Six Ways to Commemorate World Poetry Day
Prairie Schooner is taking time to honor the U.N.’s World Poetry Day on March 21, celebrating poetry’s power to communicate rich ideas and grant us insight to places deep within ourselves. The day was proclaimed in 1999 in Paris by the United Nations to both reaffirm poetry’s place in society and recognize its ability to fulfill global aesthetic needs through communication.
Here are six ways readers can celebrate World Poetry Day with Prairie Schooner:
#1. Read a FUSION Poem
Prairie Schooner’s FUSION web series combines poetry and art from nations around the world, including Iran, the Balkans, Australia, India, Botswana, Hong Kong, the Philippines, and the latest issue from Singapore.
#2. Discover World Poetry News
The journal’s weekly Poetry News in Review gathers poetry news from around the world. The latest installment chronicles a copyright violation in Sweden and the censorship of Palestinian poems at the Riyadh International Book Fair in Dubai.
#3. Explore World Poets with the Global Schooner App
Global Schooner, Prairie Schooner’s free web app, profiles 300 worldwide writers whose work has appeared in the journal, with expanded content featuring author interviews, video readings, and audio recordings. Download it online or through the iTunes store.
#4. Find a New Perspective From an International Blogger
Prairie Schooner’s blog team comes from around the world, including Ryan Van Winkle, who regularly conducts podcasts for the Scottish Poetry Library, and Nabina Das, who’s interviewed prominent literary figures from India.
#5. Check Out APBF’s African Poetry Releases
Prairie Schooner’s partner project, the African Poetry Book Fund, publishes works by emerging and established African writers, including the new and selected poems of Ghanaian poet Kofi Awoonor and Kenyan poet Clifton Gachagua’s Madman at Kilifi, winner of last year’s Sillerman First Book Prize for African Poets.
#6. Learn About Irish Writers With Air Schooner
The inaugural episode of the journal’s podcast, Air Schooner, tackled America’s fascination with Ireland with readings by Irish writer Nuala Ní Conchúir. Clips from this episode were recently featured on Nebraska Public Radio’s Friday Live arts and entertainment program.