Welcome to my *fourth* annual installment of poetry prompts for NAPOWRIMO! You can find past editions here:
As you write to the poetry prompts for NaPoWriMo 2024, please be mindful of these important rules:
- Follow these prompts *wherever* they take you. Don’t get hung up on the details.
- Never, never, never, never, never, never copy the sample poems. They’re for inspiration only! If you borrow style or quote excerpts in your drafts, please be sure to credit the original and the poet.
I invite you to bookmark this page for easy return and check out more poetry prompts published here previously.
WRITING PROMPTS for NaPoWriMo 2024 (or any poem-a-day challenge)
1. It can be hard to love the world, and…
… we keep trying. Let’s start the month by writing a poem that answers, “How do you love the world?” You can interpret that as “how can you possibly love it at this moment in time?” or as “how do you show your love for the world?” or in any way you like. / Recommended reading: Overpriced Boutique by Andrew Hemmert and I Am Trying to Love the Whole World by Jenny Browne are great examples of how to take a topic like this and complicate it, i.e. make it honest.
2. Not your average harbinger
Yes, robins signal spring, and leaves turn red in the fall. But for this prompt, we’re digging deeper into the ways we recognize seasons. Write a poem that describes a scene or event specific to a particular season, but avoid the usual suspects. Surprise yourself! / Recommended reading: Sharing the Kale by Katherine Norton, The Last Hummingbird of Summer by Beth Ann Fennelly and Pullet by Arah Ko.
3. Whales, witches and a corn dog stand
I’m fascinated by the artwork of Mike Ousley, whom I follow on Instagram (@mike_ousley_art). For this prompt, write a poem inspired by one of his paintings, which you can find on his Instagram or on his website. Of course, this artist is just a suggestion. Write to any artist’s work that inspires you.
4. Some say the world will end in fire
Some say in ice. Those are lines from a famous poem by Robert Frost. And while both will “suffice,” let’s make the end times a little more interesting. Write a poem where you imagine the end of the world. You can focus on how it ends or on what life may be like as the end approaches. As you can see from these apocalypse poem examples, you don’t have to stray too far from “real life.”
5. Short and snappy
Write a poem using only very short phrases or fragments. Try to find a topic that lends itself to a choppy, interruptible rhythm. / Recommended reading: This Place of Broken Words by Lois Roma-Deeley.
6. Become the red wheelbarrow
William Carlos Williams famously wrote about The Red Wheelbarrow, on which so much depends. In the short poem, he observes the object, but for this prompt, write a poem in which you take on the persona of an object found in outdoor spaces. / Recommended reading: Self-Portrait as Three Cubic Feet of Compost by Hayden Saunier.
7. If loving myself is wrong, I don’t want to be right
You don’t have to be a pro at self-love to write about it. Fake it ’til you make it, pals! Write a poem about learning to love yourself. It can be aspirational (what it would be like), or it can capture where you are right now in your self love journey. / Recommended reading: I Start Each Day with A Guided Meditation On How To Love Myself by Emily Daniel.
8. They’re going to say they’re tired of eclipse poems
And so what? April 8 is the day of a total solar eclipse in many parts of the U.S. (see the NASA map below), and it’s going to be epic, as I’m sure the cool kids long ago stopped saying. No matter how many editors poo-poo the influx of eclipse poems they’re bound to get, we’re writing them anyway! Today, write about experiencing the solar eclipse (or about not being able to see it depending on location and weather).
9. You have my sympathies
It’s common for poems to celebrate animals, but for this prompt, write a poem that apologizes to a creature for something strange (or difficult) about its life or appearance. / Recommended reading: Armadillo by Flower Conroy.
10. Finally! A higher purpose for that argument you just can’t let go
If you’re like me, you replay conversations and arguments in your head at night instead of falling asleep. This prompt makes good use of all that fretting. Write a poem that captures a bit of dialogue from an argument you’ve had. / Recommended reading: At the Corn Maze, I Wait — by Rebecca Brock.
11. No farms, no food
Whether you have your own garden or not, let’s go to the places our food comes from, and write a poem about the moment something is harvested, as in this example: Digging the Carrots by Emma Harrington. If you prefer, you can write about the harvest itself (bounty, abundance), as Danusha Laméris does in Avocado, Avocado.
12. Books and authors as companions
One of my favorite moves in a poem is when poets quote a line from (or pay homage to) another poet in the body of their own poem. It’s a skill I’d like to develop, so let’s practice! Write a poem that tells us what (or who) you’re reading. / Recommended reading: Reading Jane Hirshfield at 6AM by Anastasia Vassos and Moment with Zagajewski by Ken Craft.
13. This isn’t for everyone
As I work on this blog post, I’m eating one of my favorite sandwiches: peanut butter, pickles and sriracha. (Don’t knock it ’til you try it — it’s a “recipe” from The New York Times.) What strange combos or foods do *you* eat? Write a poem about something you eat that other people may not enjoy.
