Light poetry, also called light verse, is poetry that attempts to be humorous. Poems considered "light" are usually brief, and can be on a frivolous or serious subject, and often feature wordplay, including puns, adventurous rhyme and heavy alliteration. Typically, light verse in English is formal verse, although a few free verse poets, such as Billy Collins, have excelled at light verse outside the formal verse tradition.
While light poetry is sometimes condemned as doggerel, or thought of as poetry composed casually, humor often makes a serious point in a subtle or subversive way. Many of the most renowned "serious" poets, such as Horace, Swift, Pope and Auden, have also excelled at light verse.
In English, poets who are well known for their light poetry include:
Kay Ryan: Online Resources This guide compiles links to resources on newly appointed U.S. Poet Laureate Kay Ryan throughout the Library of Congress Web site and elsewhere on the Web. Librarian of Congress Appoints Kay Ryan Poet Laureate Librarian of Congress James H. Billington today announced the appointment of Kay Ryan as the Library’s 16th Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry for 2008-2009. Joseph Brodsky: Online Resources This guide compiles links to resources on former poet laureate Joseph Brodsky on the Library of Congress Web site and other English-language sites. United States Poets Laureate: Frequently Asked Questions Answers to some of the most frequently asked questions about the U.S. poet laureateship. New Guides to Poets Laureate Available New Web guides to online resources for former U.S. poets laureate Stanley Kunitz, Robert Pinsky, Rita Dove, and Robert Hass are now available. Poet Laureate Charles Simic Gives Swan Song Lecture Charles Simic made the final appearance of his tenure as U.S. Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry when he presented a lecture on poetry translation at the Library of Congress.
Mary at the Tattoo Shop Marcus Jackson Mon, 14 Jul 2008 04:00:00 -0000 She counted her money
before we went in,
avenue beside us anxious
with Friday-evening traffic.
Both fourteen, we shared a Newport,
its manila butt salty to our lips.
Inside, from a huge book
of designs and letter styles,
she chose to get “MARY”
in a black, Old English script . . . Thirteen Hundred Rats T. Coraghessan Boyle Mon, 30 Jun 2008 04:00:00 -0000 There was a man in our village who never in his life had a pet of any kind until his wife died. By my calculation, Gerard Loomis was in his mid-fifties when Marietta was taken from him, but at the ceremony in the chapel he looked so scorched and . . . Songs of a Season Maureen N. McLane Mon, 30 Jun 2008 04:00:00 -0000 for here or to go--
a glass mug, a paper cup--
life is fast, art slow
only a few years
before all that I am blows
free, subatomic
not for me that life
the careless joy of the dog
not for me that leap
how to say
beautiful weekend
in . . . After Love Jack Gilbert Mon, 30 Jun 2008 04:00:00 -0000 He is watching the music with his eyes closed.
Hearing the piano like a man moving
through the woods thinking by feeling.
The orchestra up in the trees, the heart below,
step by step. The music hurrying sometimes,
but always returning to quiet, like the man
remembering and hoping. It . . . The Evening Is Tranquil, and Dawn Is a Thousand Miles Away Charles Wright Mon, 23 Jun 2008 04:00:00 -0000 The mares go down for their evening feed
into the meadow grass.
Two pine trees sway the invisible wind--
some sway, some don’t sway.
The heart of the world lies open, leached and ticking with sunlight
For just a minute or so.
The mares have their heads on the ground . . . Return of the Prodigal Charles Wright Mon, 23 Jun 2008 04:00:00 -0000 Now comes summer, water clear, clouds heavy with weeping.
Tall grasses are silver-veined.
Little puddles of sunlight collect
in low places deep in the woods.
Lupine and paintbrush stoic in ditch weed,
larch rust a smear on the mountainside.
No light on ridge line.
Zodiac pinwheels across the heavens . . .
Funny Poems and Poetry - Over 50 categories of humourous and twisted poems.
Meta Description: [ Funny poems and poetry. Whether you're a poet or not, submit your funny poem or choose from 50 categories - twisted romantic love poems, silly birthday, wedding or humorous poems. ]
Light Quarterly - Light is a literary journal published today and is devoted to light verse.The site includes some excerpts from the print edition, plus submission information.
Meta Description: [ LIGHT is the only magazine available in this country devoted exclusively to light verse, satire, cartoons, parodies, and word-play. ]
Poems on Jane Austen - An online collection of mostly light and satirical verse dealing with Jane Austen and her works, including a selection of limericks.
Tea and Puns - Whimsical wordplay on life by various women.