On March 21st, we invite you to honour poets, revive oral traditions of poetry recitals, promote the reading, writing and teaching of poetry, foster the convergence between poetry and other arts such as theatre, dance, music and painting, and raise the visibility of poetry in the media.
This is especially true for indigenous peoples, whose languages and cultures are increasingly under threat, in particular from industrial development, climate change andconflict. For these communities, poetry plays an important role in maintaining linguistic and cultural diversity, and preserving memory. The work of Joy Harjo, a member of the Mvskoke Nation and Poet Laureate of the United States, shows this clearly. Her poem Break My Heart describes her return to Okfuskee, Oklahoma, where her ancestors were violently uprooted and forced west under the Indian Removal Act of 1830. As she states so powerfully:“You cannot force poetryWith a ruler, or jail it at a desk [...]History will always find you, and wrap youIn its thousand arms.”
Today, on World Poetry Day, UNESCO is shining the spotlight on indigenous poetry, to celebrate its unique and powerful role in standing against marginalization and injustice, and in uniting cultures in a spirit of solidarity.
This Day comes as the United Nations marks the start of the International Decade of Indigenous Languages, led by UNESCO, to reaffirm the commitment of the international community in supporting indigenous peoples to preserve their cultures, knowledge and rights. As part of our efforts to safeguard living traditions, UNESCO has included a number of poetic forms on the Representative List of the Intangible Heritage of Humanity, such as the Hudhud chants of the Philippines, the Mapoyo oral tradition of Venezuela, the Eshuva, Harákmbut sung prayers of Peru, and the Koogere oral tradition of Uganda.Every form of poetry is unique, but each reflects the universal nature of the human experience – our aspiration for creativity that crosses all boundaries and borders. That is the power of poetry.
Director-General of UNESCO.
WEBINARS
Encourage the study of great poetry by offering free educational materials and a dynamic recitation competition for high school students across the country.
Three cheers for the 2022 New York State Poetry Out Loud finalists! The Poetry Out Loud New York State Final showcases students from across the state reciting great classic and contemporary poetry. Their performances are scored on criteria such as voice and articulation and dramatic appropriateness by judges from the literary world. The winner of this event will go on to represent New York at the national level, where they will be among students from the 55 states and U.S. territories competing for the title of National Poetry Out Loud Champion. Poetry Out Loud is an initiative of the National Endowment for the Arts and Poetry Foundation. In New York it is offered through the New York State Council on the Arts and Teachers & Writers Collaborative.
Three cheers for the 2022 New York State Poetry Out Loud finalists! The Poetry Out Loud New York State Final showcases students from across the state reciting great classic and contemporary poetry. Their performances are scored on criteria such as voice and articulation and dramatic appropriateness by judges from the literary world. The winner of this event will go on to represent New York at the national level, where they will be among students from the 55 states and U.S. territories competing for the title of National Poetry Out Loud Champion. Poetry Out Loud is an initiative of the National Endowment for the Arts and Poetry Foundation. In New York it is offered through the New York State Council on the Arts and Teachers & Writers Collaborative.
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