It’s that time of year again; it’s officially OCT/POEM/BER! Throughout the month of October, I challenge willing participants to write one poem per day for 31 days! I’m excited to announce that it’s the 2nd year the Friends of Roethke Foundation is partnering with me to promote this challenge!
What is Oct/POEM/ber: Back in 2019, I grew envious of artists and fiction writers because they got to enjoy monthly challenges like Inktober and NANOWRIMO. So, I decided to create a monthly writing challenge for poets and thus, Oct/POEM/ber was born. Throughout the month of October each year, I challenge myself to write one poem per day not only for the fun of it, but to also expand on my content and improve my craft.
How to Participate: Open up a word document or notebook and just start writing! To make it easier for participants, I’ve designed 2 tracks for completing Oct/POEM/ber. The first track provides you a daily prompt to follow. The second track is self-guided and expects you to write a poem per day without the assist of prompts. Some writers benefit from having guidelines, whereas others benefit from not having any! So, there’s a track for both schools of thought! (those are listed below)
Submit Your Work: Your poem has a chance to be PUBLISHED! After the challenge, submit your work to this form, which will remain open until December 31, 2026 to allow participants revision time. The Friends of Roethke Foundation will review poems submitted by participants and select a number for publication on their website. If your work is selected, you’ll receive an email from the foundation with further details. If your work is not accepted, you’ll receive an email thank you for your participation and interest!
TRACK #1: DAILY PROMPTS
OCT. 1: HAIKU
Write a haiku about an object in your immediate vicinity. (These are 3-line poems with 5-7-5 syllable line lengths).
OCT. 2: HAIBUN (NEW!)
Write a haibun about a topic of your choosing. This poetic form asks you to write a prose poem followed by a haiku – together, they act as the same poem. Read more about the haibun here. Read an example: Maureen Thorson’s “Time Traveller’s Haibun: 1989”.
OCT. 3: ACROSTIC
Write a poem in which the first letter in each line spells out a word when read vertically.
OCT. 4: OBJECT PERMANENCE
Find an object wherever you are that connects to a person you care about. Write a 5-10-line poem about said object – describe it using sensory details and use the inspiration it creates to help readers develop an understanding of the person it’s connected to.
OCT. 5: TANKA
Write a tanka about any subject. (These are 5-line poems with 5-7-5-7-7 syllable line lengths).
OCT. 6: NATURE (RETURNING PROMPT)
Sit outside someplace quiet and using your five senses, write a poem about what you see.
OCT. 7: EPIGRAPH (NEW)
Write a poem of any topic that includes an epigraph (a short quote or line at the beginning of the poem) that sets the theme, tone, or vibe of the piece.
OCT. 8: PROSE POEM
A prose poem is a poem that often does not conform to verses or stanzas. Sometimes it may be story-like. Write a prose poem about a subject of your choosing. Click here to see a definition and examples of prose poems.
OCT. 9: THIRD SPACE (NEW!)
Write a poem about a third space, in a third space, or about the concept of a third space. A third space is a newer sociological term that refers to “places outside of the home (the first place) and the workplace (the second place) where people go to converse with others and connect with their community. In this casual and social environment, no one is obligated to be there and cost should not prevent people from attending” (Colquitt). Read more about third spaces here.
OCT. 10: SISYPHEAN SYNERGY
Write a poem about a characteristic, aspiration, or struggle you have that’s always been difficult for you to resolve or reach.
OCT. 11: ARTISTIC EKPHRASIS
Find a piece of art and write a poem about it. Allow your poem to engage in conversation with the art piece, expand on what the art piece is already saying, or change the meaning you think the art piece conveys. (Example: “Ode on a Grecian Urn” by Keats).
OCT. 12: DAIKAIJU
In Japanese, the word daikaiju means “great strange beast.” Write a poem about a great, giant, and other-worldly beast. (Examples of Daikaiju: Godzilla, Kong, Mothra, Clifford the Big Red Dog, certain dragons). Alternatively, write about something that feels monstrous to you – a system, concept, and/or space.
OCT. 13: THRESHOLDS
Write a poem about reaching or crossing a threshold in your life. What does “crossing thresholds” mean to you? Are they good or bad? Neutral?
OCT. 14: SOCIO-POLITICAL
Pick an issue or event happening in the world currently and write a poem about how it makes you feel.
