Although not well enough known even in California, Joseph Stroud is one of the most accomplished American poets writing today, as appealing and durable as any we have. In the tradition of California ...

You can work out the rhyme scheme of a poem by labelling the words that rhyme with each other. It will help you see the pattern of the poem. For example, if a poem's first and third lines rhyme you ...

Contrary to popular belief, poetry doesn’t have to rhyme – and rhyme is not a marker of quality, or ease. Some of the world’s ...

Those so-called “cultured” types sure love to brag about their love of poetry. We aren’t sure how they get their fix of literary arts. But we like to imagine that they sport berets, hang around coffee ...

Poetry doesn’t rhyme anymore, and the people demand an explanation. There should have been a press release. Or a public referendum. For many of us, a non-rhyming poem resembles a non-alcoholic beer: ...

The form of a poem is how we describe the overarching structure or pattern of the poem. Some forms of poetry must stick to very specific rules about length, rhythm and rhyme. Poets enjoy playing with ...