New Types Of Poetry

How many different types of poetry are there? I counted over 50 on a quick search of the internet. You have probably heard of Haiku and Limericks. Then there are the more obscure types, like Sestina and Terzanelle. Studying and using different types of poetry though, isn’t nearly as much fun as inventing your own. Here are some ideas about that.Stanzas

A stanza is a division of a poem consisting of two or more lines. How many ways are there to structure a stanza? Limitless ways. Consider this stanza from the poem, “Gratitude:”

So there is nothing to say
There is nothing to say
There is nothing
Nothing…
But gratitude

Each line is a reduction of the previous. In this case, it helps quiet the mind in order to emphasize the last line: gratitude. It could be used in many ways, though. Start with a line like, “She watched the birds come in from the sea,” and it can reduce to, “Come in from the sea;” “From the sea:” “Where Michael was left alone in the storm.”Stanzas could be a collection of lengthening lines. The lines could be varied in length to create a picture on the page. Playing with the structure of stanzas is a fun way to create new types of poetry.

A Few Ideas

The poem “Do Not Believe in God,” Starts each stanza with one of our senses: “See God… in stars and sunlight… and the face of your lover;” Hear God… in wind and waves… and the music of the birds.” It runs through all the senses. How else could we use this general idea? How about starting each stanza with a different verb or adjective? Start each stanza with a different person’s name. Have each stanza get smaller or larger as the poem progresses.

There are so many ways you can play with poems. “Dream poems,” could be a new type of poetry that puts your dreams into verse. “Dialog poems” could have lines or stanzas answering each other back and forth. A series of poems could be written using all the exact same words, rearranged, with an entirely different outcome in each. There are endless types of poetry waiting to be created.