 |
The Cinquain
|
Cinquains are free verse - five line poems of twenty-two syllables distributed as
follows: 2, 4, 6, 8, 2. [We do not accept "word-count cinquains."]
Each line may have initial capitalization. Each poem may be one or more sentences; complete sentences are not prohibited. Cinquains were invented and written by Adelaide Crapsey in 1909-1914; she was strongly influenced by haiku. See Crapsey's Cinquains for her own fine examples.
| Rhyme is not usual, but it is not prohibited. Cinquains often are iambic except that the last line may be spondaic (two stressed syllables), but they are just as likely to be trochaic. Cinquains are complete in one stanza, but they may be linked to form longer poems. There are no set rules beyond the syllable-count and line-lengths. Initial capitalization, complete sentences - these things vary among poets and they should. We will accept linked cinquains, mirror cinquains (2, 4, 6, 8, 2, 2, 8, 6, 4, 2), centered forms, and other experimental forms, within our editorial discretion. |
|
Sample Cinquain: Empty Sea
Stony
Published in Templar Phoenix Literary Review, Summer 2000.
| |