The history of English poetry stretches from the middle of the 7th century to the present day. Over this period, English poets have written some of the most enduring poems in European culture, and the language and its poetry have spread around the globe. Consequently, the term English poetry is unavoidably ambiguous. It can mean poetry written in England (and, by extension, the United Kingdom), or poetry written in English. With the growth of British trade and the British Empire, the English language has been widely used outside England. In the twenty-first century, only a small percentage of the world's native English speakers live in England, and there is also a vast population of non-native speakers of English who are capable of writing poetry in the language. A number of major national poetries, including the American, Australian, New Zealand and Canadian poetry have emerged and developed. Since 1922, Irish poetry has also been increasingly viewed as a separate area of study.

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Today's selected anniversaries:

1034 Malcolm II of Scotland died. Duncan, the son of his second daughter, instead of Macbeth, the son of his eldest daughter, inherited the throne. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malcolm_II_of_Scotland)

1960 The Mirabal sisters, who opposed the dictatorship of military strongman Rafael Leonidas Trujillo in the Dominican Republic, were beaten and strangled to death. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mirabal_sisters)

1984 Band Aid: 36 of Britain and Ireland's top pop musicians gathered in a Notting Hill studio to record the song "Do They Know It's Christmas" in order to raise money for famine relief in Ethiopia. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Band_Aid_%28band%29)

1993 Velvet Divorce: Legislators in Czechoslovakia voted to split the country into the Czech Republic and Slovakia, effective January 1, 1993. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Velvet_Divorce)

Wikiquote of the day:

"Great minds have purposes, others have wishes. Little minds are tamed and subdued by misfortune; but great minds rise above them." ~ Washington Irving (http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Washington_Irving)