Thank you NetGalley and University Of Iowa Press for the chance to read this book.

While I wasn't able to complete all of it, I really loved most of the sonnets selected and I will probably end up purchasing this so that I can read the essays in peace. I really love that they add a little para after each sonnet.

WEDNESDAYS WITH DENISE: JANUARY 11, 2023

If you are, like me, endlessly fascinated with the sonnet and all it can hold, you’ll want to get yourself a copy of The American Sonnet: An Anthology of Poems and Essays by Dora Malechand Laura T. Smith which will be released tomorrow by University Of Iowa Press. From Phyllis Wheatley to Diane Suess, from Muriel Rukeyser to Patricia Smith, this anthology captures the flexibility and durability of the form. In addition to sonnets old and new, there are essays following each entry. A true delight of a book!

The first one-third of this book is an anthology of sonnets by American poets that highlight some of the characteristics of form and content that evolved in America. Therefore, one shouldn’t expect these to all be fourteen lines of iambic pentameter. America is the land of Whitman, and discomfort with strict rules and constraining requirements along with a desire to etch one’s individuality and voice into all activities is part of what makes a thing American. It’s an enchanting and suitably diverse (also an inherently American requirement) selection of poems, and I think all poetry readers would enjoy reading it. Included among the almost 100 poets are: Walt Whitman, Phillis Wheatley, Natasha Trethewey, Robert Frost, Langston Hughes, Gwendolyn Brooks, Agha Shahid Ali, Claude McKay, Edna St. Vincent Millay, e.e. cummings, Countee Cullen, Natalie Diaz, Emma Lazarus, Terrance Hayes, Muriel Rukeyser, Sylvia Plath, James Wright, Gertrude Stein, Paul Lawrence Dunbar, Ralph Waldo Emerson, and Lucille Clifton. The poets run the gamut from the Colonial Era to present-day heavyweights, and their works approach the sonnet from perfectly conventionally to wildly experimentally.

The remainder of the book is a collection of short essays that discuss various aspects of the sonnet in America. While the editors don’t explicitly group the essays, I would put them in three baskets. First, there are those essays that examine the work of a particular poet and discuss that artist’s influence on the sonnet. Second, some of the essays examine sonnets through the lens of a particular demographic and investigate how poets of that demographic have influenced, been influenced by, or modified the sonnet, be it those of a particular race, sexual identity, place on the autistic spectrum, etc. Third, most of the other essays explore technical aspects such as line length, rhyme schemes, metering, etc.

As I mentioned, I believe poetry readers will enjoy the selection of poems anthologized, herein. The essays are another matter. They are much more of a mixed bag for poets and poetry readers and are more geared toward other scholars. That is to say, some of them are both interesting and useful for poets and poetry readers, but others will probably not be of much interest to the non-academic reader. While the essays are brief and most are quite readable, a number of them either delve into arcane matters or tumble so deeply down the rabbit-hole of wokeness that it’s hard to grasp what the author’s point is (or whether he or she has one.)

If you enjoy poetry and are interested in the American influence on the sonnet, this book is well worth reading – at least the poems and a selection of the essays.

This year I have been on a mission to broaden my poetry knowledge and I think I hit the jackpot when I found this anthology. Before starting this, I had no idea there was a difference between Sonnets and thought all of them were the same. After reading this I now know that is not the case and appreciate the work that the collaborators put into this to put together a great selection of sonnets that really capture the American spritit and the diversity that comes with poems.

The amount and variety of the sonnets offered in this anthology was appreciated. It provided a great diversity of poets in one single space, both new and old, current and past, many generations and races. The selections are great for those who want to start their poetry collection and knowledge.

The issue I had was with the essays, the both went into way to much detail and also not enough at the same time. My favorite essay was Deafing the Sonnet by Meg Day where she described her experience as a deaf poet and the compared it to other poets who were disabled that were included in the anthology. The shared experiences brought them to life of what the mindset must have been brining the poet to life in a whole new way. I loved that personalization and wished there were more essays that had a similar feel, it took a 200 year old poem I was not interested in and gave it new life.

Final Thoughts: I enjoyed the wide variety of sonnet options collected but, did not enjoy the essays as much. Great for a beginner who wants to get into American sonnets and to have a great reference looking back on for research purposes.

Disclaimer: Thank you Netgalley and University Of Iowa Press for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

I was so looking forward to this book but my kindle electronic arc was unfortunately unreadable--pages of symbols and finally the poems with lines and form all jumbled. I would love to preview this book to consider it for teaching but this copy did not allow for that

So grateful to have received this beautiful book of sonnets and analysis. I will say that the display was a bit strange electronically, making it somewhat difficult to read; however, the actual content of the book was excellent. I loved the choice of sonnets and having an analysis allowed me to get deeper into the poem. Thank you!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of this anthology in exchange for my honest opinion. I enjoyed the scope of sonnets presented here, and there were several that I did not know, despite being an English major and literature teacher. I did feel a bit disappointed that there was not more analysis of each sonnet, which is why I requested the book. I can find any number of sonnets online; I really wanted a deep analysis that I could possible bring into my AP Literature classroom. Regardless, this is an excellent anthology.