READ THIS: 77 Love Sonnets by Garrison Keillor
“When I was 16, Helen Fleischman assigned me to memorize Shakespeare’s Sonnet No. 29, ‘When in disgrace with fortune and men’s eyes, I all alone beweep my outcast state’ for English class, and fifty years later, that poem is still in my head. Algebra got washed away, and geometry and most of biology, but those lines about the redemptive power of love in the face of shame are still here behind my eyeballs, more permanent than my own teeth. The sonnet is a durable good. These 77 of mine include sonnets of praise, some erotic, some lamentations, some street sonnets and a 12-sonnet cycle of months. If anything here offends, I beg your pardon, I come in peace, I depart in gratitude.”
He doesn't have to convince us of the importance of English class! Peachy Deegan NAMED Whom You Know after her 10th grade English class at Miss Porter's School. Keillor pens a lucky number of 77 Sonnets in brevity and style. These are some of the most moving poems we have seen in quite awhile. They are original, authentic, and thought-provoking, and for anyone that wants to see depth in literature, this is a great place to find it. Keillor brings the reader a gift that they in turn will want to buy to give as a gift, ideally for Valentine's day! We recommend picking it up at Borders.
In particular we like the months of the year Sonnets at the conclusion. There is even a sonnet on Manhattan! There are so many good ones, we won't give anything away but there is a long list of ones we like, including:
Upper East Side
Christine
Ulysses
Supper
Deep Hole
Hoops
Bad News
We recommend 77 Love Sonnets! Which are your favorite?