Tara Connor on Substack: "NaPoWriMo Day 27! Substack Version Prompt: 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 li…"

NaPoWriMo Day 27! Substack Version

Prompt: 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) poets.org/poem/american…
Terence Hayes’s American Sonnet for the New Year poets.org/poem/american…
Ted Berrigan’s Sonnet LXXXVIII poets.org/poem/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 write253.com/american-s…

And remember, if it works for you, come back here to this Note to share your poem, your process, your thoughts. Or a link taking us there.

Happy Writing, Everyone!

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Apr 27