March 2026
World Poetry Day is celebrated on 21 March and the theme this year was Poetry as a Bridge for Peace and Inclusion. On 21 March 2026 The Bard of Stony Stratford lead a group of approximately 40 people on a poetry trail from the MK Gallery to the Milton Keynes Rose, where the Bard and a stanza of poets gathered together to mark World Poetry Day through word weaving, rhythmic rhymes, and performance poetry.
Poems are shared in every culture and across cultures, sharing our humanity and values, expressing our hopes and fears, they can mark our triumphs or bare our scars, and can be a catalyst for dialogue and peace.
World Poetry Day was created in 1999 by UNESCO to promote linguistic diversity and the theme for World Poetry Day 2026, observed on March 21, was Poetry as a Bridge for Peace and Inclusion. This focus highlights how verse and spoken word help connect diverse cultures, foster empathy, and unite people across different languages.
The event on 21 March 2026 featured: Abracadazra, Nova Claasen, Mossman, Tash Rose, Sam Upton, Remi_Rights and Vox Liberatus.