.
- 21 March 2025 marks the observance of the 26th World Poetry Day.
Theme:
i.The 2025 theme for World Poetry Day is: “Poetry as a Bridge for Peace and Inclusion”.
ii.The 2025 theme underscores poetry’s unique power to connect people across different communities, cultures, and countries, fostering mutual respect and unity.
Background:
i.In 1999, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), during its 30th General Conference in Paris (France) first proclaimed 21 March (the first day of spring in the northern hemisphere) of every year as World Poetry Day.
ii.The first-ever World Poetry Day was observed on 21 March 2000.
iii.World Poetry Day aligns with the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): SDG 4: Quality Education, SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities, SDG 16: Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions.
Significance:
i.World Poetry Day is meant to encourage a return to the oral tradition of poetry recitals and to promote the teaching of poetry.
ii.The Day also encourages the reading, writing, and publishing of poetry, and recognises poetry’s role in preserving cultural heritage and fostering artistic expression.
iii.The Day promotes the restoration of dialogue between poetry and the other arts such as theatre, dance, music, painting, etc.
- It also honours poets and supports small publishers.
Poetry:
i.The word “poetry” originates from the Ancient Greek word “poiesis,” meaning “making” or “creation“.
ii.Poetry is a literary form that uses rhythm, imagery, and carefully chosen words.
- It is a powerful way to capture human experiences, emotions, convey ideas, tell stories, and perspectives in a condensed and artistic manner.
iii.It often features elements such as meter, rhyme, and figurative language (like metaphors and similes) to create a musical or expressive effect.
- Poetry can take many forms, including sonnets, haikus, free verse, and ballads, among others.
iv.The universal nature of this artistic expression is shown by the number of elements linked to poetry on UNESCO’s Lists of the 2003 Convention.
v.Few oldest known forms of poetry:
- The Epic of Gilgamesh (approximately 2100 Before the Common Era (BCE)), a mythic poem centers on a Sumerian king named Gilgamesh.
- The Rigveda (approximately 1500 BCE), the earliest sacred book of India contains 1028 hymns composed in an archaic form of Sanskrit and dispersed across 10 books.
2025 Events:
i.On March 21 2025, Granada City of Literature in Spain leads the Cities of Literature World Poetry Day activity.
ii.The 26th Edition of World Poetry Day was held at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris, France.
Note: The UNESCO Creative Cities Network (UCCN) was launched in 2004 to promote cooperation among cities that place creativity and cultural industries at the heart of their development plans. There are currently 350 cities in the network in total.
About the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO):
Director-General(DG)– Audrey Azoulay
Headquarters– Paris, France
Founded – 1945
