Where to Begin

Many poets struggle with what to write. If you are one of those people that stares at the page for hours and doesn't know where to begin, try some of these poetry ideas to get you started.

Look around your room and create a List poem from items you see. A list poem is exactly what it sounds like, a poem that is made up of items you see (a yellow pair of socks with a hole in the shape of a heart, a postcard from Aunt Irene signed "stay skinny!", a smooth rock that smells like motor oil). A list poem can reveal volumes about the speaker without the pressure of "sounding poetic" (a trap many poets fall into).

Another great idea is to write an Epistle poem. Epistle means "letter." Write a letter to someone, dead or alive, telling them about a specific memory you have.

Try a Persona poem. A Persona poem is a poem you write as someone else; they can be famous, a friend, a stranger you've passed on the street. Try putting yourself in someone else's shoes and see what kind of poems they would write about.

Write a Found poem. A found poem is writing you find in everyday life, it can be an advertisement, a post-it note, a postcard; you just discover it and turn it into a poem.

Watch this funny video of Found Poems!




HERE are some other poetry exercises you can try!


When you first start writing poems it can be difficult to know where to begin but the first step is to just try. Don't worry about whether it is good or bad, give yourself permission to be terrible! If you worried about being a failure you might never start. But once you start, you can always go back and revise your poems to make them stronger.

The best advice for becoming a good writer is to be a good reader. Poets read poetry. Poets are inspired by the poetry of others, they read poems and think "how can I learn from this?" If you want to be a good poet you MUST read poetry.

Check out this website and see what poems inspire you!


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