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!
TRACK #1 – DAILY PROMPTS
For writers who prefer a guided structure for poem-writing, the daily prompt track may work to your advantage. There are 8 new prompts that were not present last year. Below, you’ll find a theme for each day along with directions:
October 1, 2023 – Nature
Sit outside someplace quiet and using your five senses, write a poem about what you see.
October 2, 2023 – Color
Write a poem about your favorite color.
October 3, 2023 – Second Chances
Write a poem about a moment from your past you’d like to change.
October 4, 2023 – Sublime
Think about a feature in nature that fills you with curiosity and fear, then write a poem about your reactions if you were to be in the presence of such feature.
October 5, 2023 – Haiku
Write a haiku about an object in your immediate vicinity. (These are 3-line poems with 5-7-5 syllable line lengths).
October 6, 2023 – Tanka
Write a tanka about life and death. (These are 5-line poems with 5-7-5-7-7 syllable line lengths).
October 7, 2023 – Thresholds (NEW)
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?
October 8, 2023 – Forest Floor
Write a poem about something you might find on the forest floor or something that lives on a forest floor.
October 9, 2023 – Artificial Intelligence (NEW)
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!
October 10, 2023 – Sisyphean Synergy
Write a poem about a characteristic, aspiration, or struggle you have that’s always been difficult for you to resolve or reach.
October 11, 2023 – Hustle and Bustle
Visit a public space and using your five senses, write a poem about what you observe.
October 12, 2023 – Nature vs. Industry
Write a poem juxtaposing nature vs. industry imagery.
October 13, 2023 – Sonnet
Write a sonnet (follow link for sonnet structure directions). (Example: Shakespearean Sonnet).
October 14, 2023 – Sonder (NEW)
Write a short poem (10 lines or less) about the concept of sonder, which defined as “the realization that each random passerby is living a life as vivid and complex as your own” (Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows).
October 15, 2023 – Pantoum
Write a pantoum poem (follow link for pantoum structure directions and examples).
October 16, 2023 – Scuba Dive (NEW)
Imagine you are gliding across the ocean floor. Write a poem about what you think you may see.
October 17, 2023 – Alternate Reality
Imagine yourself thriving in an alternate reality and write a poem about what your life would be like in that universe.
October 18, 2023 – Concrete Jungle (NEW)
Write a poem about a time you visited a major city or urban center. What was it like? Were you overwhelmed? Use sensory details to help illustrate your experience in this space.
October 19, 2023 – Acrostic (NEW)
Write a poem in which the first letter in each line spells out a word.
October 20, 2023 – Fictional Fugue
Create a fictional character whose identity has been lost and write a poem about their journey toward self-discovery.
October 21, 2023 – Socio-Political Reflection
Pick an issue or event happening in the world currently and write a poem about how it makes you feel.
October 22, 2023 – Persona Play (NEW)
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)
October 23, 2023 – Boundaries (NEW)
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.
October 24, 2023 – Historic (NEW)
Write a poem about a historic event you’ve been present for. How was it significant or insignificant to you?
October 25, 2023 – 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).
October 26, 2023 – Musical Ekphrasis
Listen to your favorite song and write a poem about how it impacts you.
October 27, 2023 – Cosmic
Write a poem about something in space or using space-related imagery.
October 28, 2023 – Dystopia
Write a poem about a dystopian world, a poem that includes dystopian imagery, or a poem about any dystopian qualities you see taking place in our world.
October 29, 2023 – Poetic Letters
Write a poem to a person who’s no longer in your life.
October 30, 2023 – 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.
October 31, 2023 – Horror
Using grotesque imagery, write a poem about something that induces fear.
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, please use the hashtag: #octpoember.
Here is a video overview of the challenge:
Donny Winter 