Forward Arts Foundation promotes public knowledge, understanding and enjoyment of poetry in the UK and Ireland. We are a charity committed to widening poetry’s audience, honouring achievement and supporting talent: our programmes include National Poetry Day, the Forward Prizes for Poetry and the Forward Book of Poetry, an annual anthology of the year’s best poems.

Our mission is

• To deepen appreciation of poetry’s value
• To celebrate excellence in poetry
• To increase poetry’s audience

We are supported by the BBC, Royal Mail, leading publishers and booksellers and by Arts Council England, which describes us as ‘a coordinating force.’