World Poetry Day is celebrated every year on 21 March, the first day of Spring. Instituted by UNESCO in 1999, the day is meant to recognize the privileged role poetry holds in the promotion of intercultural dialogue, communication and peace.
“Poetry is the universal human song, expressing the aspiration of every woman and man to apprehend the world and share this understanding with others through the arrangement of words in rhythm and meter. There may be nothing more delicate than a poem, and yet it expresses all of the power of the human mind, and so there is nothing more resilient.
Poetry is as old as humanity itself, and as diverse–embodied in traditions, oral and written, that are as varied as are the human face, each capturing the depth of emotions, thought and aspiration that guide every woman and man” (from the UNESCO Director-General’s Message for 2015).