A Formalist Poet at the Open Mic Part V: ‘Nose Blind,’ by Daniel Kemper The Society July 15, 2024 Essays, Poetry, Poetry Forms, Readings 22 Comments . A Formalist Poet at the Open Mic Part V: Nose Blind by Daniel Kemper After a stressful day, because of issues with which you, dear reader need not concern yourself, I decided to swing by the Capital Gardens...
BBC Poetry Series Explores ‘Why Form Is Fashionable Again’ The Society April 20, 2022 Poetry, Poetry Forms 2 Comments . Is form in poetry making a comeback? It is according to the BBC. In this BBC podcast series, aspiring poet Andrew McMillan talks to a group of "contemporary British poets who are re-framing traditional...
‘Dactylic Proverbs’ by James A. Tweedie The Society May 4, 2021 Culture, Epigrams and Proverbs, Humor, Poetry, Poetry Forms 19 Comments . Set your priorities—don't be uncouth—know the Secret to happiness lies in this truth: “Though the Sum of all things is a secret worth looking for, Perfect lasagna is something worth cooking...
‘A Shout Out to Traditionalist Poets’ by Paul A. Freeman The Society April 27, 2021 Beauty, Culture, Poetry, Poetry Forms 19 Comments . We’re poets first-and-foremost and agree that meter, rhyme and rhythm oft are spurned; the plethora of poetry we see is free verse and should frankly be returned to sender if an emo, teenage brain or...
Two More Poems with ‘Conceits’ by Joseph S. Salemi The Society March 27, 2021 Beauty, Blank Verse, Essays, Humor, Poetry, Poetry Forms 10 Comments . The Bibliophile’s Birth Certificate Marius Michel (1846-1925) was one of the most prominent and gifted bookbinders in France. He produced work in strikingly beautiful and unique designs, and today his...
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 is below. Make your own and post it in the comments...
‘Free Verse: Recondite Done Right!’ by Tonia Kalouria The Society February 28, 2021 Humor, Poetry, Poetry Forms 13 Comments . In Astrophysics, I’m ranked “One,” and Greek and Latin I find fun. All serve me well at Crossword “Times,” with each day’s matrix solved by nine. Most free verse, though? Puzzles...
‘Three Experiments in Poetic Form’ by James A. Tweedie The Society February 25, 2021 Beauty, Poetry, Poetry Forms 30 Comments . Midday Dreaming The raindrops fall like teardrops from a sad and sodden cloud; Their spattering the sound of some a- doring, cheerful crowd. I touch the cloud with outstretched fingers Lifted to the...
A Monosyllabic Poem: ‘To West’ by Adam Sedia The Society February 18, 2021 Beauty, Love Poems, Poetry, Poetry Forms 8 Comments . Too long, too long, my love, Have we lain out here. Too long, too long, my love, Have our ease, our cheer Fixed us fast, sprawled in cool shade, With our arms and breasts clasped near, Too pleased to note...
The Power of One: Monosyllables in Classical Poetry The Society February 18, 2021 Essays, Poetry, Poetry Forms 18 Comments by Adam Sedia The origin of poetry is inextricably tied to music. The earliest poems---the Homeric epics, the Chinese Book of Songs---were all lyrics to be sung. Because vowels allow the open voice to sing...
‘Every Little Thing’ and Other Poetry by Daniel Kemper The Society January 18, 2021 Beauty, Culture, Love Poems, Poetry, Poetry Forms 61 Comments X Every Little Thing I. His Version She treasured every little thing that you gave her: the sparrow necklace (hazel blueto match her eyes) the bracelet slipped insidethe box of...
‘Rosarium’: A Sestina and Other Poetry by Benjamin Thomas Cepican The Society January 17, 2021 Beauty, Culture, Poetry, Poetry Forms, Sestina 7 Comments . Rosarium a sestina A rose arises red from its green sheath Adorned with swords that prick and pierce: the thorn, Whose vigil kept ensures its life's not brief. Unmatched in charm though fresh from garden...
The Spice of Life: Metric Variation in Formal Verse (An Essay by Adam Sedia) The Society July 13, 2020 Culture, Essays, Poetry, Poetry Forms 15 Comments by Adam Sedia John Dryden In 1688, John Dryden, England’s first official poet laureate, was deprived of that title for remaining Catholic and replaced with the laughably inferior Thomas Shadwell. Dryden...
