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Search Results for: "Challenge"

Poetry Challenge: Classic Poem and Response

The Society
July 12, 2025
Poetry, Poetry Challenge
30 Comments
. In this poetry challenge, poet Roy E. Peterson challenges you to post a classic poem and a poetic response to it (of any length). See his example...

Poetry Challenge: Anachro-Poem

The Society
April 4, 2025
Culture, Poetry, Poetry Challenge
42 Comments
. Challenge: Take a well-known figure from history or literature and insert him or her into a modern-day situation. Choose any form. Choose any mood....

When Less Is More: A Poetry Challenge

The Society
May 7, 2024
Beauty, Poetry, Poetry Challenge, Poetry Contests
64 Comments
. When Less Is More An SCP Poetry Challenge by James A. Tweedie In a recent email exchange with a poet friend, I found myself typing the following...

Sonku Poetry Challenge: Write a Sonnet-Haiku

The Society
February 16, 2024
Haiku and Senryu, Poetry, Poetry Challenge, Poetry Contests
53 Comments
. Epic poet and poetry video maker Andrew Benson Brown created a bit of excitement with his invented sonnet-haiku or haiku-sonnet published earlier...

‘Jack and Jill’ Style Nursery Rhymes Challenge

The Society
November 2, 2023
Children's, Humor, Poetry Challenge, Poetry Contests
55 Comments
. Poet Paul A. Freeman challenges you to write a nursery rhyme in the style of the Mother Goose classic "Jack and Jill." Below is his model example....

The Man from Porlock Poetry Challenge

The Society
October 10, 2023
Poetry, Poetry Challenge, Poetry Contests
41 Comments
. One of England’s best-known poems, “Kubla Khan,” was written by Romantic poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772-1834). Waking from an...
poetry/bryant/poetry contests

A Poem on ‘Nothing’ Poetry Challenge

The Society
September 24, 2023
Poetry, Poetry Challenge, Poetry Contests
90 Comments
. Poets create marvels of linguistic delights about anything and everything… but what about nothing?  Can your Muse capture the essence of...
poem/rogers/ekphrastic

Ekphrastic Poetry Challenge: Roadrunner in a Sprinkler During Texas Drought

The Society
September 16, 2023
Ekphrastic, Poetry, Poetry Challenge, Poetry Contests
33 Comments
. Phil S. Rogers captured these photos of a roadrunner seeking relief in his sprinkler during drought-like conditions in Texas. Phil's ekphrastic...
poetry/bryant/poetry contests

Poem of Passion Challenge 

The Society
August 16, 2023
Culture, Poetry, Poetry Challenge, Poetry Contests
88 Comments
. Scenes of passion in literature, on the stage, and on the silver screen, have captivated audiences for years. How about spicing up some poetry...
poem/freeman/limericks

World Poetry Day Limerick Poetry Challenge

The Society
March 21, 2023
Culture, Limerick, Poetry, Poetry Challenge, Poetry Contests
42 Comments
. In celebration of World Poetry Day, write a limerick on the theme of World Poetry Day, poetry in general, or poets. Post it in the comments...
poetry/tweedie/equal

Poetry Challenge: Equilateral Proverbs

The Society
February 7, 2023
Epigrams and Proverbs, Poetry, Poetry Challenge, Poetry Contests
66 Comments
Equilateral Proverbs: A Poetry Challenge by James A. Tweedie Construct a rhyming, rhythmic intelligible proverb or saying where the first and last...

2022 FIFA World Cup Poetry Challenge

The Society
December 9, 2022
Poetry, Poetry Challenge, Poetry Contests
21 Comments
. Write a poem about the 2022 FIFA World Cup happening now and post it in the comments section below. To get the ball rolling (pun intended), here...

Prose-That’s-Really-a-Sonnet Poetry Challenge

The Society
November 22, 2022
Poetry, Poetry Challenge, Poetry Contests
51 Comments
. Construct a convincing paragraph of well-written, coherent prose that also happens to be a properly composed Shakespearean sonnet. This challenge...

Metrical Clerihew Poetry Challenge

The Society
October 9, 2022
Clerihew, Poetry, Poetry Challenge, Poetry Contests, Satire
79 Comments
. The clerihew is a relatively new poetry form introduced by Edmund Clerihew Bentley in 1905. It is usually a single quatrain of light verse rhyming...

