National Poetry Day

Yes, indeed, October 5 is National Poetry Day here in Britain. You can read more about it on this page of the the Poetry Society website.

At one time I wrote quite a bit of poetry, and even belonged to a small group of writers and musicians who toured round pubs and arts centres, performing our work to anyone who was prepared to listen. You'll no doubt be glad to hear that I resisted the urge to post one of my poems from those days here...

Although I don't write poetry nowadays - having come to terms with the fact that I'll never be the next Poet Laureate - I still love a good poem. Even the prose writers whose work I most enjoy write poetically, using (in moderation) devices such as rhythm, metaphor and assonance to give their writing additional depth and impact. I do believe anyone who wants to write should read poetry regularly, and probably try their hand at writing it as well.

So I thought I would take this opportunity to mention that my forum at www.mywriterscircle.com has a board devoted to poetry writing. You can post up to three of your poems there per day, and get constructive feedback on them from other members. And, of course, you can (and should) read other members' poems and give your comments on them. Many people find that reading and criticising other people's poetry has benefits for their own work as well.

Enjoy reading and writing poetry, and have a great National Poetry Day!