Val present’s the National Poetry Month Around the World Scavenger Hunt:

1. America: The Lune – An American form of Haiku created by Robert Kelly. A syllabic form consisting of 3 lines with a strict syllable count of 5/3/5. There is no rhyme and the subject matter is not restricted. I’d like to suggest a topic of nationalism (just a suggestion)

2. Peru: The Wayra – A popular form originating in Peru/Bolivia from the indigenous Quechua people. The word wayra means wind in the Quechua language. This short syllabic verse has 5 lines with a syllable count of 5/7/7/6/8. It is unrhymed and incorporates onomatopoeia within the verse. How about a theme of urban life?

3. Ireland: Treochair – An Irish form consisting of tercets (3 line stanzas) of any number. It is syllabic with 3/7/7 syllables per stanza and a rhyme scheme where the 1st and 3rd lines of a stanza rhyme. Heavy alliteration is expected with all 3 lines within a stanza. You may find inspiration in Lies versus Truth…

4. Scotland: Scottish Stanza (Burns Stanza) – A single stanza of 6 lines with a rhyme scheme of A/A/A/B/A/B where the A lines have 8 syllables and the B lines have 4 syllables. An alternative form has a stanza of 7 lines with a rhyme of A/A/B/C/C/C/B and where the A & C lines have 8 syllables and the B lines have 4 syllables. Lets talk about hair – maybe hair color and what it says about you.

5. England: Cameo – Created by English poet Alice Spokes as an exercise in rhythm. It consists of 7 lines unrhymed with a syllable count of 2/5/8/3/8/7/2. The end words of each line should be strong. Love poems are always in fashion…

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6. Wales: Clogyrnach – A Welsh syllabic and rhyming form with 6 lines. The syllable count is 8/8/5/5/3/3 and the rhyme scheme is a/a/b/b/b/a. There is no required theme.

7. Iceland: Ferskeytt – A stanzic poem of 4 lines with a a/B/a/B rhyme. But that is too easy! The lines are trochaic with the odd numbered lines having 4 stresses and the even numbered lines having 3 stresses. There is an alliteration requirement too – In L1 two heavily stressed syllables alliterate with the first heavily stressed syllable in L2, and so on. Perhaps this form will inspire you to write about springtime!

8. Portugal: Biolet – This Portuguese form was derived from the triolet. It is a single stanza of 6 lines. The 1st & 2nd lines repeat in inverted form as the 5th & 6th lines. The 3rd & 4th lines are original but rhyme as follows A/B/b/a/B/A where the capitalized lines are repeated exactly. I’d like to suggest (and it is only a suggestion) a theme of lying to yourself.

9. Spain: Espinela – A form of 2 stanzas and only 4 end rhymes across 10 lines with 8 syllables per line. The 1st stanza is 4 lines with the rhyme of a/b/b/a and the 2nd stanza is 6 lines with the rhyme of a/c/c/d/d/c. What better form to use for a poem about disappointment!

10. Italy: Ottava Rima – This Italian form consists of a single 8 line stanza having 11 syllables per line with a rhyme scheme of a/b/a/b/a/b/c/c. A theme of love gone wrong would be nice…

11. France: Dizain – A 15th -16th French form consisting of a single 10 line stanza with 10 syllables per line and a rhyme scheme of a/b/a/b/b/c/c/d/c/d. A suggested theme of love of breads or pastries (in the French tradition) seems appropriate!

12. Germany: Knittelvers* – A 15th century German stanzic form composed of rhyming couplets (aa bb cc etc.) of either a strict 8 syllable count OR a variable couplet consisting of 8 syllables in the first line and 9 in the second line. With the variable length couplets the end word is either masculine followed by feminine in the second line or the reverse). The theme was often satirical, comical or vulgar and was effective in political satire and parodies. Absolutely incorporate politics in your poem!

13. Greece: Rhopalic Verse – A Greek form named for a rhopalon, a club that is thicker at one end. The poem is of unspecified number of lines. Each line is composed of words that have one more syllable than the preceding word. There is no set length for lines. There is no required rhyme or meter. How about a theme of growth since the lines do tend to grow in number of syllables as you write!

14. Israel: Kimo – A post-Haiku form of 3 lines with a strict syllable count of 10/7/6. There is no rhyme. Like the Haiku it should not use unnecessary words. Maybe you’d like to write about heaven or hell?

15. Madagascar: Hainteny – A form meaning “knowledge of words” which uses metaphor and allusion. The theme incorporates proverbs, fables, riddles, and historical narratives. It is composed of stanzas of 4 lines with a rhyme of a/b/a/b. The lines should be of equal lengths with 9 to 12 syllables per line. This form is thought to have originated in Malaysia and mimics the Pantun.  A theme of jokes/riddles would be fun, yes?

