If you’re a self-proclaimed word nerd with a love for clever constraints and creative challenges, you’re in for a treat! Poetry isn’t just about rhymes and rhythms—it’s also a playground for linguistic ingenuity. From palindromes to pangrams, some poetic forms and literary concepts plus extras are made for those who delight in wordplay (word nerds unite!).
With Word Nerd Day not far away, I bring you cool poetry forms for word nerds and other ideas/concepts that celebrate the art of words in all their nerdy glory. So whether you’re a logophile looking to stretch your creativity or simply curious about poetic possibilities, these forms are sure to inspire your inner wordsmith.
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Poetic Sundays: Poetry Forms for Word Nerds and More
As I mentioned earlier, today I bring you a variety of poetry forms for word nerds, for it is word nerd week (not really, but it is the week of Word Nerd Day which falls on the 9th of January each year!). 25 for 2025…while not all of them are technically poetry forms, they can all be applied to writing poetry.
Poetry form names link to earlier posts with details on the form (or other posts with more information).
1. All the Gram-my Poetry Forms for Word Nerds and then Some
Anagrammatic Allegory
Rearranging the letters of a word or phrase to write a poem is a word nerd’s dream. The challenge lies in finding meaningful ways to work with limited letters.
Lipogram Lyrics
A lipogram avoids using a specific letter, like the letter “E.” While it sounds limiting, it sparks immense creativity by forcing you to rethink word choices entirely.
Pangrammatic Poems
A pangram uses every letter of the alphabet at least once. In poetic form, it’s a treasure hunt for fitting in tricky letters like X, Z, and Q while maintaining meaning.
Tautograms Too
Poems where every word in the line, stanza, or poem itself begins with the same letter
Kind of another “grammy” form:
Univocalic Ummms….
Challenge yourself to write an entire poem using words with only one vowel. For example, a univocalic “A” poem: “A cat ran past a grass mat.” It’s restrictive but incredibly rewarding.
2. Poetry Forms for Word Nerds that are Curtailed With Constraints
Acrostic
In the acrostic, the first letters of each line spell out a word or phrase, often related to the poem’s theme. The joy lies in hiding the message in plain sight, challenging both the writer and the reader.
The Bouts-Rimés
The Bouts-Rimes is where poets receive a list of rhyming end words and must write a poem that uses them. It’s a test of creativity and adaptability, especially when the rhyme pairings are unusual!
Diminishing Verse
The diminishing verse form has just one constraint; Simply keep diminishing the last word of each line until … you can’t.
Double Dactyl
This witty form has strict rules: two quatrains, with the first three lines in dactylic meter and the last line rhyming. Oh, and you must include a six-syllable word! Example: “Higgledy piggledy, / Julius Caesar…”
Monolilquie
The monolilquie poetic form is a mono-rhymed form that starts and ends with the same word (which is also the title of the poem).
The One Word Poem
Is a one-word poem really a poem? Well, you decide!
OULIPO
Born from the experimental French movement, the OULIPO is more a method of contraining than a single form. So there are many forms instead that range from “N+7” (replacing nouns with the 7th one after it in the dictionary) to elaborate constraints that push linguistic boundaries.
Palindrome Poetry
This poetic form reads the same forward and backward, either by word or letter. It’s a mind-bending challenge that appeals to lovers of symmetry and precision. Example: “Evil is a name of a foeman, as I live.”
Parallelismus Membrorum
Parallelismus Membrorum is more a “rhyming” of ideas and grammatical structure than any other type of rhyming. For more on how to use this concept, read my linked post (form name)
The Square Poem
A square poem is one where the words read the same horizontally and vertically, and the number of words per line equals the number of lines (kind of has to be).
Word-Reverse
Like diminishing verse earlier, the Word-reverse form also has just one constraint; and it is that you use reverse words wherever you might otherwise choose to use rhyme.
Your Own
You can come up with your own constraints to write a poem. For example, this post on Slate has five poems with excellent wordplay ideas. One uses non-existent should-exist-words (like ‘ept’ – removing the prefix ‘in’ from ‘inept’; ‘summ’ by removing the post-fix ‘er’ from ‘summer’, and so on).
Some more ideas:
- Punny Poems: Use only homophones and puns to write a poem that sounds coherent when read aloud but reads weird and sometimes reveals other meanings on the page! For example: Eye no the weigh, sew dew ewe.
- Missing Letters: Write a poem in which every word is missing a letter (maybe first/last/or any other), forcing the reader to mentally fill in the gaps while delighting (or frustrating them!)
3. Reusing Words
Cento
The cento form is a patchwork poem made entirely of lines borrowed from other works. It’s a delightful way to weave together disparate voices into a single narrative.
Golden Shovel
The golden shovel transforms existing poetry into something new. Choose a line from a poem; each word becomes the last word of a new line in your poem. It’s a brilliant way to honor favorite works while flexing your creative muscles.
