National Poetry Day is the biggest mass celebration of poetry in the UK and this year it occurs on Thursday 1st October 2026.  

"It`s a chance for all of us to share in the pleasure of poetry" explained Walsall poet and solicitor Ian Henery "and you`ll see it everywhere - from schools and libraries to cultural venues and across the national media." 

This year`s theme is wonder and encourages people to look more closely at the world around them and find inspiration in everyday experiences, places and moments.  It celebrates curiosity, imagination, observation and the power of poetry to help us notice, connect and explore.  

For this year`s Walsall Maker Fest, which took part on 26th September and organised by Walsall Council, Ian Henery ran creative writing workshops in Walsall Town Hall.  The workshops, delivered on behalf of Walsall Community Transport, focused on travel stories and community wellbeing.    

Collaborative partners were Walsall Archives, host of the Jack Haddock Collection, which is being developed with the support of a £249,020 grant from the National Heritage Lottery Fund.  The first collection to be made available focuses on the community transport of Walsall`s canals and railways.  These were used as poetry prompts by Ian Henery in Walsall Town Hall for the Walsall Makers Fest 2026.  

"I wanted to create a legacy of what we were doing for National Poetry Day 2026" said Ian.  "It was full on in Walsall Town Hall with families joining me for the creative writing workshops.  The youngest participant I had was only 4 years old and she offered a unique insight into the creative process.  There were a lot of people having a go who had never tried poetry before and enjoyed the experience.  We had great feedback from the public".    

Ian was keen to develop the process and create a community poem to celebrate the event  in Walsall Town Hall for National Poetry Day 2026.  "I wanted journeys of hope to reflect the wonderous stories of wonderful Walsall" he said  "for National Poetry Day whose theme is wonder."  

A community poem is a collaborative poem created by members of the community.  Ian Henery invited people at his workshop in Walsall Town Hall to contribute just one line to express their thoughts, experiences and dreams on journeys of hope and wonder.  These single lines all shared their same prompt, weaving multiple distinct voices into a single harmonious piece.    

"Community poems are a powerful form of literary activism" explained Ian Henery.  "They give voice to inviduals, activating words that speak truth, foster peace and promote a sense of belonging.  Through these poetry forms we honour the idea that everyone has a story that matters.  They are the living, breathing expressions of creativity that remind us all of the power of words that shape the world around us on National Poetry Day".    

Below is the Walsall Makers Fest Community Poem           

 Journeys of Hope & Wonder - for National Poetry Day 2026  

So it was we decided to make the journey - 

The journey was for greener pastures 

But love was also made along that journey.

It was a time to reflect on my dreams and goals.

I need to go to work to get money to feed my family.

The journey in to work is always busy,

The same faces wearing the same looks.  

A trip down memory lane, feelings of nostalgia

Evoking memories of a child growing up in Walsall.

I`m in the carriage of a steam train

Another day travelling to work.  

My suit is tight, my hair curled and pinned,

Stockings straightened at the back of my legs.

My hat at a fashionable tilt, my lipstick red.  

In the Willenhall December evening, with trains and birds

Trains in and out, buses also keep us going.

Let us bond over love for love needs no colour

And I think we all need to make our lives a little bit fuller.

Paddington Bear, you give us a scare

Travelling to different places on boat or air - 

With Paddington Bear we are one.  

The Bear studied to help others 

In the way his friend helped him

And after years of study and work

He became a doctor, healing limbs.  

Just like Paddington we must love each other 

We are all in the same boat like the Bear

And we must make the world be happy.    

A journey - I knock your door 

And you say "hello"!  Who am I?

I`m from the Council, don`t you know!

Canals and waterways must be preserved,

Our history of narrowboats on the cut.

Paddington Bear voyaged to England 

Because, in us,  some love he saw.