Looking to broaden your poetry-writing horizons?

Poetry comes in all shapes and sizes, and it seems new forms are appearing all the time as modern poets stretch their limits and experiment with language. Some forms are easy, some are challenging — but they all encourage you to have fun with words and see the world with new eyes.

The websites listed here explain the different poetic forms and give some history of the form, a description, and samples to show you how it’s done.

Writer’s Digest – 100 Forms for Poets

Shadow Poetry

Poetry for Kids

The Poets Garret

And here is a non-exhaustive list of poetic forms. How many have you written? 

Abecedarian
Acrostic
Anaphora
Ballad
Ballade
Biographical
Blank Verse
Blues Poem
The Bop
Cento
Chance Operations
Cinquain
Concrete Poem
Diamante
Didactic
Dramatic Monologue
Ekphrasis
Elegy
Epic
Epigram
Epistle
Epitaph
Etheree
Found Poem
Free Verse
Ghazal
Haibun
Haiku
Kyrielle
Lanturne
Limerick
List Poem
Mirrored Refrain
Monody
Naani
Narrative
Nonet
Ode
Ottava Rima
OULIPO
Palindrome
Pantoum
Prose Poem
Pastoral
Renga
Rispetto
Rondeau
Rondel
Rondelet
Sapphic
Sedoka
Senryu
Sestina
Shape Poem
Sonnet
Sound Poem
Tanka
Terzanelle
Terza Rima
Triolet
Tyburn
Villanelle