Celebrate National Poets Day Every August 21

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Hard on the heels of Bad Poetry Day comes National Poets Day.

Presumably we celebrate good poets for this day. Although Poets Day could certainly refer to any poets, good or bad.

It could even mean you! If you’re a poet …

So on August 21, celebrate the poet in you. Or in your friend. Or your favorite poet.

It’s all up to you.

This day is different from yet another day celebrating poets and poems: National Poetry Day in October.

 

What is Poetry?

Did you know there are dozens of kinds of poetry? They each have their own structure.

Common poetry forms

You probably had to read sonnets in school. These poems are 14 lines long, and each line is 10 syllables. Plus certain lines have to rhyme. Shakespeare wrote sonnets.

You may have heard of ballads. They’re story poems. Songwriters use them often. They also often rhyme.

And odes. The ancient Greeks invented these lyric poems. They use metaphors and similes to describe a person or thing.

You’ve almost certainly heard of limericks (yep, they’re a kind of poetry!). These light and often nonsensical poems are five lines long. The first one often starts “There was a …” and ends by naming a person or place. Lines 1, 2 and 5 rhyme (and have 7-10 syllables each). Lines 3 and 4 also rhyme (they have 5-7 syllables each).

 

Less common poetry forms

But do you know what a cinquain is? It’s another five-line verse, but it doesn’t rhyme. And each line has a specific number of syllables:

• Line 1 – 2 syllables
• Line 2 – 4 syllables
• Line 3 – 6 syllables
• Line 4 – 8 syllables
• Line 5 – 2 syllables

 

A woman named Adelaide Crapsey created this style of verse.

What about a tanka? This is a Japanese poem with 5 lines. Like the cinquain, each line has a certain number of syllables:

• Line 1 – 5 syllables
• Line 2 – 7 syllables
• Line 3 – 5 syllables
• Line 4 – 7 syllables
• Line 5 – 7 syllables

 

You can learn more about these and other poetry types, plus see examples of them, at the YoungWriters website.

 

Why Every Friday is Also POETS Day

Note that’s POETS, in all caps. Why? Because it’s an acronym.

Used mostly in the UK and Australia, it stands for Piss Off Early Tomorrow’s Saturday. Or, if you prefer to be less crude, Push Off Early Tomorrow’s Saturday.

So it’s similar to our TGIF (Thank Goodness It’s Friday).

No, it has nothing at all to do with poems or poetry. But we were amused at the number of references we found to this use of Poets Day, so we thought we’d share.

Scroll down for some ideas on celebrating this unofficially wordy holiday.

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Ideas For Celebrating National Poets Day

Read your favorite poetry today … Assuming you have favorite poetry. Not everybody even likes poetry!

If you’re not a fan of poetry, consider trying to read something new. Maybe a poet you’ve never read before. It’s possible you just don’t like the poets they make us read in school.

Or try your hand at writing some poetry. Granted your efforts might end up more suitable for Bad Poetry Day. But there’s no harm in trying.

And if you do like what you create, consider submitting it to an poetry contest. You might become famous!

Not in the mood to read or write poetry? Watch The Dead Poets Society instead.

Do you have any other ideas for celebrating National Poets Day?

 

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