Sherlock Holmes: 60 for 60

Welcome once again to my poetry page!

I hope each week you will read Dr. Watson’s delightful narrative and then go on to write a poem related to it in some way. All forms of poetry are permitted, and further down the page there is a selection you might like to consider using over the coming weeks.

And here, courtesy of my housemaid Rachel, is this week’s suggested poem to read—a suggestion inspired by the themes and subjects in this week's story. Hopefully you will enjoy the poem, and perhaps it may give you some ideas for a poem of your own or allow you to look at Dr. Watson's story in a new way.



The Raspberry Room

By Karin Gottshall


Note from Rachel: It must have been nightmarish for Mrs. Lucca to remain hidden in that room, never sure when violent disaster might overtake her husband or herself. I hope that she had a memory like the one described in this poem, of a refuge where - through blood and struggle - she could feel safe at last.



Thank you so much to Rachel. And I thought we could also have a go at a new poetry form: the hay(na)ku.

( Definition and Example )



But you do not have to use that form. Any form of poetry is welcome this week—and every week! Here are a few suggestions for you:

221B verselet, abecedarian poetry, acrostic poetry, alexandrine, ballad, beeswing, blackout poetry, blitz poem, blues stanza, bref double, Burns stanza, call and response, chastushka, cinquain, circular poetry, clerihew, colour poems, compound word verse, concrete poetry, Cornish verse, curtal sonnet, diamante, doggerel, double dactyl, echo verse, ekphrasis, elegiac couplet, elegiac stanza, elfje, englyn, epigram, epistle, epitaph, epulaeryu, Etheree, fable, Fib, florette, found poetry, free verse, ghazal, haiku, hay(na)ku, In Memoriam stanza, Italian sonnet, jueju, kennings poem, lanturne, lies, limerick, line messaging, list poem, lyric poetry, mathnawī, micropoetry, mini-monoverse, musette, nonsense verse, palindrome poetry, pantoum, Parallelismus Membrorum, poem cycle, quintilla, renga, rhyming alliterisen, riddle, rime couée, Schüttelreim, sedoka, septet, sestina, sonnet, stream of consciousness, tanka, tercet, terza rima, tongue twister poetry, triangular triplet, triolet, Tyburn, villanelle


Please leave all your poems inspired by The Red Circle in the comments on this post. I look forward to seeing them!


Warm regards,

Mrs. Hudson

Welcome once again to my poetry page!

I hope each week you will read Dr. Watson’s delightful narrative and then be inspired to write a poem related to it in some way. All forms of poetry are permitted, and further down the page there is a selection you might like to consider using over the coming weeks.

This week my featured form is the Italian sonnet.

( Definition and Example )



As always, this is simply something to consider for the future. Any form of poetry is welcome this week—and every week! Here are a few suggestions for you:

221B verselet, abecedarian poetry, acrostic poetry, alexandrine, beeswing, blackout poetry, blues stanza, bref double, call and response, chastushka, cinquain, circular poetry, clerihew, colour poems, concrete poetry, Cornish verse, curtal sonnet, diamante, doggerel, double dactyl, ekphrasis, elegiac couplet, englyn, epigram, epulaeryu, Etheree, fable, found poetry, ghazal, haiku, Italian sonnet, kennings poem, lanturne, limerick, lyric poetry, palindrome poetry, pantoum, poem cycle, quintilla, renga, riddle, rime couée, Schüttelreim, sedoka, septet, sestina, sonnet, tanka, tercet, terza rima, tongue twister poetry, triolet, tyburn, villanelle


Please leave all your poems inspired by The Red Circle in the comments on this post. I look forward to seeing them!


Warm regards,

Mrs. Hudson

This Sunday, 29th November, we'll be posting our 60 word ficlets for The Red Circle.

A landlady visits Holmes, determined to get his help. She is unnerved by her current lodger - a young man who never leaves the confines of his room, does everything for himself and only communicates in terse notes. Just what is the secret behind his curious behaviour?

If you haven't tried 60 for 60 before, full information - including our schedule - can be found on our profile. But in essence: you read ACD's story and then you write a 60 word story inspired by it! You don't have to post a story every week - just join in whenever you feel like it.

Each Sunday we will also have our weekly discussion post, and Mrs. Hudson's Poetry Page. Any poems inspired by this week’s story can be left as a comment on her post.

You can choose one activity, or have a go at everything. Or just come along and read the 60s! (And have a chat in the comments ^^) All options are absolutely fine.

Hope to see you on Sunday ^^