POETRY against Discrimination" is this year’s World Poetry Day theme. Discrimination is a practice that divides peoples and countries. To the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), poetry is a powerful medium of communication, of sharing experiences and knowledge between peoples and cultures. It is a bridge towards greater understanding.
Poets are society’s spokespersons. They mirror society, its values, traditions, beliefs, etc. Poetry makes the individual more introspective, more self-reflective. This, in turn, makes the individual understand others. Thus, poetry promotes the public good.
Promoting and sharing poetry among cultures and countries help promote and preserve the integration and linkages of diverse expressions of life on earth. Poetry also links the past, the present, and the future. Through their works, the poets of yesteryears continue to help guide the societies of today.
The Filipino people are natural-born poets. Foreign accounts document their poems which they easily transformed into songs. The
kundiman, duplo, bugtungan, uyayi, tagulaylay, kasabihan, and balagtasan are examples of traditional Philippine poetry.
World Poetry Day was first celebrated in the 1930s. In 1999, UNESCO declared March 21 as World Poetry Day. This event is celebrated in many countries around the world today.
We participate yearly in the observance of World Poetry Day to encourage our people not only to express their thoughts artistically but also to reach out to other peoples and cultures.
Poetry, like music, is one language that is not limited by territorial boundaries or by race and religion. Let us use it and understand one another better.
