Turkey Celebrates March 21, World Poetry Day

Children reading a panegyric during a festival in Timbuktu.
Source: UN Photo/Marco Dormino

"Every poem is unique but each reflects the universal in human experience, the aspiration for creativity that crosses all boundaries and borders, of time as well as space, in the constant affirmation of humanity as a single family."

Irina Bokova, Director-General of UNESCO

Afsar Timucin

"World Poetry Day" on March 21, 2015, will be celebrated in Turkey as usual. 

After a proposal that has been given to UNESCO by Turkish PEN Centre in 1997, "March 21" was approved as World Poetry Day in 1999. Since then, each year a poet from Turkey who won the yearly poetry prize of Turkish PEN Centre, writes poetry message. 

This year's message was written by Afşar Timuçin, philosopher and poet (1939- *) who won the 2015 Poetry Prize of Turkish PEN Centre. 

World Poetry Day - 2013!

Today is the World Poetry Day!
We wish all of our friends and guests to live in a world with poetic harmony...

"Poetry is a journey -not in a dream world, but often close to individual emotions, aspirations and hopes. Poetry gives form to the dreams of peoples and expresses their sprituality in the strongest terms- it emboldens all of us also to change the world..."

Irina Bokova, Director General, UNESCO

Offical Message for World  Poetry Day 2013