14. Use your head for more than a hat rack
You’ve got a big ol’ slimy squishy brain up there. Write a poem that creates a metaphor for whatever it is your own personal brain is like. / Recommended reading: My Friend Tells Me My Brain is Like a Hollywood Movie by Sarah Mills.
15. Road trip!
There are few things in life as pleasurable as a road trip — except maybe sing-at-the-top-of-your-lungs road trip *music*! Write a poem about a road trip and, if you like, mention a specific song or lyric. / Recommended reading: That’s How Far I’d Drive for It by Idra Novey and The Dream Won’t Come True by Kathy Fagan.
16. A list as long as your arm
I love a good list poem, so I had to include one in the poetry prompts for NaPoWriMo 2024! For this poem, pick an item and free write all the different ways you can characterize or name it. Then use the most compelling phrases for a new poem. / Recommended reading: River I Dream About by Oliver Baez Bendorf and this collection of list poem examples.
17. Stardust is us
No matter how much scientists learn about the stars, they’re still magic to me. Let’s look up at the night sky together and write a poem about an actual — or made up — constellation. / Recommended reading: Planetarium by Adrienne Rich.
18. Note to selff-ie
There are people who crap all over the idea of selfies. I am not one of those people. I love what they show me about how I want to see myself and how other people want to see themselves. Scroll through your camera roll and use a selfie to inspire a letter poem to yourself. Bathroom selfies encouraged!
19. No shame in the binge watching game
The real world is overrated — stream as much as you like! For this prompt, write a poem inspired by an episode or scene from a show you’ve watched. / Recommended reading: I Think of That Sopranos Episode Where Time Is a Horse, by Ja’net Danielo.
20. Poetry isn’t like writing in your diary…
… except for this writing exercise. Imagine a type of diary — a travel journal, a food log, a dream journal, morning pages, a gratitude journal, a day book. Then write a poem that’s a series of entries in that diary. Try to tell it a little slant, as in this example: Today by Victoria Chang.
21. Tacos for Planet Earth
In Text Messages from my Mother: Galaxy-Brain (found poem), L. Acadia writes,
a sign at the taco bar catty-corner reads,
“save the Earth: it’s the only planet with tacos”
appealing immensely to me since I’ve been
pondering Black Holes,
Write a poem about something kitschy in the world that makes it worth saving. Or, if you prefer, dig through your texts and write a found poem using fragments from an ongoing thread.
22. Selective amnesia
Write a poem about sh*t you’d like to forget. / Recommended reading: Some Things I Would Like to Forget about America by Paul Guest.
23. Siri tried to warn us
The bots aren’t so great at acting human… yet. Weigh in on the chatter about ChatGPT and all its rowdy friends by writing a poem about the advent (or future of) AI. / Recommended reading: Poem with Human Intelligence by J. Estanislao Lopez.
24. Celebrities are just like us
Following this example — Patrick Swayze and Me by Nathan Graziano — choose a celebrity and write a poem that’s titled “Celebrity Name and Me.”
25. Tell Ma she can deliver the cakes and wine to Grandma herself
Write a poem in defiance of a fairy tale or myth. / Recommended reading: If I Were Gretel, I Would Have Kept the Bread by Clancy Tripp.
26. Hello, Kitty
Say hi to this juvenile seagull I spent time with at Cape Cod in September. Or say hi to any critter you like. Just write a poem in response to, or in conversation with, an animal.
27. I wasn’t even there
Turn the idea of disaster tourism on its head and write a poem about where you are as a catastrophe or tragedy unfolds elsewhere. / Recommended reading: On the Appalachian Trail Before a Mass Shooting by Luke Janicki.
28. On pins and needles
Recall a time when you were awaiting important news. Write a poem that captures the moments before you learn the outcome. / Recommended reading: Equation by Rosalie Moffett.
29. Smells like teen spirit
Pick a smell/fragrance and write a poem about a scene or memory it evokes. / Recommended reading: floridian: for terra by Jude Dexter.
30. I double dog dare you to make this place beautiful
In Maggie Smith’s viral poem Good Bones, she writes,
…Any decent realtor,
walking you through a real shithole, chirps on
about good bones: This place could be beautiful,
right? You could make this place beautiful.
Challenge accepted! For this prompt, let’s write a poem that imagines a world that’s got its sh*t together. / Recommended reading: The Future Will be Devastatingly Attractive by Tina Kelley.
Be sure to let me know if you use any of these poetry prompts for NaPoWriMo 2024 or any other time. Looking for more? You can find past poetry prompts here, including writing prompts from prior years. You may also like to check out my collections of resources for writing inspiration — like Barbie poems, list poems, apocalypse poems, wild/innovative forms and more — for additional inspiration.
Important note –> When you harvest material from exercises inspired by OPP (other people’s poems), it’s essential for you to credit your model (i.e. make a note at the top of your poem, like after AUTHOR’s “POEM”) or remove the other poet’s scaffolding entirely and keep only the material you crafted. Make it your own. Every time.