Each year on March 21st World Poetry Day is celebrated. World Poetry Day was introduced in 1999 with the aim of promoting the reading, writing, publishing and teaching of poetry around the world.
In a world filled with technology, what place can there be for poetry? I couldn’t have put it in words better than the beautiful poem of Fiona Gobin:
POETRY MY PASSION
Poetry is my joy, my passion
It’s my heart’s melodious song.
It takes me on magical carpet rides
Soaring to victorious strides.
From my wildest imaginations birth creativity
Indubitably, that’s the art of poetry.
It removes anger, hurt and resentment
Poetry is a soothing balm for all sentiments.
The pen is certainly mightier than the sword
It empowers, educates and mends discord.
It erodes barriers of communication.
Poetry also chastises yet it brings motivation.
Poetry relieves depression
And brings much inspiration.
At times it offers humour and comedy
It also brings peace of mind and serenity.
Poetry is a medium of expression
For love and affection
It paints a picture so artistically
Poetry is my language, my destiny.
Fiona Gobin
As regards teaching children, poetry can have copious advantages: Being rich in varied language and poetic devices, poetry introduces children to new vocabulary and rhythms.
Moreover, since it requires children to think and interpret what they’ve read (and it often takes reading a poem several times to truly understand its meaning!), poetry improves children’s reading skills and creative thinking.
Poetry allows children to see the world from new perspectives and learn more about other parts of the world through the eyes of various poets and their poems. When reciting it, poetry is a great way to improve children’s memory and help them remember new words and phrases. But, most important of all, when experimenting with it (with the aim of producing something of their own) poetry teaches children how to express their emotions and put their feelings into words.
What better way to celebrate the day, then, than initiate children into the magic poetry holds!
Some ideas included here:
And my favourite resource:
A vast resource of poems for children here:
Get some help with your rhymes here (while working on your way to fame ! 😆 ):
Now, try writing a poem in this Magnetic Poetry Board!