Ekphrastic Poetry Challenge: Fireplaces

The Society
September 23, 2022
Ekphrastic, Poetry, Poetry Challenge, Poetry Contests
23 Comments
. This photo comes to us from Joshua C. Frank of Texas. Write an ekphrastic poem based on it and post it in the comments section...

Rhyme Two Random Words Poetry Challenge

The Society
March 23, 2022
Humor, Poetry, Poetry Challenge, Poetry Contests
46 Comments
. Your poem can be serious, silly, or something in-between. List the “random words” you chose as your poem’s title and feel free to use...
Poem Rhet Butler

Poetry Challenge: Write a Classic Movie-Inspired Poem

The Society
February 7, 2022
Culture, Poetry, Poetry Challenge, Poetry Contests
95 Comments
. Write a poem that casts a fresh eye over a classic movie---any form, any length, any mood. This challenge comes from the lovely Susan Jarvis...

Poetry Challenge: Write a Tetra-Pentameter Poem

The Society
October 2, 2021
Poetry, Poetry Challenge, Poetry Contests
54 Comments
Write a rhyming poem that works as either ten lines of tetrameter or eight lines of pentameter. Post it in the comments section below. This challenge...

Bedtime Prayer Poetry Challenge

The Society
August 26, 2021
Humor, Poetry, Poetry Challenge, Poetry Contests
108 Comments
. This challenge comes form poet James A. Tweedie: Perhaps the most familiar of all formal, English-language poems is the classic 18th century...

What Rhymes with Orange? Poetry Challenge

The Society
August 11, 2021
Humor, Poetry, Poetry Challenge, Poetry Contests
109 Comments
. Write a poem rhyming the word "orange" with something else. Post it in the comments below. This challenge comes from Cheryl Corey, who provided the...

Turn a Famous Poem into a Limerick: Poetry Challenge

The Society
July 11, 2021
Humor, Limerick, Poetry, Poetry Challenge, Poetry Contests
153 Comments
. Choose a famous poem and write it in limerick form, putting the title of the original poem at the top. Please fit your chosen poem into one...

Poetry Challenge: A ‘Raven’-like Poem on the Death of Edgar Allan Poe

The Society
June 24, 2021
Culture, Poetry, Poetry Challenge, Poetry Contests, The Raven
32 Comments
. Edgar Allan Poe was known for strange and mysterious tales, in poetry and prose. Perhaps fittingly, the circumstances surrounding his premature...

Split Nursery Rhyme Poetry Challenge

The Society
May 7, 2021
Culture, Humor, Poetry, Poetry Challenge, Poetry Contests
69 Comments
. Split a line from a nursery rhyme and use the halves to open and close a poem. Post yours in the comments section below. This challenge comes from...

National Poetry Month Challenge: What Is Poetry?

The Society
April 16, 2021
Culture, Poetry, Poetry Challenge, Poetry Contests
78 Comments
April is National Poetry Month. On this occasion, take words about poetry from a famous poet, or anyone else you deem fitting, and turn them into a...

Poetry Challenge: Write a Sonnet in Iambic Monometer

The Society
March 2, 2021
Poetry, Poetry Challenge, Poetry Contests, Poetry Forms
122 Comments
. This challenge was conceived by Paul A. Freeman after reading a sonnet in iambic monometer by James A. Tweedie, "Allergies." Mr. Freeman's example...

Turn a Joke into a Poem—Poetry Challenge

The Society
December 8, 2020
Humor, Poetry, Poetry Challenge, Poetry Contests
87 Comments
Poet Susan Jarvis Bryant challenges her fellow poets to adapt a favorite joke into a poem with meter and rhyme. Enjoy her examples and then post your...

Poetry Challenge: ‘My country used to be… ‘

The Society
May 14, 2020
Beauty, Culture, Deconstructing Communism, Poetry, Poetry Challenge, Poetry Contests
51 Comments
  New York poet Joe Tessitore challenges poets to begin a poem with these words:   My country used to be...   Post your...

Homophonic Poetry Challenge

The Society
September 16, 2019
Culture, Humor, Poetry, Poetry Challenge, Poetry Contests
88 Comments
by Joe Tessitore and James A. Tweedie We are issuing a challenge to all poets to create poems that incorporate word homophones. Call it what you...

