Category: creative writing

The Ovillejo

On By Adam AstraIn creative writing, original poetry, poetic forms challenge, poetry, Poetry Challenge, writing2 Comments
52-Forms Revisited: This post has been revised and streamlined with refreshed links and new original content (November 2025)

The Ingenious Gentleman Cervantes

The Ovillejo is the first form of this challenge with a lineage that can be traced back to a single well-known source: Miguel de Cervantes’ epic comedy (or is it a tragedy?) The Ingenious Gentleman Sir Quixote of La Mancha, better known today as Don Quixote (1605).

Untangling the Ovillejo

Ovillo in Spanish means “ball.” A Poet’s Glossary explains: “The word ovillego refers to a spool of thread or wool, and this complicated Spanish stanzaic form is tied in a little knot [which] unravels in ten lines.”

Learning by Example

The Ovillejo is a complex form which can perhaps be best grasped through example. Below is an excerpt from Paul Archer’s English translation of Miguel de Cervantes’ poem, “Ovillejos” from Don Quixote, followed by the original Spanish version.

Ovillejos (Archer Translation)

 What undermines all I attempt?
Contempt!
What heaps sorrow onto me?
Jealousy!
And what gnaws me through and through?
Missing you!

That’s why nothing will do
to make my distress less –
I’m killed by hopelessness,
contempt, jealousy and missing you!

Ovillejos (Original Spanish)

¿Quién menoscaba mis bienes?
¡Desdenes!
Y ¿quién aumenta mis duelos?
¡Los celos!
Y ¿quién prueba mi paciencia?
¡Ausencia!

De este modo en mi dolencia
ningún remedio se alcanza,
pues me matan la esperanza,
desdenes, celos y ausencia.

Translation vs Original

Translation of poetry from any language is a task fraught with challenges both practical and creative—the phrase “lost in translation” has become cliché for good reason. In a form with as many requirements as this has, you’ll likely have to make some compromises. Even a non-Spanish speaker should notice that Archer’s translation has preserved the original’s punctuation (excepting the exclamation in the last line) and rhyme scheme. One thing that is lost, however, is the syllable count. The lesson here is you can’t rely solely on any translation to learn the requirements of a given form.

Form Requirements

Structure:
– The Ovillejo is a poem consisting of ten lines

– These ten lines are usually made up of a sestet (6 line stanza) and a quatrain (4 line stanza)

– Any number of Ovillejos can be connected to create a sequence (you’ll see here that Cervantes’ “Ovillejos” is a sequence of three Ovillejos)

Content:
– Lines 1, 3, and 5 of the first stanza must ask a question, which the preceding line (2, 4, 6) must answer

– The second stanza reflects and amplifies the first stanza

– The last line of the second stanza must be a culmination of lines 2, 4, and 6 of the previous stanza (this is known as a redondilla). The exclamation point on the final line appears to be optional.

Rhyming:
– The first stanza can either be seen as three couplets, or a sestet, with an aa bbcc rhyme scheme

– The second stanza is always a quatrain, with a cddc rhyme scheme

Syllable Count:
– In the first stanza, lines 1 ,3, and 5 consist of eight syllables. Lines 2, 4, and 6 consist of two to three syllables

– Lines 7, 8, and 9 consist of eight syllables in the second stanza

– The final line should consist of seven to ten syllables

If all of these rules are leaving your brain feeling like a ball of tangled yarn, here’s a breakdown:

Ovillejo Requirement Breakdown*

Line 1: a rhyme in 8 syllables (question)
Line 2: a rhyme in 2-3 syllables (single word exclamation)
Line 3: b rhyme in 8 syllables (question)
Line 4: b rhyme in 2-3 syllables (single word exclamation)
Line 5: c rhyme in 8 syllables (question)
Line 6: c rhyme in 2-3 syllables (single word exclamation)

Line 7: c rhyme in 8 syllables
Line 8: d rhyme in 8 syllables
Line 9: d rhyme in 8 syllables
Line 10: (Line 2)+(Line 4)+(Line 6) (optional exclamation)

*line breakdown adapted from Writer’s Digest

An Original Ovillejo

What do we say when men oppress?
Confess!
To those who drink as others drown?
Step down!
And after we destroy the throne?
Atone!

To prove your soul’s not made of stone,
There’s nothing that you need to do
But lift your polished, deadly shoe,
Confess, step down, and atone.

