National Poetry Day recommended reads

By Luke Chapman | Poetry, Recommended Reads

Check out our top reads for this special day

A huge day for celebration, learning, coming together and... Poetry!!! We're the biggest fans of National Poetry Day here at Young Writers.

Poetry is the perfect medium for expression, quizzical inferences and comedic thinking, which is just one of the reasons we're obsessed with poetry! 

This year we collected some of the nation's top voices to lend us a hand with our National Poetry Day celebrations, you can head here to find out about our star-studded lineup of interviews, guest poets and special blogs.

Although poetry isn't published as often as your typical novel, it doesn't mean there isn't a wealth of fantastic books to read, here are just a few of our poetry recommended reads:

• Roger Stevens - A Million Brilliant Poems: This book is full of... brilliant poems, but maybe not a million. Roger's personality and wit is found on every page with laugh-out-loud poems alongside thought-provoking pieces of work. You can also check out our interview with Roger on YouTube here.
• Funky Chickens - Benjamin Zephaniah: Iconic, timeless, important and astonishing, a few of the characteristics of this staple poetry book. If you've not already learned all about it in school, make sure to check it out! It's one of the biggest pieces of poetry of all time and is a must-read for any poetry lover.
• Cloud Soup - Kate Wakeling and Elina Braslina: Kate's poetry is renowned for its outside-the-box thinking, its provocation of thought and its hidden deeper meaning suitable for kids. Touching upon important topics, Cloud Soup is accompanied by stunning illustrations from the brilliant Elina Braslina. Do not miss out on this book! You can also watch our interview with Kate and Elina on YouTube where we talk about poetry, their collaboration, and much more.
• Crazy Mayonnaisy Mum - Julia Donaldson: Iconic writer and author Julia Donaldson took to poetry like a duck to water. Now six years old, this book hasn't lost any of its magical spark. Worth reading for poetry lovers, worth reading if you're not a poetry lover... Trust me it's worth reading!
• Yapping Away - Joshua Seigal: Joshua is well known for his funny poems and genius take on the world. Yapping Away is a new book fresh off the shelves and is a great read for the younger poets and avid readers out there. Check out Josh's guest blog he created to share his top poetry tips, as well as a few sneak peek poems from Yapping Away included.
• The Fire of Joy - Clive James: Created just before his passing, Clive James has a lifetime's worth of insight and knowledge to give to the world. This collection is roughly 80 poems of his most poignant and important work collected into one spellbinding book. Suitable for those budding poets who're a tad older, this is a really fantastic anthology full of a life well-lived.
• I Love My Bike - Simon Mole: Simon is a National Poetry Day Ambassador and is known for the amazing work he does for the poetry world. Over lockdown, Simon hosted free online poetry workshops for poets across the world. This book is the latest release from Simon and layered with thought-provoking ideas presented to younger poets in a simple and engaging manner. You can check out our interview with Simon here where we talk about his book, as well as his work as an NPD Ambassador, his workshops and more.

This is just a drop in the ocean of the fantastic poetry that covers the shelves of any book shop. Get out there and discover some great poetry. Happy National Poetry Day!