‘A Butterfly’s Song’ by Rishi Dastidar for National Poetry Day 2016

On October 6th, it’s National Poetry Day 2016, the annual mass celebration of poetry and all things poetical. The theme for this year is ‘Messages: Say it with a Poem‘, so we’ve asked a generous handful of our Poetry School tutors for a poem with a message to share with the world.

Starting today, we’ll be posting one poem every day until the big day itself! The first poem is ‘A Butterfly’s Song’ by poet and Poetry School tutor Rishi Dastidar!

Rishi Dastidar’s poetry has been published by the Financial Times, Tate Modern and the Southbank Centre amongst many others, and was most recently in Ten: The New Wave (Bloodaxe, 2014). He was longlisted in the 2016 National Poetry Competition and his debut collection Ticker-tape will be published by Nine Arches Press in 2017. He is a consulting editor at The Rialto magazine, a member of Malika’s Poetry Kitchen, and also serves as a trustee of Spread The Word.

National Poetry Day, the annual mass celebration of poetry and all things poetical, takes place on Thursday 6 October 2016. It is an initiative of the Forward Arts Foundation, a charity that celebrates excellence in poetry and widens its audience. They bring together leading poetry, literacy and literary organisations around a shared purpose: promoting the enjoyment, discovery and sharing of poetry.

The Poetry School is a national arts organisation providing inspiring tuition and opportunities for poets and poetry audiences. With established teaching centres throughout England as well as online courses, downloadable activities, and the world’s biggest social network dedicated to poetry – CAMPUS – the Poetry School is unique in its ability to reach and develop aspiring poets wherever they may be, both in the UK and internationally.