‘Briefs’: A New Poetry Form The Society March 23, 2020 Culture, Essays, Humor, Poetry, Poetry Contests, Poetry Forms 21 Comments by James A. Tweedie The form of the “brief” ordinarily consists of a couplet of anapestic tetrameter with the first soft beat of each line clipped off (x / xx / xx / xx /). The anapest, which functions...
Line, Stanza & Form: An Introduction to Poetry The Society February 12, 2020 Beauty, Culture, Education, Essays, Poetry, Poetry Forms 3 Comments by Michael Curtis | excerpted from Occasional Poetry Tradition grows from wisdom, from the accumulated experience of millennia; in poetic practice, our classic tradition grows from the craft of Ages. Change...
Rediscovering the Sonnet: An Interview with Poet Theresa Rodriguez by Carol Smallwood The Society July 10, 2019 Essays, Interviews, Poetry, Poetry Forms 7 Comments This interview was conducted by Carol Smallwood with poet Theresa Rodriguez following the release of the first edition of Sonnets by Rodriguez; the second edition is published by Shanti Arts, 2020;...
‘Reprobate’s Prayer Sestina’ by Mike Bryant The Society July 6, 2019 Beauty, Culture, Humor, Poetry, Poetry Forms, Sestina 14 Comments I lift my eyes and pray to God above, deliver me, dear Lord, from Satan's Hell. I come to You with heart brimful of Love, content to drink life's water from Your well. And if, by chance, I do...
Six Clerihews by Peter Hartley The Society June 1, 2019 Clerihew, Culture, Humor, Poetry, Poetry Forms 39 Comments The clerihew is a kind of epigrammatic verse (normally) consisting of a pair of rhyming couplets. The first line will usually introduce the name of a famous person. The following three lines will describe some...
Some Truncated Quatrains by Bruce Wren The Society May 29, 2019 Culture, Education, Humor, Poetry, Poetry Forms 12 Comments A truncated quatrain is a form I have invented in an attempt to find some appropriate English form similar—for its brevity and single-mindedness in theme—to the Japanese haiku. They consist in four lines...
A Beginner’s Guide to Sapphic Verse (with Audio) The Society November 27, 2018 Education, Essays, Poetry, Poetry Forms, Readings, Sapphic Verse 37 Comments by James A. Tweedie My interest in Sapphic verse arose from a discussion thread on an SCP post some months ago. I researched the subject and decided to try my hand at it. Recently, I submitted my poem to...
How to Write a Kyrielle The Society June 26, 2018 Education, Poetry, Poetry Forms 7 Comments by Dusty Grein Like many of the old French refrain forms, the kyrielle originated in the 15th century with the traveling troubadours. It is a rhymed form, written in either 2 line couplets, or 4 line...
‘Sestina of Night’ by Karen Melander Magoon The Society April 21, 2018 Beauty, Poetry, Poetry Forms, Sestina 4 Comments The lamp holds sway along the shadowed streets A penumbra encircles its sweet shine As night rests softly like a feathered cloak Upon a multitude of dancing stars And night and stars and lamp become a...
Thirty-one Sonnets: Renaissance to New Millennial The Society March 3, 2018 Culture, Education, Essays, Poetry, Poetry Forms 7 Comments by Lew Icarus Bede "A sonnet is a coin: its face reveals The soul—its converse, to what Power 'tis due: Whether for tribute to the august appeals Of Life, or dower in Love's high retinue, It serve; or,...
How to Write an Alexandroid The Society August 5, 2017 Alexandroid, Education, Poetry, Poetry Forms 14 Comments By C.B. Anderson Anyone writing formal poetry today has to be grateful for the arsenal of fixed forms—most of them bequeathed to us from masters of the past—that is available to lend structure to poetic...
New Publication: ‘How to Write Classical Poetry’ Released by the Society of Classical Poets The Society May 31, 2017 Education, From the Society, Poetry, Poetry Forms 7 Comments We are pleased to announce the release of a new publication from The Society of Classical Poets titled How to Write Classical Poetry, which features a guide to common poetry forms, brief essays on the...
How to Write a Rhupunt (with Example) The Society March 23, 2017 Education, Poetry, Poetry Forms, Rhupunt 9 Comments By Elizabeth Spencer Spragins Poetry has been an integral component of Welsh culture for centuries. Indeed, the Welsh word “bardd” (poet) has been traced back to 100 B.C. Depending on their skills,...
