ASYNCHONOUS with LIVE ELEMENTS:

Sonnets are like those mysterious architectural structures that are miraculously vaster on the inside than the view from outside could possibly promise. The sonnet, a poem of 14 lines and allegiance to a long tradition, is a podium from which to launch an argument, a clearing beneath the beloved’s balcony, a handheld mirror with plenty of scratches, a corral to keep the bad feelings tame. In this one-week asynchronous class (with an optional Zoom reading at the end), students will explore the sonnet through five different modes—rhyme, argument, I-Thou, “American,” and Surprise! We will read exemplary sonnets by Shakespeare, Henri Cole, Terrance Hayes, and others, and write our own sonnets daily. The goal will be to generate 5-10 drafts of sonnets in a week, and to see just how big this little form can be.