von For a field as vast as poetry, it can both be incredibly inviting and intimidating to begin. As with any field, having a clear path to start with can be helpful. So, here are 5 different forms to help ease into writing poetry. Poetry, much like flowers, can be picked based on various reasons. While there are various types of poetry and everyone should experiment and find their own, these were picked due to a mix of simplicity, ease of understanding and also ability to play around and experiment with.
Even though (most) of these have specific forms or rules, feel free to break and experiment as you want. And don’t worry about the Poetry Police coming for you if you take artistic liberties with these forms. There’s no wrong way to write poetry, just put words on paper and have fun. One thing that most share though, is a syllable count. For anyone unsure, syllables are the specific sounds of a word. Ex: Specific “spe-ci-fic”. Think of it where your mouth has to change to make the sound. There are also sites like SyllableCounter that can help too.
1. Free Verse
Arguably the best for beginners. This is structurally the easiest because there is no structure. No need to worry about rhyme schemes or syllable counts of how long or short it needs to be. There is no right or wrong way, just put pen to paper and you may have poetry.
However, the lack of structure and focus on content could make it hard to get into the writing process, especially if you are new or have taken a longer break from writing poetry. This is where the other forms may be more useful.
2. American Sentences
American Sentences are Allen Ginsberg’s take on Haikus*. Rather than 17 syllables across 3 lines, they are one, 17 syllable sentence essentially describing a scene. Despite there being a syllable count, this is still relatively good for beginners as it gives a little bit of structure, is relatively simple to do still and also provides something to focus on. And while one could argue that these are one line and do not constitute a poem, remember, these are technically as long as a haiku. Additionally, if you really want to focus on lines then you can always split your text up how you want or even write multiple American Sentences and attach them together. Because they are standalone they also don’t require a large time commitment to finish a “whole poem” which makes for a much faster and easier route into trying poetry. They are great as a standalone line or can be used like building blocks for bigger pieces which make them fantastically flexible and a great starting point for beginners and more experienced poets looking for a challenge or to get back into writing.
Example By Ginsberg from Lantern Review
*the reason why I chose American Sentences instead of haikus is that haikus may be harder to start out with due to having to fit into shorter lines and traditionally having more of a set content/story structure revolving around nature. Obviously those rules can be broken and the Poetry Police won’t kick down your door.
3. The Blitz
This is a personal favorite in general and especially for getting back into writing. Despite the long line count (50) it is fun and fast. Start by writing two lines that start with the same word. The last word of the second line becomes the first word of the next two lines. This cycle repeats until lines 49 and 50, which repeat the last word of lines 47 and 48 respectively. It even has a way of naming the poems which is the first word of the 3rd line, something in the middle and the first word of the 47th line.
Because of the short lines and knowing how the next two lines will start means that it is relatively easy to get into a flow. And that there are no rules regarding syllables or rhyme scheme, even the mention of “short lines” is pretty flexible, which means you can just let the words flow.
Some fun alterations can be to shorten the length if 50 lines is too much, especially if you are beginning. Can add rhymes, write longer lines, whatever you want.
Examples by Robert Keim from ShadowPoetry
4. Nonets
These are a great way to get used to writing poetry based on syllable count and also provide a nice visual aspect to the poems as well. Nonets are 9 lines with each line going down one syllable. So the first line has 9 syllables, then 8 syllables, 7 syllables, and so on until the last line is just a single syllable word.
These can also be highly modifiable if you want to try adding rhyme schemes, increase or decrease the amount of lines, or whatever else you can think of.
Further Explanation of Nonet as well as an example at the end by Robert Lee Brewer
5. The Bop
The most complex of the forms listed here, the Bop is a fun form that also skews the closest to a story (or even a paper, for those more academically inclined even in their creative pursuits). The Bop is three stanzas (groups of lines) with each one followed by a single line that repeats (also called a refrain). It follows a nice story structure where the first stanza (6 lines) introduces the topic or problem, the second stanza (8 lines) expands upon the topic or problem, and the final stanza (6 lines) creates a conclusion, whether that be a solution to the problem or the failed attempt at solving it are entirely up to you.
Despite it being more complex than the others, this form is still great for newcomers as it gives a lot more structure which could help with guiding the poem, but most importantly it gives a more traditional story format that more people would be familiar and comfortable with.
Rambling by Afaa Michael Weaver from Poets.org
Hopefully these forms can at least provide a path to begin with poetry and help ease the journey before you cut your own path.
Not sated by these forms? Hunger for more? Great. Here are over 100 more forms
Photo credits: White paper with black text by Suzy Hazelwood: https://www.pexels.com/photo/white-paper-with-black-text-3928938/
