The Alphabet Poems: an introduction

The Alphabet Poems is a series of poems, begun in July 2025, as both a creative outlet and a challenge to myself. The idea is to give myself a goal that would force me to deliver creative work that wasn't dependent on the support of others, meaning I could work on them whenever I had a few free minutes rather than have to book studio time/a gig, etc. The original schedule was to be one a week for half a year - 26 weeks - but I have already fallen short of that goal. I'm still holding on to that objective, though I'm allowing myself a certain amount of grace within that structure as long as I don't get too far behind.

Not that I don't welcome the occasional subtle or not-so-subtle nudge from friends - if you think I'm taking too long, or if you're dying for the next one, feel free to lean on me a little.

This will be a series of 26 poems, each containing a specific pre-chosen word starting with a different letter of the alphabet. The words themselves are chosen somewhat randomly - from whatever I happen to be reading or watching, or from ordinary conversation. If I think it's an interesting word that would lend itself to a good poem - or even a good challenge - and a word has not been chosen yet for that letter, I will add it to the list. 26 total, one for each letter of the alphabet.

That is the only rule that applies to the poems themselves; they may be short or long, serious or humorous, complex or simple, and the chosen words may be used multiple times, or only once, and may or may not be thematically important to the poem. Sticking to the randomness of them will, I suspect, keep me from attaching a leash to any of these, and will let them roam freely. This will be healthy for both me and my children.

Please keep checking in here regularly, and let me know what you think.