National Poetry Day: Whose your favourite poet and why?

It's National Poetry Day 2023 this week, a day to celebrate the impact poetry has on people's lives.

Celebrated on Thursday 5 October, this year the special day focuses on the theme of refuge.

Poems are thought to encourage a love of language and have the power to transport, elevate and amuse us.

Poetry has been important throughout history and there are many writers who lived hundreds of years ago who are still celebrated and read now.

Here are a few famous poets whose work is very influential.

Homer

Homer lived in the times of the Ancient Greek and is still famous for his epic poems.

He wrote The Iliad and Odyssey which are still studied today and left a lasting mark on the world.

Homer is known as 'the blind poet' but it is not actually known if he was blind or not. People think he might have been, based on one of his characters called Demodokos who was a poet in The Odyssey.

Li Bai

Li Bai was a Chinese poet who wrote more than 1000 poems.

He was known for his travels and was nicknamed 'The Poem God'.

His poems are famous for how well they paint a picture with words.

It is thought he died after he tried to grab the reflection of the Moon whilst on a boat.

William Shakespeare

William Shakespeare is well known for his plays but he wrote lots of poetry too.

He wrote a series of poems called 'The Sonnets' and you may have heard the famous line:

"Shall I compare thee to a summers day..." which is from 'sonnet 18'.

He wrote 154 sonnets in total and they are still read and studied today.

Robert Burns

Robert Burns was a Scottish poet.

He is celebrated every year in Scotland on 'Burns night.'

He wrote hundreds of poems, songs and letters.

His poem and song A Man's a Man For a' That, was sung at the opening of the Scottish Parliament in 1999.

Emily Dickinson

Emily Dickinson was an American poet.

She was not well known when she was alive.

Only ten of her poems were published during her lifetime but after she died her family found 1,800 poems.

As well as writing, Emily Dickson liked botany which is the study of plants.

Dr Seuss

Dr Seuss or Theodor Seuss Geisel...wasn't actually a Doctor - he just used the title to sound more intelligent!

He prescribed tongue twisters, rhymes and hidden lessons through his words.

His book 'Green Eggs and Ham' was actually written as a dare, he was challenged to write a book using only 50 words and it was the result.

He wrote for children but also tried to write for adults too.

When he wasn't rhyming, he was collecting hats, he had more than 300 at one time in his life!

Maya Angelou

Before she became a poet Maya Angelou was a fry cook, dancer and performer,

She was active in the Civil Rights movement and was the first poet to make an inaugural recitation since Robert Frost at John F. Kennedy's inauguration in 1961.

One of her most famous poems is Still I Rise and she made literary history as the first nonfiction bestseller by an African American woman.

Benjamin Zephaniah

Benjamin Zephaniah proves that if you love something nothing will stop you from achieving your dreams.

He left school at 13 and was diagnosed as dyslexic.

He performed his first poem when he was 10 and has been outspoken and passionate poet ever since.

Benjamin's poems often reflect the things he cares about in society and can sometimes be called 'controversial.'

Has your favourite poet not been mentioned? Let us know who they are and why you love them in the comments below!