16. Iran: Interlocking Rubaiyat – An ancient Persian (modern Iran) form composed of unlimited stanzas of quatrains where the subsequent stanza rhymes its 1st, 2nd, and 4th lines with the sound at the end of the 3rd line in the stanza before it. In this form, the 3rd line of the final stanza is also rhymed with the 3 rhymed lines in the first stanza. The rhyme scheme looks like a/a/b/a, b/b/c/b, c/c/d/c, d/d/e/d, e/e/f/e/…. z/z/a/z. There is no syllabic or metric requirements. Perhaps a theme of lost and found would spark your creativity…

17. Afghanistan: Landay – A poetic form of self-contained syllabic couplets. The couplets are 9 syllables in the 1st line and 13 syllables in the 2nd line. The couplets reveal harsh truths using wit. The themes include love, sex, grief, war, separation, and homeland. There is no specific rhyme in Pasto but when written in English the couplets generally rhyme. This is poetry often only oral and mostly popular among women. A theme of body functions might be interesting, or not – it’s your choice…

18. Kenya: Utenzi* – A Swahili form of narrative poetry comprised of any number of 4 line stanzas. Each line has 8 syllables with lines 1, 2, and 3 rhyming and line 4 having a different rhyme which is carried through all subsequent stanzas. a/a/a/b, c/c/c/b, d/d/d/b…. The theme of the poem should be epic battles, heroism, or feats of valor.

19. Saudi Arabia: Ghazal – A 7th century Arabian form composed of 5 to 15 couplets that are structurally, thematically and emotionally autonomous. Each line is approximately the same length. There is no required meter or syllable count. The final couplet includes the poet’s name or name meaning. The rhyme scheme is: AA, bA, cA. dA, etc… Where A is a 1 -3 word phrase that is taken from the 1st line of the 1st couplet and occurs at the end of the second line in all subsequent couplets. I’d like to suggest a theme of what living you can do in a day, night, week, month, year, or a lifetime – your choice.

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20. India: Abhanga* – A form from the 13th – 17th century originating in the Marathi region of India. It is composed of multiple quatrains with a syllable count per line of 6/6/6/4 and a corresponding rhyme scheme of x/a/a/x where x is an unrhymed line. Internal rhymes often occur. This form is used for devotional, cynical and reflective poems and is often satirical. A theme of what you are devoted to or a reflection of devotion misplaced…

21. Bangladesh: Tripadi – A form from the Bengali region written in tercets (3 line stanzas). There is no stated limit to the number of stanzas. Each tercet has a strict syllable count of 8/8/10 and a rhyme scheme of a/a/x where x is an unrhymed line. Oh, a theme of the joy of living would be nice unless you want to do the reverse…

22. Myanmar (Burma): Than Bauk – A syllabic form with chained internal rhymes. There are 3 lines per stanza and a syllable count of 4 syllables per line. The rhyme is the last syllable of the 1st line rhymes with the third syllable of the 2nd line and the second syllable of the 3rd line. The stanzas are chained together by using the fourth syllable of the 3rd line to start another tercet. I’m going to suggest a theme that moves from night to day, or life to death, or sad to happy, or even love to hate – you get to pick!

23. Thailand: Raay or Rai – A stanzic poem written in couplets of 5 syllables. The couplet is chain rhymed where the last syllable of the 1st line of the couplet is rhymed with the first syllable of the 2nd line of the couplet. There is no limit to the number of couplets. The theme is ‘go crazy’ as in how do you cut loose?

24. Vietnam: Thơ bảy chữ (7 word poetry) – Most forms are named for the syllable, word, or line count of the poem. Because of the musical and complicated rhythm and rhyme of Vietnamese poetry, it is rich in wordplay. Onomatopoeia is common. It contains direct imagery (phu), metaphoric imagery (ti), and emotion/tone (hung) which are all in balance. This form is written in quatrains having 7 words per line and a rhyme scheme of a/a/x/a, b/b/x/b, c/c/x/c… or x/a/x/a, x/b/x/b, x/c/x/c…  I think a theme of a runaway always longing for a home sounds good! But it is only a suggestion!

25. Korea: Hyangga* – The oldest form of Korean poetry. This form uses a 7/9/9/7 syllable count in a single quatrain. Repetition and alliteration is used. They have religious or philosophical themes and often discuss death. Yes, a theme of death could be explored.

26. China: Chueh-chu – A form of meter and rhyme considered a Chinese “sonnet cut short”. It is composed of 2 quatrains of lines of 7 syllables having a caesura (pause or break) after the 4th syllable. This form uses either the rhyme scheme of a/a/x/a, x/a/x/a  OR  x/a/x/a, x/a/x/a  OR  a/a/x/a, a/a/x/a. A theme of Right versus Wrong, Calm versus Storm, Happiness versus Sorrow would be nice or pick your own opposites…

27. Japan: Sedoka* – A pair of Katauta written as a question and answer between two lovers. The Katauta is a syllabic form of three lines with a syllable count of 5/7/7 that is specifically addressed to a lover.

28. Java: Sekar ageng – This form is traditionally a recited song. The modern form is quatrains (4 line stanzas) with 17 syllables per line. The lines are divided by caesurae after sections of 4 syllables, 6 syllables and 7 syllables in that order. A theme of what makes you smile is my suggestion!

29. Malaysia: Pantoum – A form of interlocking quatrains (4 line stanzas) where lines 2 and 4 become lines 1 and 3 of the following quatrain. There must be a minimum of 3 stanzas but there is no maximum limit. The lines can be of any length. The rhyme scheme is a/b/a/b, b/c/b/c, c/d/c/d etc. To close use lines 1 and 3 of the first verse as lines 2 and 4 of the last verse or use them as a rhyming couplet e.g. z/a/z/a or a/a.  We haven’t really touched on a theme of anger – you pick the kind (jilted love, spurned affections, redirected, red hot, unbridled, righteous, murderous), all kinds can come to mind…

30. Philippines: Tanaga – A Filipino form composed of 4 lines with 7 syllables per line and written as a monorhyme. The theme is poet’s choice – write whatever you like!!

Looking at Poems Around the World