From Writing Poetry by Barbara Drake: Write a poem that teaches the history of your family to those who come after you.
Prompt: A Family History Poem
Tag: Prompt
Prompt: An Event
From Creative Writing by David Starkey. Write about an event in your life that is almost too embarrassing to write about, but not quite.
Prompt: Recipe for a Poem
This is another fun prompt. Write a poem using a recipe as your guide. I could give you a bunch of advice, but It is possible to stir loathing into a batter of glitter and regret. Bake at 485 for six years.
Prompt: Describe…
From Fiction Writers’ Workshop by Josip Novakovich Describe somebody’s character by the shape, posture and gait of his body. OR describe someone’s character by how they do something. Don’t tell the reader your somebody is sad; show it. (I wrote one using the Biblical phrase “By his shower, ye shall know him.” I’m sure that’s in the Bible.)
Prompt: Smallest Parts
From Writing Poetry by Barbara Drake: Write a poem in terms of the smallest parts of a thing or entity. For example, the eye of a rabbit or lizard, a leaf bud on an apple tree; the battery in your electric watch. (I’m pretty bored by the last one.
Prompt: Style Change
From The Practice of Poetry. Write a poem in which some major change (in style or content) occurs across a stanza break. The poem should not explicate or comment on the change; it should rather absorb or reflect it. This may seem mumbo jumbo-y, but once you get going, it will make sense.
Prompt: Praise Song
From Thirteen Ways of Looking for a Poem by Wendy Bishop: You might try a praise song of a natural environment that praises a single element, like Gerard Manley Hopkins does when he praises spotted and dappled and freckled things. You might praise elements of flying things or aquatic things. You might praise the foods (and in doing so the culture) of your youth to explore what you felt then and what you know now.
Prompt: Family Rituals
From The Writer’s Idea Book by Jack Heffron: Write about a family ritual. How did it start? Why has it continued? Do your family members have nicknames for each other? How did they start? Why do they stick? What do the nicknames suggest about the roles people play in your family?
Poetry Society of Michigan 