How can we encourage our students and young people to love and engage with poetry?

Reading aloud is important, because it gives us that sense of rhythm and allows us to get into the story, meaning we don’t worry about whether this is called ‘poetry’ or not. It’s important to introduce kids to lots of different types of poetry, including limericks or ballads (e.g. Henry Lawson), as these will engage different children. Some of the old ballads have wonderful stories, like the great Sam  McGee, who sits up in his coffin because it’s the first time he’s been warm since he went to Alaska (see The Cremation of Sam McGee by Robert W. Service).
  
Let them play with free verse! Rhyming has a place and it’s lovely, in particular in picture books, but it can take away from meaning. Allow children to play with poetry and not needing them to create the perfect sonnet, but rather use it as their means of thought. 

Poetry can be a real self-help tool; many people find it easier to express their feelings in verse. Make sure they know they don’t have to show anyone else! 

How can we enable teachers to find their inner poet?

Try a 10-minute writing practice, which is something I sometimes do, and advise a lot. Set a timer, sit down with a notebook and a pen (keep that notebook just for this writing practice). Just see what comes out! You keep writing until the timer goes off (and feel free to continue beyond), but you must at least go until the timer goes off. This exercise can be done in verse.
 
Give yourself permission to be a learner, and not just a teacher. Naturally, you will be a better teacher if you’ve experimented with poetry and can then share that, but this exercise is your time. You will be sharing the experience, but not your actual verse (unless you want to!).  

I use a lot of tapping on acupuncture points to help get rid of my inner critic, if I start to get the self-doubt coming through. 

Allow yourself to play too and don’t judge your efforts. That doesn’t mean you can’t edit it, but try to refrain from being too critical. 

Read poetry aloud to yourself and explore different types of poetry to expand your knowledge and understanding of the form.