March 21 is World Poetry Day

March 23, 2014

I have been slowly, but steadily coming to the conclusion that poetry is an art form that is quickly losing its flavor. Little interest is shown to poetry as it can be very hard to understand the message behind a compilation of complicated words and phrases. Luckily, a day has been designated for poetry to gain a few hours in the spotlight. I love poetry and I am coming out with my own poetry book very soon.

Proclaimed by UNESCO in 1999, March 21 was designated as the day for cultural organizations, schools, libraries and publishers all over the world to celebrate the art of poetry. The day is meant to support poetry by returning the oral tradition of poetry recitals, restore a dialogue between poetry and other arts and promote the teaching of poetry.

However, offering a day to commemorate a dying form of art is not enough. Marc Bain of Newsweek cited a study claiming that the number of people reading poetry has decreased at approximately half over the past 16 years. With such an extraordinary type of art, this is not good news for present and future poets. Poetry can appear to be too dry for our short attention spans but it can be marvelous when understood and appreciated in the right way. This type of art reaffirms our common humanity, and that we all share the same questions and feelings.

Maybe a reason for the lack of interest in poetry is because the art is not readily accessible. Unless you are into rap music which is also poetry. But poetry in its simplest form does not get the proper amount of exposure it deserves. National Poetry Day is a measure to ensure that poetry can withstand extinction. Hopefully, this day will account for a better appreciation of the dying art.

In celebration of poetry worldwide, please take a moment to learn more about this fascinating form of art by sampling poetry organizations and festivals listed below. In addition, I have attached a link to the audio version of a poem that I wrote about Ice Cream. Who doesn't like Ice Cream? If you would like a written copy let me know.

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/thepowerisnow/2014/03/21/national-poetry-day--poem-ice-cream-by-eric-l-frazier-poet

Poetry Organizations:

Australian Poetry

www.australianpoetry.org

ChilePoesía

http://www.chile-poesia.cl/

Festival de Perfopoesía en Sevilla

http://festivalperfopoesiasevilla.blogspot.com/

Festival Internacional de Poesía de Quetzaltenango Guatemala

http://www.fipq.org/

Forward Art Foundation and National Poetry Day in the U.K.

http://www.forwardartsfoundation.org/

German Centre for Poetry and The Poesiefestival Berlin