A History of the Sonnet: Lecture and Discussion

The Lyric and the Argument: A History of the Sonnet Lecture and Discussion

The sonnet may be poetry’s most enduring form. From the Court of Sicily in the thirteenth century to the contemporary American poetry scene, its history is full of wild turns and reinventions. For centuries, poets have channeled the power of the sonnet’s 14 lines. This talk will provide an overview of the form’s origins followed by a discussion of significant examples from the English Romantics, the Harlem Renaissance, and the current practitioners who have reinvigorated the form. Poets to be discussed include Dante, Petrarch, Percy Bysshe Shelley, William Wordsworth, Robert Frost, Claude McKay, Gwendolyn Brooks, Philip Larkin, Terrance Hayes, Ada Limón, Tyehimba Jess, and others.

About the Presenter: Gwen North Reiss has published poetry in Rhino, Connecticut River Review, Mom Egg Review, Dogwood, In Print, and other literary magazines. Her poem Willow was awarded the 2025 Nutmeg Prize from the Connecticut Poetry Society, and a poem on Alexander Calder was included in the 2023 Connecticut Literary Anthology. She was a recipient of the Rachel Wetzsteon Award at the 92^nd Street Y’s Unterberg Poetry Center (2012). Reiss also writes about modern architecture. She is the author of New Canaan Modern: A Preservation History and a poetry chapbook, Notes on Metals.