How to use this Page

Happy National Poetry Month! All throughout April, we will interview poets about working in this digital age. Recently, we spoke with Tumblr poet Erik Didriksen.

Q: How did you begin to write Pop Sonnets?
A: I came across a Tumblr post where Macklemore’s “Thrift Shop” was recast as a Shakespearean sonnet. I thought it was brilliant, and I was desperate to read more songs-turned-sonnets. When I couldn’t find any, I tried writing one myself. That ended up being so much fun, I just kept going. After a week or two, I had a small pile of sonnets! My girlfriend Becca told me I should turn them into a Tumblr, and eventually I relented.

Q: How did Tumblr become an outlet for you to write poetry?
A: I started using Tumblr simply as a place to put the sonnets, but it became a source of motivation very, very quickly. If I’d told myself I’d write a sonnet a week solely for my own amusement, I would’ve inevitably petered out. Knowing there are real people expecting to see my work, though, is incredibly motivating. The wonderful thing about Tumblr is that people actively seek out their interests; my work was first discovered by people who really wanted to read poetry or Shakespeare-related content.

Q: What type of research process do you undergo for when you’re writing poems?
A: A pop sonnet starts with me reading and re-reading lyrics. I’ll occasionally visit Rap Genius if anything’s unclear to me. I tend to lean pretty heavily on my rhyming dictionary, my thesaurus, and Shakespeare’s Compete Works as reference materials. I’ve also needed to do some extra research on Elizabethan grammar — “thees” and “thous” did not come naturally to me — and other historical elements here and there. On rare occasions, I’ll hunt around Wikipedia for things ranging from ancient scholars (Sam Cooke’s “Wonderful World”) to different spices (The Spice Girls’ “Wannabe”).

Q: Do you have any tips for people who want to read and perform poetry in front of an audience?
A: Be expressive! If something’s inspired you to write or perform a poem, don’t back away from sharing that emotion. Also — at least with sonnets — don’t feel beholden to the structure. If a phrase runs over two lines, you need not emphasize the line break if it doesn’t clarify the meaning. The rhyme and rhythm will take care of themselves; the meaning and emotion are up to you.

Q: What advice can you share for aspiring poets?
A: Don’t be shy; share your work with others. Write a lot. Be merciless in your editing. Ask for help when you need it. Be detail-oriented.

Q: What’s next for you?
A: These days, I’m finalizing the last details of the book (coming out this October!) and catching up on sonnets for the blog. I’m also working on a possible collaboration with my friend Ian Doescher, the author of the William Shakespeare’s Star Wars series. It’ll involve a lot of verse and a lot of fun!

In honor of National Poetry Month, we’ve dug up a video of Ugly Betty actor Michael Urie performing a poetry recitation. Urie delivered a reading of William Shakespeare’s Sonnet #18 at the 2013 Sonnet Slam.

The purpose behind this annual New York City event is to commemorate the anniversary of the Bard of Avon’s birthday. What’s your favorite Shakespearean sonnet?

Your sheet metal doth th’ impression fill
Which sanctioned sponsors stamped upon my bonnet;
What cares Tonto for foreign cars,
The horse is happy in my carburetor.
You are my Daytona,
My fruitful Dale,
None else to me, nor I to none alive,
Can take your place at the pole.
In so profound abyss am I lapped,
Of others’ voices in the pitstop.
To suffer such outlandish abuse in switching lanes
Mark with my bumper I do dispense.
You are so strongly in my engine block bred,
No longer do I mourn, now the flag is raised.

O thou, my lovely midget clowns, who in thy power

Dost hold laughter’s fickle glass, his sickle, hour;

Who hast by paint and grease, and therein show'st

Thy detractors withering as thy sweet self n'er grow'st;

If Nature, sovereign mistress over ring,

As thou amuse us, still will pluck thee back.

The New Yorker recently published “The Facebook Sonnet” by Sherman Alexie. The poem follows the AB-AB/CD-CD/EF-EF/GG rhyme scheme of the Shakespearean sonnet.

Here is a couplet from the piece: “Let’s sign up, sign in, and confess / Here at the altar of loneliness.” What do you think?

In the past, Alexie has published several poetry collections including The Business of Fancydancing (1991) and Dangerous Astronomy (2005). He also wrote the illustrated young-adult title, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian (2007).

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

We've had electric problems in our building all week so I'm having a diminished web presence problem. Sorry, folks. However, I leave you with this sonnet from Dave P, who gets special points because he wrote it for fun long after the contest was over. Thanks, Dave! Sonnet by Dave P I like you, I really, really like you! I usually disregard the 'osphere But for something that catches the eye

Just a quick plug to my man Greg. I've been sloooooowly sending my Newbery books off to his new elementary school library in California (I sent one this week, Greg!) and I'm scratching my head here trying to figure out if I've ever successfully plugged his Oddaptations. You all know about the Gotta Book Oddaptations, right? They're like CliffNotes for picture books. Well Greg has created a new beaut based on Guess How Much I Love You. If you haven't taken a pass at any of these before, scroll down and check out The Oddaptations in the sidebar. Choice stuff.