Sonnets and how we understand the world...

I spent a lot of time doing a surface introduction to various forms of sonnets yesterday in Brit Lit. I have no clue if any of it stuck, or if they even care. I started with Emma Lazarus' "The New Colossus," and I did, in fact, see some lightbulbs go on. Whether they are in agreement --that this country was founded to welcome the poor, tired immigrants-- or if they are more aligned with the current policies, I have no idea. But it's worth looking at where we started, where we went from there, and where we are now. I, of course, will not share my opinions-- that might be seen in a poor light nowadays-- but the literature does not lie. 

So why do we read literature? Empathy. Connections with our past, and the global past. To see for ourselves what struggles mankind has engaged with, over and over again. 

As I'm fond of telling students, people don't change-- just the date does. 

We also listened to two videos of Terrence Hayes reading from his collection of sonnets titled American Sonnet for My Past and Future Assassin. It is a devastating and brilliant collection of reflections on the lived experience of black men in America in our current times. This is one of the poems I shared. I hope you like it, too.

Today, then, I am hopeful that not only sonnet logic reigns in my classroom, but maybe the understanding that sonnets (and poetry in the general) can grapple with hard things in a way that can help us make some sense of it all. 

Have a good day, friends. Hug your loved ones.

C




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