~Ovillejo Revisited & Revised~

Ovillejo

What do we say when men oppress?
Confess!
To those who build on broken ground?
Step down!
And when the tyrant’s overthrown?
Atone!

You cannot rule by wealth alone;
You cannot sell a country’s soul.
Resign, retire—go count your gold.
Confess, step down, atone.

Notes on my revision

Title
I added a title with this revision. Not a very creative one, admittedly.

Revised Lines
Upon revisiting, I wasn’t entirely satisfied with lines 2 and 4, and 7 through 9. So I created an expanded list of rhyme pairings, and, after carefully considering my syllables, landed on these new lines. I believe (hope) they paint a clearer picture and more directly express the purpose of the poem.

Online Resources:

Top 10 Question Poems – Tweetspeak
Ovillejo – Writer’s Digest
Ovillejos – Paul Archer (Translator of Cervantes)
Ovillejo – Dark Side of the Moon
Ovillejo – Popular Poetry Forms
Unraveling the Ovillejo – dVerse Poets

The Magic 9

On By Adam AstraIn creative writing, original poetry, poetic forms challenge, poetry, Poetry Challenge, writing1 Comment
52-Forms Revisited: This post has been revised and streamlined with refreshed links and expanded original content (November 2025)

The Mysterious Magic 9

The Magic 9 is a newer form with uncertain origins. The idea for the rhyme scheme is rumored to have sprung from the rushed misspelling of the famous incantatory exclamation: abacadabra!

Structure of the Magic 9 Poem

Requirements of the Magic 9 form:

– Comprised of a single nine-line stanza

– Must follow the rhyme scheme: abacadaba

– No restrictions on line length, meter or subject matter

Tips and Techniques

One way to get started is to make a list of end words.

To do this form correctly you’ll need:
– 5 a end rhymes
– 2 b end rhymes
– 1 c end word
– 1 d end word

Determine what kind of end rhymes you’d like to use. Click here for a handy guide on the different rhyme types used in poetry.

First try single-syllable end rhyme words, and then expand to two or even three-syllable words. Consider how these changes feel and how each possibility resonates within the structure of the form.

Now brainstorm around your favorite end rhyme clusters, looking for meaningful ways of bringing them together.

Keep it loose at the beginning and let the creativity flow. Your internal editor is not allowed in this free-flowing creative space, so don’t stop to judge or think too critically–that’s what revision is for.

An Original Magic 9 Poem

The Stargazers

Away from the glare of the city’s light,
We follow the firefly’s flash.
Abandoning the screens that so narrow our sight,
We trace the heavens for our favorite constellations.
With galaxies and gods, all going ’round in our flight,
We lay down our blanket in a hidden patch of prairie.
In this brilliant darkness, our vision’s set right,
As the dazzling meteors slash
Across the impossible night.

Links to Online Resources:

Types of Rhyme – Daily Writing Tips

~Magic 9 Revisited~

Rather than creating a new poem in the Magic 9 form, I thought I’d share the lyrics to a song I wrote using The Stargazers as a jumping off point. I often look for ways to use formal poetry as a springboard into songwriting.


Escape to the Cosmos

The city at night is a lovely sight,
But the lights can strain your eyes.
I know of a grove off a dark country road.
Why don’t we go for a ride?

We’ll slip away when the daylight fades
And the stars begin to shine.
The clouds have all cleared, and the moon’s not too bright.
We’ll escape to the cosmos tonight.

Far from the bars, the streetlights, and cars,
We’ll lay our blankets down,
Trace the constellations from our bed in the weeds,
And share all the wonders we’ve found.

We’ll slip away when the daylight fades
And the stars begin to shine.
With galaxies and gods, all goin’ round in our flight,
We’ll escape to the cosmos tonight.

The fireflies flash, the meteors dash
All across the impossible sky.

We’ll slip away when the daylight fades
And the stars begin to shine.
In this brilliant darkness, our vision’s set right.
We’ll escape to the cosmos tonight.





Hear it at:
Bandcamp
YouTube
Spotify

Diminishing Verse

On By Adam AstraIn creative writing, poetic forms challenge, poetry, Poetry Challenge, writing2 Comments
52-Forms Revisited: This post has been revised and streamlined with refreshed links (November 2025)

Diminishing Verse

Origins Unknown (or at Least Uncertain)
Not much is known about the origin of this form, but it’s possible that the Diminishing Verse form that we know today evolved from the classic triplet, and there is some evidence to suggest this. All triplets consist of a three-line stanza (commonly referred to a tercet), as do many Diminishing Verse poems. But where a classic triplet features a distinct rhyme scheme, the Diminishing Verse form has a more interesting—and challenging—way of manipulating the last word of each line.

