First established in 1997, National Poetry Day is a one-day national poetry event extravaganza held on a Friday in late August each year. In 2021, the date for Phantom National Poetry Day is Friday 27th August. Registrations for 2021 events will open on the 17th March.

It’s an event that always has something for everybody, from seasoned poets, to total newbies, to the simply-a-bit-curious! 2020’s celebration turned out to be the most unique and intrepid National Poetry Day so far, with numerous in-person events supplemented by many online and socially-distanced endeavours!

The magic and excitement of poetry always pervades the day, with the poetry community turning out in droves to discover New Zealand poets, share poetry, and experience the joy of the written and spoken word.

The events are all organised by poetry-loving volunteers and will involve thousands of people in towns and cities all across the motu.

If you would like to get involved as an event organiser for 2021, please check out How to Run a National Poetry Day Event. To find out more about last year’s event, see here:

• Read more about the 2020 event here.
• You can view the 2020 calendar National Calendar of Events here.
• You can view the 2020 Competitions Calendar here.

Phantom National Poetry Day is governed by the New Zealand Book Awards Trust.