List Poetry

This week we will be working on list poetry. List poetry is literally just listing out things. Our list poetry will have rhyme schemes though, as is common with them.

What is List Poetry?

List poetry is a poem which is literary made up of a list of things. Generally these things are related to each other in some ways. In our class we will be looking at things you can see in a forest. List poems give the writer a lot of freedom to be creative and funny, however they often also contain many details and well-thought out language. List poems often have rhyme schemes.

How Do You Make List Poetry?

1) Use the prompt "what can you see in the forest" to start your poem.

2) Using this prompt brainstorm things you can see in the forest. You can be as creative as you like, it does not have to be things you normally see in the forest. (Refer back to our brainstorm nature list if it helps you get started).

3) Look at your list of ideas and underline or highlight ones which you really want to include. (You need to have at least 10 lines in your poem, so have 10 ideas of things you can see in the forest).

4) List these 10 things out and start trying to make them rhyme. You can use any rhyme scheme you want but often list poems have rhyme schemes of: AA BB CC DD EE FF GG HH...

5) When you hand it in to me make sure you can tell me what your rhyme scheme is.

Examples of List Poetry:

Monster Menu by Douglas Florian

Soup

Staple soup seasoned to taste

With iron fillings and nuclear waste

Hor d'oeuvres

Candied ants in diesel dips

Served with fried computer chips

Entree

Poached roach sauteed in slime

or Legs of lizard stewed in grime

Dessert

Mouse mousse jubilee

Termite tea (caffeine-free)

Witches' Wishes by Douglas Florian

Witches wish for

rusty nails,

Dusty cupboards,

Dragon tails.

Nasty weather

Storm and flood,

Vulture feathers,

Vampire blood.

Squeaky hinges,

Broken glass,

Beetle binges,

Burned-out grass.

Poison ivy,

Pumpkin seeds,

Skin all hivey,

Ugly weeds.

Spiderwebs on

Dirty dishes.

Witches always Get their wishes.

A Lot Dog by Douglas Florian

Give me a hot dog

With everything on it.

A french fry,

A necktie,

A baseball,

A bonnet.

A jaguar,

A crowbar,

A gallon of custard.

An ice tray,

A highway,

But please hold the mustard.