Every year, on the 21st of March, Julius Meinl celebrates World Poetry Day in hundreds of locations around the globe, where you can awaken your inner poet to get inspired, write, and Pay With A Poem.

This year, Julius Meinl took the movement one step further, as they wanted to prove that poetry is the soul of music. Poetry has not always felt accessible, but music is a universal language and has the ability to help people engage with poetry in unexpected ways. This is why they joined forces with the critically-acclaimed singer-songwriter JP Cooper, who will create a song to celebrate poets from around the world.

JP Cooper said: “Working with Julius Meinl has given me the opportunity to celebrate my fellow wordsmiths, poets and lyricists the world over. I hope my song will demonstrate that poetry lives everywhere.”

As Meejana serves Julius Meinl coffee in our Weybridge and Kensington restaurants, we are joining the movement and letting you Pay (for your coffee or tea) with a Poem on the day. We might even have our own little competition and share your poems on social media and have our followers vote for the best. Julius Meinl is also running a competition to win tickets and a trip to one of JP Cooper’s concerts and you can enter your poem on their website here.

What will you pen on the day? Long, or short, it’s all poetry! Here are some older stanzas I wrote over the years if you need persuading that anybody can write poetry with a little inspiration (and a good coffee).

About World Poetry Day

World Poetry Day was declared by UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) in 1999. The purpose of the day is to promote the reading, writing, publishing and teaching of poetry throughout the world and, as the UNESCO session declaring the day says, to “give fresh recognition and impetus to national, regional and international poetry movements”.

About JP Cooper

“She’s on my mind, she’s on my mind, she’s on my mind” was on everybody’s mind in 2017: this is maybe the first hit that comes to mind when you think about JP Cooper. He’s also famous for “September song” and “Perfect Strangers”, his wonderful collaboration with Jonas Blue.

JP Cooper shot to fame in 2016, becoming one of the most appreciated singer-songwriters in the UK, with more than 100.000 followers on Spotify. He is accustomed to having more than 350 million streams to his songs and he’s very familiar with being #1 in UK charts.

“Music has the ability to help people enjoy and engage with poetry in unexpected ways. In recent years, I’ve seen a lot of musicians start to use poetry in their music, and for me, it is an important part of the songwriting process. Ultimately, I want my music to resonate with people, and offer an escape from the everyday. By being given the opportunity to create a song in celebration of poets across the globe, I hope to bring fans together and show that poetry lives everywhere and can be accessible to everyone.”