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JUMP TO THE ODES/PRAISE POEMS / Updated September 2025

Whether sincere or ironic, written for the common or extraordinary, the pretty or the strange, odes are poems of celebration and close attention.

While there are classical types of odes (as noted in Writer’s Digest), I’m most enamored with less formal odes, which can be in any style. As Writers.com says, “Technically, an ode isn’t a singular poetry form: it can take the shape of a sonnet, a ghazal, a villanelle, an elegy, or (most contemporarily) a free verse poem. What unifies each ode is the desire to celebrate the minute and mundane: to praise the little beauties in life.”

So if an ode or praise poem can be anything, what’s their magic? “Focusing the poetic lens to dissect, understand, and communicate the beauty and mystery of life.” (That’s Writers.com again.) For me, much of that “beauty and mystery” can be found in odes’ ability to go deep, deep down into the good, bad and ugly while still holding the spirit of appreciation or homage.

Writing for the University of Arizona Poetry Center, Stacey Balkun describes it this way: “I’ve been drawn to the ode because this world needs some celebration in it, and yes, there is much to celebrate. But even more interesting is the intersection between the light and dark, and contemporary poets are using the ode’s form to explore that space.” Balkun crystallizes this even further when she says odes “imbue praise with complexity,” which 100% explains my attraction to them.

That vibration between praise and complexity gives odes and praise poems an abundance of energy and tension and makes the style terrific for poems of witness. In a description for a class on writing the ode, Brooklyn Poets expounds on this communal and political role: “The praise poem, in light of recent global atrocities, is perhaps more necessary than ever before. … The power of praise poems [is how they help us] heal and bear witness in this present moment.”

So let’s see what the ode can do! Check out this personally curated list, sorted alphabetically by poet’s last name. 👇

Examples of odes and praise poems

1. “Praise” by Kelli Russell Agodon
2. “Ode to Fat” by Ellen Bass
3. “Ode to Northern Alberta” by Billy-Ray Belcourt
4. “For everyone who tried on the slipper before Cinderella” by Ariana Brown
5. “For the turkey buzzards” by Sarah Browning
6. “Ode to Kody” by M. Soledad Caballero
7. “Ode to the other woman” by Emily R. Daniel
8. “Ode to the Immortal Jellyfish” by Ja’net Danielo
9. “Ode to Money, or Patient Appealing Health Insurance for Denial of Coverage” by Katie Farris
10. “Ode to My Brother” by Sarah Freligh
11. “Ode to Unmown Grass” by Violeta Garcia-Mendoza
12. “Praise For My Mother” by Wendy Grossman
13. “Ode to Barbed Wire” by Jared Harél
14. “Bloody Mary Ode” by Caroline Hockenbury
15. “In Praise of Minor” by Abbie Kiefer
16. “Pencil Sharpener” by Veronica Kornberg
17. “Kitchen Gadgets” by Elizabeth Lara
18. “Hot Soup” by Parker Logan
19. “Ode to a White Cloud” by Natalie Marino
20. “Nevertheless: An Ecstatic Ode” by Airea D. Matthews
21. “Ode to the Grimy Breeze of an Underground Subway Platform” by Abby E. Murray
22. “Praise the ones who loved us best they could” by Deirdre O’Connor
23. “Ode To Loss” by Ernest O. Ògúnyẹmí
24. “Clit Ode” by January Gill O’Neil
25. “Denim Ode” by Shaina Phenix
26. “Ode to the Nectarine” by Jeremy Radin
27. “Ode to Em Dash” by Vismai Rao
28. “[Oye! This is an apartment building ode.]” by Dimitri Reyes
29. “Ode To The Necessary Distance Between Us: A Contrapuntal” by Peggy Robles-Alvarado
30. “Praise Poem in the Key of Diaspora” by Terisa Siagatonu
31. “Ode to Autocorrect” by Martha Silano
32. “Perennials” by Maggie Smith
33. “Ode to a Dolly Parton Drag Queen” by Bruce Snider
34. “Ode to the Boy Who Jumped Me” by Monica Sok
35. “Ode to Goby” by Juliana Spahr
36. “Ode to Poppers” by Sappho Stanley
37. “Ode to Tissue” by Adam Tavel
38. “ode to that little ceramic reindeer my mother painted green & red” by Millie Tullis
39. “For Girls Who Run Through Storms like Buffalos, Knowing It’s the Quickest Way Through” by Tanaya Winder
40. “Ode to the Hotel Near the Children’s Hospital” by Kevin Young
41. “Try to Praise the Mutilated World” by Adam Zagajewski

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I’m happy to continue adding to this collection of odes and praise poems. Got a fave that I’ve missed? Let me know, and I’ll take a look. Also, be sure to check out other popular lists published at this blog:

• Anaphora in Poetry: 30+ Examples
• List Poems for Writing Inspiration
• The One With 50+ Poems for the End of the World
• Wild, Innovative Poetry Forms for Inspiration