Today, as part of the poem-a-day challenge, we wrote an American sonnet. Still 14 lines as the traditional sonnet, but much freer in meter and rhyme.
I used Maureen Thorson’s (Napowrimo.net) suggested prompt & formula from Write253.com (shared below).
It was a welcome prompt on this Day 27 of our challenge. I also tried a new way of presenting the poem on my blog. I am pretty pleased with the outcome. The inspiration from songs or musical genres (part of the process) was the deep emotional song by Melody Gardot (also linked below). Like Frida Kahlo, Gardot was injured in a serious accident at a very young age (bus for Kahlo and bicycle for Gardot). Painting saved Frida and music saved Melody.
The Prompt: And now for our prompt – optional, as always! Today we’d like to challenge you to write an “American sonnet.” What’s that? Well, it’s like a regular sonnet but . . . fewer rules? Like a traditional Spencerian or Shakespearean sonnet, an American sonnet is shortish (generally 14 lines, but not necessarily!), discursive, and tends to end with a bang, but there’s no need to have a rhyme scheme or even a specific meter. Here are a few examples:
- Wanda Coleman’s American Sonnet (10)
- Terence Hayes’s American Sonnet for the New Year
- Ted Berrigan’s Sonnet LXXXVIII
If you’d like more specific instructions for how to get started, Write 253 has a great “formula” prompt for an American sonnet, which you can find here.
Jacquelyn Markham, poet & writer, author of Rainbow Warrior, Finishing Line Press (2023), Peering Into the Iris: An Ancestral Journey and China Baby, among other titles. She offers writing & creativity guidance through Moonflower Mentoring.
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