Poetry at Work Day – January 14, 2025

History of Poetry at Work Day

The history of Poetry at Work Day is blurry; however, we appreciate this day, which allows us to use literature for relaxation at work. Poets are naturally creative, and this quality is in high demand by employers. Poetry at Work Day helps to improve creativity in workers, leading to better efficiency.

Poems are very old means of expression, utilizing figures of speech like metaphors, onomatopoeia, and prosodic elements like rhythm, meter, and sound. Poetry has been around for thousands of years, but epic poems, commonly referred to as the first instances of poetry, appears around the 20th century B.C. The Aristotle fragments brought about the introduction of poem genres: epic, comic, and tragic. Major genres were introduced later on; they include epic poetry, dramatic poetry, and lyric poetry. 

Poems are written in divided sections, mostly a stanza, which is a standard of 12 lines. Two lines are a couplet, four lines are a quatrain, and the sonnet, created in the 14th century, are 14-lined poems. Poetry has a major impact on businesses, as it helps us to simplify and ‘uncomplicate’ things. It also builds empathy and this goes a long way in building strong work relationships with others. It also improves creativity, which will result in better output at work. It helps us to maintain a psychological balance and relieves stress. Poetry keeps us calm, helping us feel good and light-headed while we carry out tasks at work. Poetry at work is celebrated in offices by posting a poem on a large board for everyone to read, organizing poetry slams, and encouraging workers to discuss or write a poem.