Poem in Your Pocket Day
Verses that dance in your mind, painting feelings with words, capturing the essence of life's beauty and its tangled emotions.
Celebrate literary creativity and emotional expression by encouraging audiences to discover, share, and carry meaningful poems that resonate with their personal stories.
- Share your favorite poem in your pocket—tag us with #PoemInYourPocket
- Poetry challenge: write or find a verse that captures your week in 3 lines
- Spotlight local poets and their work during National Poetry Month
- Create a 'poem of the day' email series featuring classic and contemporary verses
In 2002 the New York City Departments of Cultural Affairs and Education coordinated with the Mayor to create their own special commemoration for National Poetry Month, and it was through this effort that Poem In Your Pocket Day was born. Just 6 years later the Academy of American Poets trumpeted this holiday through all 50 states, encouraging the entire nation to carry a poem with them that inspired their hearts and called them to greatness, and then to share that poem with others. 2016 saw the League of Canadian Poets pick up the torch and spread it to America’s Northern Neighbor.
Each of us has our own inner bard, and the last time many of us have heard from them is during the angst-ridden days of High School. While we may not have been terribly good, poetry is a skill that has to be practiced to be honed and is beautiful even in our most basic days as a verbal expression of our inner selves. Poetry has moved lives, turned nations, and brought people back from the brink of emotional devastation for centuries, and Poem In Your Pocket Day is your opportunity to bring out your inner poet, dust it off, and sing your heart into the world one more. If only for a day.