Poetry Challenge: Write a Square Poem

The Society
May 14, 2019
Culture, Poetry, Riddles
30 Comments
by David Watt I recently came across the following “square poem” attributed to Charles Dodgson (better known as Lewis Carrol). Please note...

ABC Poems: A Poetry Puzzle Challenge

The Society
March 20, 2018
Poetry, Poetry Challenge, Poetry Contests, Popular Poetry Archives
113 Comments
By Amy Foreman A cold and rainy afternoon recently gave rise to this little idea of a poem-puzzle.  I challenged myself to write a poem where...
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‘The Challenge’ by Eddie Morales

The Society
May 20, 2013
Poetry
Come, tell me your story, master of prose. Use elements of the proper language To sway me to your side, and if all goes Well, hallowed will your...

‘On Never Giving Up’: A Poem by Mark Stellinga

The Society
July 8, 2025
Culture, Poetry
10 Comments
. On Never Giving Up On reaching the point where it's tough to find answers to _“What-are-we-doing-this-for?” And the number of people that...

Report on Results of the SCP Survey of Poets

The Society
June 28, 2025
From the Society, Poetry
13 Comments
. Report on Results of the SCP Survey of Poets by Roy E. Peterson and Evan Mantyk The survey had 60 respondents, about 1/3rd of them were SCP...

‘Another Species’ and Other Poems by Sally Cook

The Society
June 23, 2025
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
5 Comments
. Another Species Each time you felt some shame you could confess The sins you had committed, but instead You whispered a revision, something less In...

‘Time and Place’: A Poem by Margaret Brinton

The Society
June 8, 2025
Beauty, Poetry
11 Comments
. Time and Place He gave me his coat once in Dublin At dusk in a damp, chilly draft. We spoke of those old Irish writers--- Just where had they...

‘On Twenty Years of YouTube’: A Poem by Paul A. Freeman

The Society
June 6, 2025
Culture, Poetry
10 Comments
. On Twenty Years of YouTube Dull dinner party video clips unshared shaped YouTube’s genesis, or so it’s claimed. Yet others say, when Janet...

‘Pressed for Time’: A Poem by C.B. Anderson

The Society
May 12, 2025
Culture, Poetry
17 Comments
. Pressed for Time Though life is good, it doesn’t last that long, And so we’re always left desiring more. Remember, though, you bought it for a...

‘High Society’ and Other Poetry by Brian Yapko

The Society
April 27, 2025
Beauty, Culture, Love Poems, Poetry
15 Comments
. High Society The Cornelius mansion on Park Avenue, New York City, Sunday, August 22, 1886 A derby hat; a fresh, white boutonniereOn my lapel. You...

‘Spring Snow’: A Poem by Adam Sedia

The Society
April 2, 2025
Beauty, Poetry
12 Comments
. Spring Snow Tyrant Winter reaches Beyond its frozen tomb, Dares cast its icy mantle On bud and crocus-bloom. Long it reigned unchallenged In dark...

‘Bohème’ and Other Poems by Sally Cook

The Society
March 26, 2025
Beauty, Performing Arts, Poetry
9 Comments
. Bohème Opera in a bare and frigid room As winter winds were sweeping, like a broom, Raised an enthusiasm, understood As contrast to the landscape....
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  1. Margaret Coats on ‘Together’: A Poem by Margaret CoatsJuly 14, 2025

    Warren, thank you immensely for this comment that I've waited so long to answer. You've helped me hold a place…

  2. Margaret Coats on ‘The Flower’s Refrain’: A Poem by Ulysses ArlenJuly 14, 2025

    "The Flower's Refrain" presents a rich and exquisite poetic meditation. While it offers many commonplaces of nature, these are powerfully…

  3. Margaret Coats on ‘Optimism’: A Poem for the Graduating Class of 2025, by Benjamin Daniel LukeyJuly 14, 2025

    In one college commencement address this year, optimism was counted as an American virtue. When citizens anywhere have it, their…

  4. jd on ‘The Flower’s Refrain’: A Poem by Ulysses ArlenJuly 14, 2025

    A lovely poem, Ulysses, with many beautiful images and a pleasing rhythm throughout.

  5. Roy Eugene Peterson on ‘Of a Feather’ and Other Poems by C.B. AndersonJuly 14, 2025

    I had almost forgotten how long a sentence can be sustained and how adept you are at still providing great…

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