Spelling Bee Poetry

As a fan of wordplay and crossword puzzles, I enjoy the New York Times’ seasonal Puzzle Mania section. In particular, the two-page Super Mega crossword grid is a mind-magnet that demands attention until complete.

This year, the section included winners from a writing contest based on the Times’ Spelling Bee game, with modified rules to allow for short words and proper nouns. The entries are worth a read regardless of your interest in the game – they are pithy, punchy, and in some cases genuinely poetic. Like many poem forms, I think the limited letter palette is a constructive creative constraint.

Posted on Tuesday, December 30th, 2025.