How to Write a Limerick The Society February 8, 2017 Education, Limerick, Poetry, Poetry Forms 5 Comments Related How to Write a Sonnet How to Write a Haiku How to Write a Rondeau How to Write a Villanelle How to Write a Poem Like the Raven by Dusty Grein The history of the poetry form we know as the...
How to Write a Terza Rima (With Examples) The Society January 5, 2017 Education, Poetry, Poetry Forms, Terza Rima 6 Comments By Dusty Grein Dating to the thirteenth century, the terza rima (Italian for "third rhyme") is a classic form of writing poetry in three-line stanzas called tercets, which are interlinked by their rhyming...
How to Write a Sestina (with Examples and Diagrams) The Society December 14, 2016 Education, Poetry, Poetry Forms, Sestina 2 Comments by Dusty Grein The sestina originated among the troubadours of medieval France's Provence region, and the modern thirty-nine line form is attributed to one of these traveling poet entertainers of the...
How to Write a Triolet (with Examples) The Society November 29, 2016 Education, Poetry, Poetry Forms, Triolet 6 Comments By Carol Smallwood The triolet is a medieval French poetry form that has eight lines and was introduced to the English language by poets in the 17th century: 1. A 2. B 3. a Rhymes with 1st...
How to Write a Haiku The Society November 13, 2016 Education, Essays, Haiku and Senryu, Poetry, Poetry Forms 12 Comments A Quick Haiku Guide A traditional haiku should... 1. Be three lines. The first line should have five syllables, the second seven syllables, the third five syllables. Seventeen syllables total. 2. Contain...
How to Write a Rubaiyat (with Examples) The Society November 2, 2016 Education, Poetry, Poetry Forms, Rubaiyat 15 Comments By Sathya Narayana The rubaiyat (pronounced “roo-bái-yát”) is a Persian form of several quatrains. Its name is derived from the Arabic plural of the word for "quatrain," rubá'íyah. This, in turn,...
How to Write a Villanelle (with Examples) The Society October 19, 2016 Education, Poetry, Poetry Forms, Villanelle 10 Comments by Dusty Grein Hailing from 15th and 16th century French and Italian roots, the villanelle is arguably one of the strongest repeating refrain forms in classical poetry. Related How to Write a Sonnet How...
How to Write a Rondeau (with “In Flanders Fields” by John McCrae) The Society October 5, 2016 Education, Poetry, Poetry Forms, Rondeau 2 Comments Related How to Write a Sonnet How to Write a Haiku How to Write a Limerick How to Write a Villanelle How to Write a Poem Like the Raven by E. V. Wyler Created by French troubadours during the Middle...
How to Write a Pantoum (With Example) The Society September 19, 2016 Beauty, Education, Pantoum, Poetry, Poetry Forms 19 Comments By Carol Smallwood The pantoum is a poetry form that originated in 15th century Malaysia and drifted West in the 19th century with French writer Victor Hugo, among others. While it never quite took off like...
How to Write a Poem Like Edgar Allan Poe’s ‘The Raven’ The Society April 5, 2016 Beauty, Education, Essays, Poetry Forms, The Raven 9 Comments By Dusty Grein and Evan Mantyk “The Raven” by Edgar Allan Poe remains one of the English language’s most popular and influential poems since it was written in 1845. Much of this was Poe’s own doing,...
How to Write Poetry with Meter The Society January 29, 2016 Education, Essays, Poetry Forms 10 Comments By Dusty Grein Most of us enjoy poetry in one form or another. I am going to attempt to lay out the basics of writing classical style poetry in English, based on standard poetry terms and references. This...
How to Write a Sonnet The Society December 2, 2015 Education, Essays, From the Society, Poetry, Poetry Forms 19 Comments Updated January 9, 2020 A Quick Sonnet Guide. A traditional sonnet should have... 14 lines. X Rhyming. The most common is the Shakespearean rhyme scheme: ABAB CDCD EFEF GG. These 14 letters...
Why Poetry Should be Metered The Society October 1, 2012 Essays, Featured, From the Society, Poetry, Poetry Forms 5 Comments Poetry should be metered, because metered poetry is, quite simply, better than free verse. This is for the same reason that realist art trumps impressionist art and that Baroque music trumps rock and roll...
Writing Poetry with Meter—Beginners’ Level and Beyond The Society September 7, 2012 Education, Essays, From the Society, Poetry Forms 3 Comments . Writing Poetry with Meter---Beginners' Level and Beyond by Evan Mantyk There is very little difficulty behind writing classical poetry from a technical perspective. Classical poetry is simply poetry that is...
