The Sonnet with Bhisham Bherwani

This class is now full! To be added to the waitlist, please email gabriella@poetshouse.org.

Six Wednesdays, April 10–May 15

The sonnet has been remarkably malleable in the hands of post-Romantic, modern, and contemporary poets, who, from Hopkins to Berryman and beyond, have adapted it for their own aesthetics and impulses. This centuries-old form, used traditionally to channel grief, love, joy, and faith, capable of responding to art and mythology, nature and science, history and politics, has been enlarged to embrace the urgent and ever-expanding sociopolitical issues of our time.

In this series of workshops, we will through close readings of selected sonnets consider how to resourcefully approach and apply the form for our personal interests. As we outline, compose, and revise sonnets, broader discussions will converge on individual projects.

The workshop will lead to the development and review of a short manuscript by each participant, a revealing and instructive exercise that will set the stage for ongoing engagement with the form.

Class Dates:
Wednesday, April 10, 6–8:30pm
Wednesday, April 17, 6–8:30pm
Wednesday, April 24, 6–8:30pm
Wednesday, May 1, 6–8:30pm
Wednesday, May 8, 6–8:30pm
Wednesday, May 15, 6–8:30pm

Bhisham Bherwani is the author of three poetry books. His essays have appeared in the American Poetry Review, The American Reader, Pleiades, Rain Taxi, The Yale Review, and other places. He was educated at Cornell University and New York University. He lives in New York City.