Vanishing Act
The key feature in a Diminishing Verse poem is the manipulation of the last word in each line—in a diminishing fashion. I found some variation on where the emphasis should be placed within the end word itself. In one variation, emphasis is placed on the vowel sound of the end word, making the challenge to decrease the number of preceding consonants while maintaining the vowel sound (flair/rare/air). Another variation offers less flexibility, asking the poet to remove initial letters of the word without any other changes to spelling (heat/eat/at). A poem of this kind might read:

If you can stand the heat
And you can’t wait to eat
The kitchen is where it’s at

Nearly all of the contemporary examples I found use this second approach, and this was the basis for my own experiments.

Other Notes On Structure

Beyond the above-mentioned end word requirements, there are very few formal restrictions in this form:
– No rules for syllable count, line length, rhyming, poem length, etc.
– Stanzas can be of any length, but tercets are most common. This is mostly due to the strict end word requirements and the natural constraints those requirements impose.

Two Original Diminishing Verse Poems

The Riots of Spring

As the thunder churns, as the lightning cleaves,
The nestlings cower in the quaking leaves;
The spider’s web quivers beneath the eaves.

But soon the red fox will doze in the clover;
The monarch will settle on its yellow-petaled lover;
The riots of spring will be over.

Daily News

He dreads
The daily news—he only reads
The ads.

Bonus Challenge!
Diminishing Verse…in Reverse

If you add one or more letters to the beginning of the end word of each previous line (instead of subtracting), you get Diminishing Verse’s opposite: the Culminating Verse poem!

An Original Culminating Verse Poem

Tart

The art
In eating a tart
Is knowing when to start.

Links to Online Resources:

Diminishing Verse – The Writer’s Digest
Triplet – Poetry Magnum Opus

The Gwawdodyn

On By Adam AstraIn creative writing, poetic forms challenge, poetry, Poetry Challenge, writing5 Comments
52 Forms Revisited: This post has been revised and streamlined with refreshed links and a new original poem. (November 2025)

The Gwawdodyn

Welsh poetry—much like the language itself—has a musical quality that emphasizes the sound of words through the use of alliteration, assonance, consonance, and rhyme. This traditional form, pronounced (gwow-DOD-in), is a great example of this musicality. Comprised of one or more quatrains, this form has strict syllabic restrictions, and features both internal rhyme and end-rhyme requirements.

Snowdon from Nantlle Valley 
Sir Kyffin Williams R.A. (1918-2006) 

Structure of the Gwawdodyn

Requirements of the Gwawdodyn form:
– Comprised of any number of quatrains (four-line stanzas).
– Usually features a 9/9/10/9 syllable pattern for each stanza.
– Follows a unique rhyme scheme with matching end rhymes (a) on lines 1, 2, and 4, with a variable internal rhyme (b) on line 3:

1-xxxxxxxxa
2-xxxxxxxxa
3-xxxxbxxxxb
4-xxxxxxxxa

Variations on lines 3 and 4:
– The internal ‘b‘ rhyme in the third line can be shifted to the left or right as needed, but is usually found towards the middle of the line.
– One possible variation features a matching internal rhyme in lines 3 and 4, with no end rhyme in line 3:

1-xxxxxxxxa
2-xxxxxxxxa
3-xxxxbxxxxx
4-xxxbxxxxa

Other Variations
You may find other variations of this form featuring slightly different syllable counts and rhyming patterns, with the most variation found in lines 3 and 4.

An Original Gwawdodyn

Sons of Abraham

Tell me all you Sons of Abraham
Spilling sacred blood for sacred land:
Do your daughters weep to see the slaughter
Of so many sacrificial lambs?

Notes on my original poem
While there are no metrical specifications for this form, I enjoy writing in meter, and you’ll find my poem is mostly written in iambic tetrameter.

Though this poem in its current form consists of a single quatrain, a traditional Gwawdodyn can be made up of as many quatrains as the poet pleases. I’ll no doubt explore options for expanding this work in the future.

I use a mixture of masculine and feminine rhymes. And although my rhymes are often slanted, I still match the sounds closely.

