Poetry - Senryu

Senryu is very much like Haiku in that a Senryu is a short, unrhymed poem composed of 17 syllables or less and written in three lines. It’s not necessary to use the 5-7-5 syllabic structure, though you can. Senryu are usually humorous or cynical and they focus on relationships, work, and the everyday. I’ve [...]

March 21 - World Poetry Day

Today is World Poetry Day! The purpose of the day is to promote the reading, writing, publishing, and teaching of poetry throughout the world. It’s also the day of the Equinox. I’ve listed some sites you may enjoy exploring today. Get your poetry on and happy spring!

Poetry Daily
Poetry Foundation
Web del Sol
The Academy of [...]

Poetry - The Triolet

The Teachers & Writers Handbook of Poetic Forms describes a triolet (pronounced tree-o-lay) as an eight-line poem with two rhymes and two repeating lines. The first line of the poem occurs three times (as in “tri” meaning three). It is repeated in the fourth and seventh lines. The eighth line repeats the second line, so [...]

Poetry - Inspiration the Liu’ Chang-ch’ing Prompt

This poem was inspired by a Totally Optional Prompt.
smokey satin stones
there beyond the bamboo
light skates their polished bellies
their cool hardness tempts
chilly to the touch
though not from a rivulet
two go in a pocket
for later reflection
* * * * *
Do you want to write a poem but need inspiration? Try writing a List Poem.

Writing a List Poem

A list poem, also called a catalog poem, consists of an itemization of things or events. List poems can rhyme or not, and they can be of any length. Walt Whitman, Gertrude Stein, and Allen Ginsberg wrote poems that included lists or poems that were lists. Read Ginsberg’s Howl to see how he used descriptive, [...]

Russian Renaissance Poet - Vladimir Mayakovsky

Today, I came across a very interesting article about the Russian poet, Vladimir Mayakovsky. Until today, I did not know of this poet. Now, I can’t wait to learn more. This was an accidental find on the WWW. Some of the best information comes to me by accident. I’ve posted a bit of the article [...]

Friday Night - Get Your Poetry On

Last night I was exhausted; hence, no blogging. Tonight, I’m going to the Dallas Museum of Art for poetry, music, art, and best of all free Starbucks coffee. Visit me later for a review and a wordier post.

Cento - A Stitched Together Poem

The Cento is a poem created by stitching the lines of other poems together to form a brand new poem. Each line must come from a different poetic source.
Below you’ll find a short Cento I’ve created and the source for each line of poem.
* * * *
Down at the water’s edge, at the place,
I dream [...]

Poetry - Forgetfulness by Billy Collins

You may find yourself in a room and wonder why you’re there. You may have forgotten where you placed your keys, glasses, or umbrella. Or you may have forgotten a doctor’s appointment. You didn’t remember someone’s name. You can’t remember your own name. If you live a hectic life and have many things on your [...]

Tanka - 31 Syllable Poems

Older than Haiku, Tanka is another form of ancient Japanese poetry. Traditional Japanese Tanka is written in one straight line, but in English the line is divided into five syllabic units: 5-7-5-7-7. In the best Tanka, the five lines flow seamlessly into one thought. Tanka poems were traditionally written to evoke a moment or mark [...]

Writing Cinquains - Five Line Poems

There are two formulas for writing cinquains. I’ve used the following:

Line 1 – two syllables
Line 2 - four syllables
Line 3 - six syllables
Line 4 - eight syllables
Line 5 - two syllables

Though I did not strictly adhere to the second formula, I kept it top of mind.

Line 1 - one word for topic
Line 2 - two [...]

Weekly Poetry Column

American Life in Poetry is a project run by Ted Kooser. He writes a weekly newspaper column about poetry and provides it free to interested journalists for their newspapers. Read a few of the columns. You’ll find interesting commentary and some really cool poems.