History
Forward Arts Foundation was created in 1991 by William Sieghart CBE. A life-long poetry-lover, Sieghart wanted an anthology containing the best poetry of the year. Since none existed, in 1992, he published one himself.
We awarded the first Forward Prizes in 1992, with the Best First Collection that year going to a working-class, Northern poet, Simon Armitage. The future UK Poet Laureate was joined on the stage by Thom Gunn (winner, Best Collection) and future Scottish Makar Jackie Kay (winner, Best Single Poem). The Forward Book and Forward Prizes attracted both people who did not know where to begin with contemporary poetry, and die-hard poetry readers. Recent chairs have included Bernadine Evaristo, Craig Charles, and Andrew Marr.
In 1994, Sieghart founded National Poetry Day, a day-long mass celebration of all things poetical, which was taken up enthusiastically by schools, libraries, the media and even railway stations.
Over the last 30 years, the campaign has increased its impact: worked closely with schools, libraries, booksellers and retailers. National Poetry Day now reaches over 500 million people annually, through its booktrade promotion of new poetry, NPD ambassadors, publications, posters, badges, bookmarks, educational resources, live events, and our dedicated network of partner organisations and activists. It is particularly popular on social media, where the hashtag #nationalpoetryday and the invitation to share a line of poetry prove a winning combination.
Since 2015 our anthology Poems of the Decade has been on the A-level syllabus (Pearson Edexcel), studied by around 8,000 English Literature students each year.
In 2019 we worked with Cerys Matthews to produce Tell Me The Truth about Life, a book of 100 poems to celebrate the 25th anniversary of National Poetry Day.
In Spring 2020 we supported poet Liv Torc with her #haiflu project, creating a powerful and deeply moving social history of the beginning of the COVID pandemic.
In 2022 we launched the UK’s first nationally significant spoken word prize, now called the Jerwood Prize for Best Single Poem – Performed. This category celebrates the vitality of the spoken word scene, integrating poetry the oral form to the national awards stage, removing traditional gatekeepers and showcasing new talent to publishers and audiences alike.