There is a great deal of assonance (long and short a sounds), alliteration (beginning s sounds), and consonance (internal and ending s sounds) in this piece, which I believe is in keeping with the musicality often associated with traditional Welsh poetry.

~Gwawdodyn Revisited~

One Night Only at the Tŷ Cwrw

There’s no time to dilly or dally
The minutes continue to tally
So pick up your feet, the pub up the street
Is screening How Green Was My Valley

Notes on my new original poem

The phrase Tŷ Cwrw translates to English as ‘ale house’ and is pronounced something like ‘tee kuh-roo.’

How Green Was My Valley is a 1941 film directed by John Ford, which takes place in a Welsh mining community and is adapted from a 1939 novel of the same name. Though it faced some criticism in the UK (mostly for dodgy accents), it is probably the film most associated with Wales and is famously a favorite film of Clint Eastwood and Alex Trebek.

Poetic Devices at Work:

Structure

  • Syllable Count – 9/9/10/9 (strict)
  • Lines Per Stanza – 4 (strict)

Sound Repetition

  • Rhyme (external) – dally/tally/valley
  • Rhyme (internal) – feet/street, screen(ing)/Green
  • Alliteration (t) – Time/To/Tally
  • Alliteration (d) – dilly/dally
  • Alliteration (p) – pick/pub
  • Consonance (t) – minutes/continue
  • Assonance (i) – dilly/minutes/pick,
  • Assonance (E) – feet/screen(ing)

Links to Online Resources (*Refreshed*):
Gwawdodyn: Poetic Forms – Writer’s Digest
Gwawdodyn – Wikipedia

Week Thirty-Seven: Tricube

On By Adam AstraIn creative writing, poetic forms challenge, poetry, writing1 Comment

Trying Out the Tricube

Three is the magic number when it comes to the Tricube, a newer form of unknown origin. 

Key Features of the Tricube Poem

Syllables: 3 syllables per line

Lines: 3 lines per stanzas

Stanzas: 3 stanzas per tricube

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

An Original Tricube

the world is still alive

the world is
still alive
the spring song

chee-dee-dee
of the young
chickadee

the tulip’s
blades like green
flames rising

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Want to Learn More? Start Here:

Tricubes – Writer’s Digest
Tricubes – Power Poetry

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

— Come back every Friday for a new form! —

~ Creative works are owned by the author and subject to copyright laws ~

— Write your own tricube poem and share in the comments! —

Week Thirty-Six: Pantoum

On By Adam AstraIn creative writing, poetry, Poetry Challenge, writing1 Comment

Meet the Pantoum

We learned in our explorations of the Kyrielle [Week 13], Villanelle [Week 23] and Terzanelle [Week 32] that the French love their repeating refrains. But the Pantoum is a French adaptation of a form that is Malaysian in origin.

Key Features of the Pantoum Poem

Form: composed of any number of quatrains

Refrain: The second and fourth lines of one stanza repeat as the first and third lines of the next. Some variation is allowed to add interest.

Rhyme: abab rhyme scheme

Example Pantoum

Another Lullaby for Insomniacs

by A. E. STALLING

Sleep, she will not linger:
She turns her moon-cold shoulder.
With no ring on her finger,
You cannot hope to hold her.

She turns her moon-cold shoulder
And tosses off the cover.
You cannot hope to hold her:
She has another lover.

She tosses off the cover
And lays the darkness bare.
She has another lover.
Her heart is otherwhere.

She lays the darkness bare.
You slowly realize
Her heart is otherwhere.
There’s distance in her eyes.

You slowly realize
That she will never linger,
With distance in her eyes
And no ring on her finger.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

An Original Pantoum

Coronavirus Blues

I woke up this mornin’
And I turned on the news.
Newsman called out a warnin’.
Now I’ve got the coronavirus blues.

Yeah, I turned on the news
And what they said was nothin’ good.
Now I see the coronavirus blues
All around my neighborhood.

What they say is nothin’ good,
Except for those who lie.
All around my neighborhood
We don’t trust that lyin’ guy.

Yeah, we say to those who lie,
“Your judgment’s comin’ quick.
We don’t trust that lyin’ guy
He’s enough to make you sick.”