OCT. 15: FICTIONAL FUGUE
Create a fictional character whose identity has been lost and write a poem about their journey toward self-discovery.
OCT. 16: JOURNAL JOURNEYS
Find a diary or journal (old or new), then write a poem inspired by an entry you wrote.
OCT. 17: SECONDARY WITNESS (NEW!)
Pick a story that you love (book, film, TV show, fairytale, etc.) and write a poem from the perspective of a forgotten background character. Alternatively, insert yourself as a background character in the story and write a poem from your perspective in that world.
OCT. 18: STATIONARY CHAOS
Write a poem on a piece of stationery you’re not accustomed to using – a napkin, piece of tissue, old birch bark on the forest floor. For an extra challenge, write with a utensil you’re not accustomed to using – crayon, marker, eye liner pencil – the sky’s the limit!
OCT. 19: BOUNDARIES
Write a poem about a boundary. This can be a geological boundary, mental boundary, human-made boundary, or a social boundary set in a relationship/friendship.
OCT. 20: AUBADE
According to Merriam-Webster, an aubade is “a song or poem about greeting the dawn.” Sometimes it may be about two lovers parting ways at dawn or in general, just about dawn itself. So, for today’s poem, write about dawn.
OCT. 21: PERSONA PLAY
Write a poem with a persona speaking (or narrating) separate from your voice. Oftentimes, these poems are written in second (you) or third person (he, she, them, they) points of view. These poems sometimes have dialogue in them. (Example: your present-self visits your past-self but it’s narrated in third person point of view, so the audience doesn’t know who’s doing the speaking).
OCT. 22: TIME TRAVEL (NEW!)
Write a poem about time travel – it could be a poem where you travel backward or forward in time. Alternatively, it could be a poem where you encounter someone from the past or future.
OCT. 23: CONCRETE POETRY
Concrete (or pattern) poetry experiments with creating shapes or patterns on a page using verses and stanzas. Write a poem that creates a visual shape or pattern.
OCT. 24: RECIPE
Write a poem in the form of a recipe or about a recipe that’s important/personal to you.
OCT. 25: Artificial Intelligence (A.I.)
Write a poem about artificial intelligence. You could write a poem about the vastness of AI, the fear/excitement surrounding it. Perhaps you may want to write a poem featuring some sort of alien AI from a different planet!
OCT. 26: ERASURE POETRY
Research, then copy and paste an article into a word document, then use the strikethrough (or dark high-lighting feature) to blot out the words until the remaining words create a poem. You can also do this using a page from a book or other physical media – strike through or marker out chosen words/line on a given page to make a poem with remaining words.
OCT. 27: SESTINA (NEW)
Write a poem in the form of a sestina about any topic of your choosing. Read more about the sestina here, which includes examples.
OCT. 28: ZEITGEIST
According to Merriam-Webster, zeitgeist is defined as “the general intellectual, moral, and cultural climate of an area.” Write a poem about the zeitgeist of a given space and/or region.
OCT. 29: POETIC LETTERS
Write a poem to a person who’s no longer in your life.
OCT. 30: THE GOTHIC
Write a poem inspired by the gothic containing dark and/or haunting imagery.
OCT 31: HORROR
Using grotesque imagery, write a poem about something that induces fear.
TRACK #2: INDEPENDENT/SELF-GUIDED
TRACK #2: INDEPENDENT/SELF-GUIDED
Recommendations, Helpful Hints, & TidBits
- Select whichever writing medium you are most comfortable with: electronic or handwritten.
- Most of the poems, aside from the form-focused ones (tanka, pantoum, haiku, and sonnet) are all free-verse or free of particular form. Your poems need not rhyme or be structured in a particular way if you don’t want them to!
- Do your best to set aside designated time every day to write – create a routine!
- If you fall behind, you can always catch up!
- If there is a prompt that you get stuck on or don’t like, switch to the Independent Track that particular day.
- Sharing your poems across social media is not required but encouraged. The world deserves to see your work!
Content Discretion
When writing about personal topics, always consider your own well-being above all else. Regardless what prompt you follow or self-guided poem you write, only write about what you’re comfortable writing about. If you need to skip a daily prompt, feel free to do a self-guided/independent poem on that respective day.
Sharing
If you share your poems across social media (which I encourage), please use the hashtags: #octpoember and/or #octpoemberchallenge .
If you’d like a verbal description of Oct/POEM/ber, check out my overview on YouTube!
