Paul Hoover’s Sonnet 56 mixes Love, Poetry, and Shakespeare in a marvelous grab bag of form, wit, and playfulness. Starting with Shakespeare’s sonnet 56 — Sweet love, renew thy force, be it not said / Thy edge should blunter be than appetite, — Hoover writes 56 poetic variations, turning Shakespeare’s sonnet into a series of new (and traditional) forms, including: “Villanelle,” “Noun Plus Seven,” “Limerick,” “Blues,” “Course Description,” “Flarf,” “Imagist,” “Tanka,” “Answering Machine,” “Rilke,” “Morse Code” and “Bad Writing.” The result is tender portrayal of love and an excellent survey of the possibilities within contemporary poetry.

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