I’ve been writing since I could hold a crayon and reading since I could hold a book, but I’ve never been that into poetry. Sure, Shakespeare sings to me. And, there are poems I dearly love and can recite by heart. But writing poetry always remained firmly in the realm of my amazing poet-friend, Helen. It’s been decades, and I think it’s time for me to try my hand at poetic forms. Will you join me?
Why Poetic Forms
I love a challenge – especially when it involves words. (Maybe that’s why I write long-form narrative …) I don’t care who gets there first, as long as I get there with something I’m pleased to have done. This applies to poems. I have the Norton Anthology of Poetic Forms, The Making of a Poem, to use as a text. It walks you through the poetic forms like the villanelle, pantoum, sonnet, ballad, and more. I’m going to work my way through all of them in time!
The Challenge
- Pick one form to work on each week: I’m going to start with the villanelle because I can’t get my first, very bad and incorrect, attempt out of my head.
- Spend the week working on your poem: Maybe you’ll just bang it out, but more likely, it will take some time. Try to complete something by the end of the week.
- Announce your success: You don’t need to share your work, but please announce which type of poem you’ve completed each week in the comments for this post.
- Have fun!