Do Poems Need Titles?
Quick answer: Do poems need titles? For submissions, yes in practice; artistically, no. When untitled poems work, what editors expect, and easy fixes for the title-shy.
Artistically, no: a poem does not need a title, and plenty of celebrated poems go without. Practically, yes: if you are submitting to magazines or contests, a title is expected, because editors need a way to refer to the poem and readers use it as a doorway. Emily Dickinson titled almost nothing, which is why her poems are known by first lines and numbers, but Dickinson was not filling in submission forms.
So the honest answer splits by situation. Writing for yourself, skip titles freely. Sending work into the world, give each poem a name, even a modest one. The middle path many poets take is using the first line as the title, which satisfies the form without forcing a naming decision.
Why the convention exists
Titles are infrastructure. Editors list them in tables of contents, judges refer to entries by them, and readers navigate collections through them. An untitled poem in a submission pile becomes 'Untitled', and if three poets in the same batch do it, the system creaks. None of this is about art; it is about the poem having a handle. Contest platforms usually require a title field filled in, and Writory's entry form is no exception, so the question answers itself the moment you decide to submit.
When untitled works
Sequences are the strongest case: a numbered series of short poems under one collection title often reads better than fifteen strained individual names. Dickinson's untitled poems gain a kind of intimacy, as if you have opened someone's notebook rather than a published artefact. Some contemporary poets use asterisks or numbers between sections for the same effect. Inside a book, these choices are available. In a submission of three single poems, they mostly are not.
Fixes for the title-shy
If naming poems feels false to you, there are honourable dodges.
What poets can take from this
- Always title poems you submit; save untitled experiments for your notebook or a sequence.
- When stuck, use the first line as the title and move on.
- Avoid 'Untitled' in submissions; it reads as indecision rather than mystery.
- Keep a running list of unused titles; they often generate new poems.
- If a poem resists every title, check whether it actually knows its own subject yet.
Try it yourself
Take three of your untitled drafts and give each one a title using a different strategy: a place name, a form name, and a phrase the poem never says. Notice which title changes how the poem reads.
Questions
Why did Emily Dickinson not title her poems?
She wrote mostly for herself and a small circle, sewing poems into private booklets rather than publishing. Titles serve readers and editors, and she rarely had either in mind. Later editors added the numbering systems we use now.
Does the title count toward a contest line limit?
Almost never; line limits apply to the body of the poem. Check each contest's rules, but a title is standard and expected rather than counted.
Can two of my poems have the same title?
Yes, poets do this deliberately, and many published poets have several poems called 'Self-Portrait' or 'Poem'. Within a single submission, though, give each piece a distinct title to avoid confusion.
By the Writory editorial team, reviewed by working poets. Updated July 2026.
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