Vocabularyclept
So this one is an advanced anagram (alliterative much, you ask?!, but it just happened). A vocabularyclept poem is a poem formed by rearranging the words of an existing poem.
Check out more such forms in this ‘found poetry’ post I wrote.
4. Then the Rest of the Poetry Forms for Word Nerds
Concrete Poetry
Also known as shape poetry, the layout of the poem visually represents its subject. Imagine a poem about rain shaped like a raindrop—it’s poetry that doubles as art!
Diamante
A popular form used to inspire young ones to write poetry, the diamante is shaped like a diamond, and encourages children to explore more about a single word.
Macaronic
Why limit yourself to words from one language when you can use words from many? The macaronic form enables you to do just that, and it is fun!
Whimsiverse
A poetry form I invented, inspired by whimsy, hence the name. Check out more about the Whimsiverse here.
Yoda Poem
If you know Yoda, then you might know what this form is about. In simple terms, write a poem using Yoda-speak.
Be sure to check out my earlier post on the wonders of word play – I guarantee that you will not be disappointed! And you will find more ways to challenge yourself too.
Which of these forms will you try first? Whether you prefer witty wordplay or strict constraints, these poetic styles promise a fun and fulfilling challenge. 🌟
Recently
On My Blog
My recent posts since and including my last Sunday Scribblings:
- Two Roads Diverged in the Words with Trivia Twists Too!
- Five Ways to Look Forward to a Wondrous Year Ahead
- 13*2 Futuristic and Fantastic Words to Celebrate Sci-Fi Day
- Weaving a Way With Words: Powerful Words to Live By
- 24 Books I Loved This Year: A Look Back at 2024
- Sunday Scribblings #207: Tick-Tock Minute: The Sound of Now
And At Home
My Sunday post made its way a little late out into the world because this past week(end) was busy. We were trying to make the most of all the moments for the last holiday together. Last over the weekend, we drove miles upon miles to drop off our kids to their college campuses to start off their winter quarters. And now, back home trying to keep busy, rebuilding ourselves in this so-called empty-nest phase of our lives.
Upcoming
On My Blog
More posts for sure, and maybe some poems using a few of the poetry forms for word nerds that I listed above
and Home Front
That rebuilding of self I mentioned earlier.
This Week’s Celebrations
Literary Celebrations (close-to-it also)
- Literary birthdays this week include:January 6th celebrates Carl Sandburg, Elizabeth Strout; the 7th of January is for Zora Neale Hurston, Gerald Durrell, and Shobhaa De; the 9th celebrates Anne Rivers Siddons, Philippa Gregory, Simone de Beauvoir; while it is Philip Levine on the 10th of January; Diana Gabaldon and Jasper Fforde on Jan 11th; David Mitchell, Haruki Murakami, Jack London, and Julia Quinn on the 12th of January
- The 9th is National Word Nerd Day
- January 11th is National Learn Your Name In Morse Code Day as well as World Sketchnote Day
Foodie Celebrations
- The 6th of January celebrates National Bean Day and National Shortbread Day
- National Tempura Day is on the 7th of January
- January 8th celebrates National English Toffee Day
- While the 9th observes National Apricot Day
- National Bittersweet Chocolate Day is on the 10th of January
- Then it is National Milk Day and National Hot Toddy Day on the 11th
- Followed by National Marzipan Day and National Hot Tea Day on the 12th of January
Other Celebrations
- National Technology Day and National Cuddle Up Day are on the 6th of January… but don’t cuddle up with tech!!
- The 7th of January is National Bobblehead Day
- The 8th of January celebrates Coming of Age Day as well as National Clean Your Desk Day
- Jan 9th is International Choreographers Day
- It is National Save the Eagles Day on the 10th of January and also National Take the Stairs Day
- January 11th is Heritage Treasures Day(UK) and National Step In A Puddle And Splash Your Friends Day, as well as International Thank-You Day and No Longer New Year’s Day (so the unofficial deadline for saying Happy New Year to people!)
- The 12th is National Kettlebell Day and also Stick to Your New Year’s Resolution Day (between these two, we better keep at our getting fit-in-2025 resolution!)
Wrapping up my Sunday Scribblings
So dear reader, you have reached the end of this Sunday Scribblings! As always, I welcome your thoughts, comments, and suggestions about this post. Will you be trying one of these poetry forms for word nerds this week? Do you have any ideas or poetry forms for word nerds that I can add to this list? And do let me know if you plan to celebrate any of these mentioned celebrations this coming week/month?
Linking this to the Sunday Post over at the Caffeinated Reviewer and the Sunday Salon
This is so neat. I didn’t know about all these different poem styles. They would be fun to try out.
My daughter is a big word nerd. She will love these books.
Some of these are so complex! I’d say the Acrostic poems seem like they would be the easiest to create.
There are so many different types of poem styles, and they are all so unique. I love seeing the “square poems” on social media, they are always so creative and cool to read!
Now I want to try all of these!