The Relevance of Poetry

How many poets do you know and how many poems can you recite fluently?

Poetry is an interesting aspect of art and creativity and is a great way to express opinions and share ideas on various topics. According to the United Nations, poetry reaffirms our common humanity by revealing to us that individuals, everywhere in the world, share the same questions and feelings.

For so many centuries, poetry was used as a great tool of communication and constitutes a strong part of our African culture.

This is why World Poetry Day was adopted in 1999. The day was adopted during the 30^th session of UNESCO held in Paris to support linguistic diversity and expression through poetry and has been observed annually since then.

It is important to acknowledge that sadly, oral tradition seems to be fading away due to a lot of factors including the different ways by which we store and document information in recent times. This makes it important to promote a return of oral tradition in the form of encouraging the teaching of poetry, reciting poetry and inculcating poetry at events and various engagements.

Do you remember our amazing Ghanaian creatives and poets like Kofi Awoonor, Atukwei Okai, Lawrence Darmani, Kofi Anyidoho, Ama Ata Aidoo, Padmore Enyonam Agbemabiese and Efua Sutherland? They were amazing poets who told our unique story and expressed our sentiments through poetry.

How about Chinua Achebe, David Diop, Wole Soyinka, Maya Angelou, William Shakespeare, T. S Elliot and Nikoloz Baratashvili? You see? The world’s best creatives were poets too; they loved poetry and succeeded in doing what they loved.

Poetry is not dead. If you love poetry, go learn a new poem; if you love words, put that beautiful mind of yours to work and write a new poem.

Also, take a moment and reflect on some of the poems that have had an impact on your life.

Do you have a favorite poem? Share the title of your favorite poem in the comments section below and we will certainly check it out.