12 Days of Form Poetry, Prompts, and Playlists

Now that winter has finally made a more convincing showing and we are within the tiny single digits margin of shopping days before Christmas, the Tweetspeak Team has bundled up our sugar plums and mistletoe, readying ourselves for that snowy trip over the river and through the woods to whomever’s house we are thinking to go. Which, for some of us, might just be snuggling up with the chestnuts roasting in front of the Netflix fire in our own little homes.

We’ll be away for the next little while, returning with the new year beginning January 4. To help you spend your holidays with the best in poetry (and poetic things), we’ve gathered up the 12 Days of Form Poetry, Prompts and Playlists for you to explore and play.

Whatever your plans, take along warm wishes from all of us at Tweetspeak for a joyous holiday and peace (and poetic prosperity) in the New Year.

1. Top 10 Winter Poems

Before you load up that sleigh (or the back end of your all wheel drive hybrid crossover), check the weather reports and take along some winter poems.

2. A Holiday (not a Haiku) Playlist

Whether you’re going to be on the road or reading next to the fire or dazzling guests with your holiday treats, put our Holiday Playlist on in the background, featuring favorites like Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas” and Ella Fitzgerald singing “Rudolph.”

3. Trains and Tracks Playlist

If your Christmas tree is the sort that has a model train running ’round it, you’ll want to plug in our Trains and Tracks Playlist too.

4. The Night Before Christmas Poetry Prompt

Some of us celebrate Christmas. Some of us don’t. Some find it a time of anticipation, others experience it as a time of longing or pain. Then there are simply the images. Snow (at least in the North!), gingerbread, candy canes, ribbons, evergreens, cranberries, candles. Here’s a great Night Before Christmas Prompt to let you put those images to good use.

5. Poem: Ghost of Christmas Present

Perhaps you simply wish for a quiet poem to bring the season around “for the love of you, or me.” Enjoy Ghost of Christmas Present by L.L. Barkat.

6. Write a Catalog Poem

Had enough of shopping and returns? Gain a new appreciation for the catalog by learning how to write a catalog poem. Give it a holiday twist with decorations, shopping, or foods from your holiday table.

7. Write a Sestina

If you’re feeling especially industrious (maybe to keep up with those elves in Santa’s workshop), maybe try your hand a writing a sestina. Pick a handful of holiday-themed end words to make it fun.

8. Top 10 Red Poems

Red can be an important color for some folks during the holiday season. Enjoy 10 poems involving the color red.

9. 5 Great New Year’s Poems

The future rolling out before us captivates us with anticipation at the same time as it can unnerve us with its uncertainty. For now, let’s go with the anticipation, revel in the thoughts of good things to come. Here are 5 great poems to mark the New Year, and new beginnings.

10. New Year’s Poem: Resolutions

Do you make new year’s resolutions? Anne M. Doe Overstreet’s Resolutions might help you put a new spin on the dreaded list-making.

11. Popular Writer’s Resources

If writing figured on your list of goals for the new year, you’ll want to check out this collection of writing and poetry writing resources, from prompts to field guides.

12. Celebrate Poetry at Work Day: Inspiration, Tips, & Tools

Not long after the new year, we’ll be celebrating the fourth annual Poetry at Work Day. Get this free guide to celebrating Poetry at Work Day at your workplace.

Enjoy the holidays, and meet us back here on January 4 for a brand new poetry prompt and more merriment and mischief to help you experience poetry for life.

Photo by trombone65, Creative Commons license via Flickr.

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Will Willingham

Director of Many Things; Senior Editor, Designer and Illustrator at Tweetspeak Poetry

I used to be a claims adjuster, helping people and insurance companies make sense of loss. Now, I train other folks with ladders and tape measures to go and do likewise. Sometimes, when I’m not scaling small buildings or crunching numbers with my bare hands, I read Keats upside down. My first novel is Adjustments.

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