Their judgment’s comin’ quick,
Those liars on the news.
It’s enough to make you sick.
I’ve got the coronavirus blues.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Want to Learn More? Start Here:

Pantoum – Writer’s Digest
Pantoum – Poetry Foundation
Pantoum – Wikipedia

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

— Come back every Friday for a new form! —

~ Creative works are owned by the author and subject to copyright laws ~

— Write your own Pantoum and share in the comments! —

Week Fifteen: The Lune

On By Adam AstraIn creative writing, poetry, writing2 Comments

Introduction

The Lune–also known as the American Haiku–is a thirteen-syllable variation of the English Haiku created by American poet Robert Kelly (it may also be referred to as the Kelly Lune). Kelly’s adaptation of the better-known English Haiku–which also features a tercet, but with the 5-7-5 syllable count we all learned in school–shortened the syllable count from seventeen to thirteen and opened up the form by not requiring some of the haiku’s distinguishing features, such as the focus on nature.

One source proposes that Kelly chose the word lune (the French word for moon) to describe his adapted haiku form because the syllable count matches the thirteen lunar months of the year.

A Lune by Robert Kelly:

thin sliver of the
crescent moon
high up the real world

Requirements of the Form

Structure

– Consists of any number of tercets, though a single tercet is most common

Content

– Open, but generally has a sense of immediacy
— Often lacks punctuation, capitalization

Syllable Count

[Line 1] Five syllables
[Line 2] Three syllables
[Line 3] Five syllables

Meter

– No requirements

Rhyme

– Typically not rhymed

Three Original Lunes

the woods by the creek

the woods by the creek
all our best
silences were there


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


she watches, wonders

she watches, wonders
in silence
the child in the leaves

who will comfort her
as she cries
as her forests burn

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

from ancient darkness

from ancient darkness
sudden light
galaxies of soul

Links to Online Resources

Lune – Writer’s Digest
Lune – Poets Collective
Poetic Forms: Haiku, Senryu, Tanka, and Lunes – lestersmith.com
Robert Kelly – Poets.org
Robert Kelly (Poet) – Wikipedia
The Lune and Robert Kelly – The Line Break
Various Moons – Poetsonearth.com

**COME BACK NEXT FRIDAY TO SEE THE NEXT FORM:
THE HAIKU SONNET!**

–Original creative works are owned by the
author and subject to copyright laws—

The Miltonic Sonnet

On By Adam AstraIn creative writing, poetic forms challenge, poetry, Poetry Challenge, writing1 Comment
52 Forms Revisited: this post has been revised and streamlined with refreshed links and new original content (November 2025)

John Milton (1608-1674)

The Miltonic Sonnet is named after the 17th century English poet, political writer, and civil servant, John Milton. With the publishing of his epic poem Paradise Lost, widely regarded as one of the greatest works written in the English language, Milton solidified his reputation as one of the greatest English poets of his time. Milton’s work would go on to influence Romantic poets such as William Blake and William Wordsworth.

Photo caption: A wood engraving from the 19th century depicts a blind John Milton dictating his influential epic poem “Paradise Lost” (Fortuné Louis Méaulle / Wellcome Library) 

Milton’s Sonnet

Starting with the then-popular Petrachan sonnet (named for Italian poet-scholar Petrach), Milton made several changes to make the form his own. He took the sonnet out of the category of love poem and brought it into the spheres of politics, religion, and social issues. He also introduced enjambment (the technique of carrying one line through into the next), while at the same time removing the break between the first and second stanzas, thus tightening up the form. By removing the volta (also known as a pivot, or turn) after the octave (first eight lines) and varying the rhyme scheme of the sestet (proceeding six lines), he further reshaped the form.

The following poem—one of Milton’s most famous—demonstrates these contributions to the evolution of the sonnet:

“When I Consider How My Light Is Spent”*

When I consider how my light is spent,
    Ere half my days in this dark world and wide,
    And that one talent which is death to hide
Lodged with me useless, though my soul more bent
To serve therewith my Maker, and present
    My true account, lest He returning chide;
    “Doth God exact day-labor, light denied?”
I fondly ask. But Patience, to prevent
That murmur, soon replies, “God doth not need
    Either man’s work or His own gifts. Who best
    Bear His mild yoke, they serve Him best. His state
Is kingly: thousands at His bidding speed,
    And post o’er land and ocean without rest;
   They also serve who only stand and wait.”

