Celebrate National Poetry Day, the announcement of the BBC's poll to find the Nation's Favourite Poet, The Poetry Society's centenary year and the launch of the Southbank Centre's global poetry system with an extravaganza of some of the superheroes of British poetry… And it is all completely FREE.

Join John Hegley, Roger McGough, Lemn Sissay, Selima Hill and Anjan Saha and Lost Luggage all reading their work, emceed by the indomitable superhero partnership of Mr G and Joelle Taylor.

It will be first here that Britain’s Poet Laureate Carol Ann Duffy reads her first National Poetry Day poem. Expect a verse of heroic proportion.

Alongside these readings, stunning (and rare) archive footage will be shown of the poet-heroes of history: Stevie Smith, Dylan Thomas and TS Eliot.

Enjoy a world of words and wool with the creators of the world’s first giant knitted poem. And to end the afternoon there will be Valerie Laws with a new interactive game of beach-ball haiku.

Don't miss the celebrations - come and join us on National Poetry Day 2009!

In an ideal world, I'd be whisked off on a plane in the middle of the night and awake somewhere in London with my friends playing Bridge at the foot of the hotel bed, and they'll be like "Hurry we're going to be late" and I'll be like "OK OK I'll just get changed quickly but you guys have to stop your game too" and they'll be like "LOL FINE" and I'll be like "Great, do you have the tickets with you?" and they'll be like "It's somewhere around" and I'll be like "That's awesome I am totally loving this" and etc. etc. and etc. and yeah.

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