DEFINITIONS OF POETRY TYPES

Acrostic -- a poem in which the subject is spelled vertically and each line begins with a word that starts with the designated letter.
The following books are collections of acrostic poems around a theme:
Belle, Jennifer.  Animal Stackers.  Illus. by David McPhail.  Hyperion, 2005
Harley, Avis.  African Acrostics: A Word in Edgeways.  Photos by Deborah Noyes.  Candlewick, 2009.  Gr. 4-6
Hummon, David.  Animal Acrostics.  Illus. by Michael Maydak.  Dawn Publ., 1999
Powell, Consie.  Amazing Apples.  Albert Whitman, 2003
Schnur, Stephen.  Autumn: An Alphabet Acrostic.  Illus. by Leslie Evans.  Clarion, 1997.  Also Spring (1999), Summer (2001), and Winter (2002)

Cinquain -- a five-line poem of 22 syllables following this pattern of syllables: 2, 4, 6, 8, 2

Clerihew -- a four-line poem about a person, in which the first line is the person’s name. The rhyme scheme is aabb.

Concrete poem -- words are written in a shape associated with the subject of the poem
The poems in the following books are all examples of concrete poetry:
Burg, Brad.  Outside the Lines: Poetry at Play.  Illus. by Rebecca Gibbon.  Putnam, 2002
Graham, Joan Blashfield.  Flicker Flash.  Illus. by Nancy Davis.  Houghton Mifflin, 1999
Graham, Joan Blashfield.  Splish Splash.  Illus. by Steve Scott.  Sandpiper, 2001
Janeczko, Paul (Sel.).  A Poke in the I.  Illus. by Chris Raschka.  Candlewick, 2001
Lewis, J. Patrick.  Doodle Dandies: Poems That Take Shape.  Illus. by Lisa Desimini.  Atheneum, 1998
Roemer, Heidi.  Come to My Party and Other Shape Poems.  Illus. by Hideko Takahashi.  Henry Holt, 2004
Sidman, Joyce.  Meow Ruff: A Story in Concrete Poetry.  Illus. by Michelle Berg.  Houghton Mifflin, 2006

Couplet -- two lines of verse that rhyme
The following book is a collection of humorous couplets:
Singer, Marilyn.  Twosomes: Love Poems from the Animal Kingdom.  Illus. by Lee Wildish.  Knopf, 2010

Diamante -- a poem of seven lines in the following pattern:
line 1: noun – one word that is the subject of the poem (the opposite of the last line in the poem)
line 2: two adjectives that describe the subject
line 3: three words ending in “ing” or “ed” that describe the subject
line 4: two words that are about the subject in the first line
two words that are about the subject in the last line
line 5: three words ending in “ing” or “ed” that describe the subject of the last line
line 6: two adjectives that describe the subject of the last line
line 7: noun -- one word that is the opposite of the word in the first line

Found poem -- taken from a piece of writing that was not originally written as poetry, such as a diary entry or newspaper article, and arranged on the page as a poem. The following collection further defines found poetry and includes examples from many different sources:
Heard, Georgia.  The Arrow Finds Its Mark: A Book of Found Poems.  Illus. by Antoine Guilloppé.  Roaring Brook, 2012

Free verse -- lines of poetry written without a rhyme scheme

Haiku -- unrhymed Japanese poem traditionally about some aspect of nature. The form is typically three lines with the following syllable pattern: 5-7-5.
The following books are collections of haiku:
Clements, Andrew.  Dogku.  Illus. by Tim Bowers.  Atheneum, 2007
Grimes, Nikki.  A Pocketful of Poems.  Illus. by Javaka Steptoe.  Clarion, 2001  (contains a free verse
        poem and a haiku on every double-paged spread)
Issa.  Today and Today.  Illus. by G. Brian Karas.  Scholastic, 2007
Mannis, Celeste D.  One Leaf Rides the Wind.  Illus. by Susan K. Hartung.  Viking, 2002
Prelutsky, Jack.  If Not for the Cat.  Illus. by Ted Rand.  Greenwillow, 2004
Raczka, Bob.  Guyku: A Year of Haiku for Boys.  Illus. by Peter H. Reynolds.  Houghton Mifflin, 2010
Rosen, Michael J.  The Cuckoo’s Haiku: And Other Birding Poems.  Illus. by Stan Fellows.  Candlewick, 2009
Rosen, Michael.  The Hound Dog's Haiku: And Other Poems for Dog Lovers.  Illus. by Mary Azarian.
        Candlewick, 2011
Wardlaw, Lee.  Won Ton: A Cat Tale Told in Haiku.  Illus. by Eugene Yelchin.  Henry Holt, 2011

Limerick -- a generally humorous, five-line verse in which lines 1, 2, and 5 rhyme, and lines 3 and 4 rhyme with each other
Books of limericks tend to have older copyright dates. Individual limericks can usually be found in anthologies of poetry.
These two websites are helpful:
How to Write a Limerick, from Bruce Lansky’s “Giggle Poetry”
Detailed instructions for young people about how to write a limerick
Edward Lear’s Nonsense Works
Texts of hundreds of Lear’s limericks from several different works

List Poem -- a free verse poem that describes or lists attributes of a particular topic.
The following book is a collection of list poems:
Heard, Georgia (Ed.).  Falling Down the Page: A Book of List Poems.  Roaring Brook, 2009.

Persona poem -- a poem written from the point of view of the subject of the poem
The following book is a collection of personal poems:
Janeczko, Paul.  Dirty Laundry Pile.  Illus. by Melissa Sweet.  HarperCollins, 2001.
Schertle, Alice.  Button Up!: Wrinkled Rhymes.  Illus. by Petra Mathers.  Harcourt, 2009

Poem of address -- written as though speaking to a person or object

Quatrain -- a four-line poem with a rhyme scheme of abab or aabb

Senryu -- poem of three lines (a haiku) about human nature with the following syllable pattern: 5-7-5

Tercet -- a three-line poem that rhymes

For definitions of more types of poetry and sample poems of each, see A Kick in the Head: An Everyday Guide to Poetic Forms by Paul B. Janeczko, illustrated by Chris Raschka, (Candlewick, 2005) or Fly with Poetry: An ABC of Poetry written and illustrated by Avis Harley (Wordsong, 2000).