Shakespeare, who died 400 years ago, wrote in A Midsummer Night's Dream that:
“The poet’s eye, in fine frenzy rolling, doth glance from heaven to Earth, from
Earth to heaven. And as imagination bodies forth the forms of things unknown,
the poet’s pen turns them to shapes and gives to airy nothing a local habitation
and a name”.
By paying tribute to the men and women whose only instrument is free speech,
who imagine and act, UNESCO recognizes in poetry its value as a symbol of the
human spirit’s creativity. By giving form and words to that which has none –
such as the unfathomable beauty that surrounds us, the immense suffering and
misery of the world – poetry contributes to the expansion of our common
humanity, helping to increase its strength, solidarity and self-awareness.
The voices that carry poetry help to promote linguistic diversity and freedom
of expression. They participate in the global effort towards artistic education
and the dissemination of culture. The first word of a poem sometimes suffices to
regain confidence in the face of adversity, to find the path of hope in the face
of barbarity. In the age of automation and the immediacy of modern life, poetry
also opens a space for the freedom and adventure inherent in human dignity. From
Korean Arirang to Mexican Pirekua, the Hudhud chants of the Ifugao people, Saudi
Arabian Alardah, Turkmen Koroghlu and Kyrgyz Aitysh, each culture has its poetic
art that it uses to transmit knowledge, socio-cultural values and collective
memory, which strengthen mutual respect, social cohesion and the search for
peace.
Today, I applaud the practitioners, actors, storytellers and all those
anonymous voices committed to and through poetry, giving readings in the shadows
or in the spotlights, in gardens or streets. I call upon all Member States to
support this poetic effort, which has the power to bring us together, regardless
of origins or beliefs, by that which is at the very core of humanity.
One of the main objectives of the Day is to support linguistic diversity
through poetic expression and to offer endangered languages the opportunity to
be heard within their communities.
The observance of World Poetry Day is also meant to encourage a return to the
oral tradition of poetry recitals, to promote the teaching of poetry, to restore
a dialogue between poetry and the other arts such as theatre, dance, music and
painting, and to support small publishers and create an attractive image of
poetry in the media, so that the art of poetry will no longer be considered an
outdated form of art, but one which enables society as a whole to regain and
assert its identity.
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