*provided courtesy of Poetry Foundation

Requirements of the Form

Structure

– Fourteen lines
– No spaces between parts (written as a single stanza)
– Lines contain enjambment
eg: Who best / Bear His mild yoke…His state / Is kingly…

Content

– Occasional (celebrating an event), political, and religious subjects
– Unlike other sonnets, does not have a distinct volta (or pivot) after the eighth line

Meter

– Iambic pentameter (ten syllables per line, unstressed-stressed pattern).

Rhyme Scheme

– First eight lines (octave): abbaabba
– Preceding six lines (sestet): often cdecde, but variable

An Original Miltonic Sonnet

The viral image haunted every screen—
A photograph too horrid to ignore:
A pair of bloated bodies on the shore.
In Congress followed yet another scene
Of bickering and washing white-hands clean.
No older than The Virgin when she bore
The Savior that they claim to so adore,
The budding mother wonders what they mean.
As children hungry, dirty, sick and scared
Are torn away and locked in concrete halls
Lay weak with worry, overwhelmed with fear,
The value of their lives is weighed and tared;
As Washington debates the costs of walls,
Who dares to speak of Christ’s compassion here?

Notes on My Original Sonnet

I challenged myself to write a sonnet that was true to the Miltonic themes of politics, religion, and current events, and found in the issue of immigration a combination of all three. The line “children hungry, dirty, sick and scared” was taken from this BBC News article and served as the fulcrum of this poem.

Online Resources


Sonnet Examples – Poetry Through the Ages
Miltonic Sonnet – Poetry Magnum Opus
John Milton – Wikipedia
Petrarchan Sonnet – Wikipedia

Fifty-Two Form Poetry Challenge: Introduction

On By Adam AstraIn creative writing, original poetry, poetic forms challenge, poetry, Poetry Challenge, writing18 Comments

Wordsmiths and Versifiers,
Rhymesters and Sonneteers,
Bards and Balladeers…

Welcome to the Fifty-Two Form
Poetry Challenge!

The Challenge: Fifty-Two Forms in Fifty-Two Weeks.

In preparation for this challenge, I’ve collected as many unique poetic forms as I could find, giving each a number. Over the next 52 weeks, I’ll randomly select one form each week and make my best attempt to write an original poem, taking care to follow the chosen form’s particular conventions. I’ll share what I’ve learned along the way, with lots of links to further resources that I’ve found useful.

In each weekly post, I’ll provide an overview of the selected form, including a brief history, specific form requirements (meter, rhyme, syllable-count, etc.), and a few tips and techniques I found useful when working in the form. Each post will conclude with an original poem.

What you’ll need to play along:

– A list of at least 52 unique forms. I suggest collecting as many as you can (why not?). Robert Lee Brewer’s List of 168 Poetic Forms for Poets is a great place to start. Assign a number to each form you collect.

– A way to randomly select a number from 1 to 52. You can use an online random-number generator or fifty-two slips of paper in a ten-gallon hat. Have fun with it!

About the Author

I am not a professional writer or even a published poet. I am not a professor, scholar, or literary historian, and I speak with little authority on the subject of poetry as a whole. I do, however, consider myself an earnest enthusiast and lifelong student of poetry. As an undergrad, I had the extreme privilege of studying creative writing under former Kansas Poet Laureate Kevin Rabas at Emporia State University, and poetry under another Kansas Poet Laureate, the wonderful Eric McHenry, at Washburn University in Topeka.

As a songwriter, I’m especially interested in the intersection between music and poetry, and I’m excited to explore all the possible ways I may find to incorporate aspects of what I learn through this process into my songwriting endeavors. I believe all things are enhanced by the clarity, power, and imagination that a poetic perspective can bring.

This is my first attempt at such a lengthy challenge, and will also be my first time regularly publishing online. I embark on this adventure on the day of my 36th birthday. Please wish me luck, courage, and fortitude!

References and Acknowledgements

Robert Lee Brewer’s List of 168 Poetic Forms for Poets for The Writer’s Digest [updated 4/1/25] served both as an inspiration for the project and an essential online source of reference information and examples.

Edward Hirsch’s 700+ page A Poet’s Glossary is an exhaustive and equally indispensable source of both information and inspiration. Hirsch’s How to Read a Poem is also highly recommended.

Both aspiring and long-practicing poets would do well to keep a copy of Mary Oliver’s concise and gracefully crafted A Poetry Handbook close at hand.

On a more personal note, a special thanks to Eric McHenry for his invaluable guidance and enthusiastic support.