#interview with the sonnet

[haveyoureadthispoem-poll]

"AE: Some say that you’re oppressive—you have 'rules'— S: Games have rules, and who do they oppress? The children that are playing them I guess! Rules are the engine powering so much play. AE: But something we associate with schools…"

Read it here | Reblog for a larger sample size!

[mehmetyildizmelbourne-blog]

Meet Lata Kokal

In this interview, Dr Mehmet Yildiz introduces you to one of his favorite authors Lata Kokal. She was known before as Neha Sonney. I have been following her stories and poems for a long time. Her contributions to this platform are commendable. I also enjoy her books and speeches about self-love. Here is the link to the interview: Interview with Lata Kokal (Neha Sonney) A book author, an…

[rustbeltjessie]

A new notebook for a new poetry project.

As mentioned a few posts prior to this one, I save everything. But I downright hoard notebooks/sketchbooks/journals. (Truly, if I were a dragon, I would be a dragon with a notebook hoard.) People gift them to me a lot; also, when I have extra $$ and see a pretty notebook or sketchbook, I buy it. That way, I always have a large stack (hoard) of unused blank books, and whenever I need one for a new project, I have many to choose from.

(May 1, 2023)

[eyestrain-addict]

His He/They aura has bewitched me body and soul

[shittypoetrybutidc]

Amongst the Court

My father told me to watch you, as you entertained the court

Your tumblr and fall, with silly little lines,

You distract them, act a fool, to prevent le mort.

You know the states' secrets but you share only lies.

I know I am meant to love you, even though it is a sin,

I am to be the next ruler, the only rightful heir,

Yet, I hold such desire for you, painfully, within,

But you approach me after the feast, all without a care.

I am told, by you, that the attraction is mutual.

When you make a fool, your objective is me,

And my smile, as I am brought down by an upcoming nuptial.

You'll forgive me, when I wed her, won't you, mon ami?

Unfortunately, that is all we will ever be: friends.

I will rule the country, and you, a means to politcal ends.

[youngirlsofrochefort]

.

[soracities]

Do you have any recs for beginners who want to write poetry? I love your blog so much!

there's a list of starter poetry recommendations for reading poetry here. For writing poetry I would recommend essays and nonfiction by poets: Upstream by Mary Oliver, Still Life with Lemons by Mark Doty, Now and Then: The Poet's Choice Columns by Robert Hass. If there are specific poets you like and admire, I would read their interviews to see how they themselves approach poetry and writing. I would also subscribe to Devin Kelly's Ordinary Plots substack, Padraig Ó'Tuama's Poetry Unbound (substack and podcast), and the On Being podcast's interviews with poets. There's also this section on The Poetry Society of America which features poets and writers interacting with either their own work, other's work, or simply discussing different aspects of writing and experiencing poetry.

I would also recommend really familiarising yourself with the technical aspects of poetry: poetic structures, rhyming schemes, language and all its textures etc., because those are the essential building blocks more than anything else. Practice writing poems following established formats: try your hand at an abcderian poem, or a sonnet, or a tanka, or a villanelle--the structural limitations are a good way to force yourself to really think about what you want to say and how you want to say it.

At the end of the day, the most important thing if you want to write is to read widely, and read often--and practice and practice and practice again. Learning to write anything is like training a muscle and you have to train and work it consistently. Hope this helps and best of luck with your writing endeavours anon 🤍

[notmysophie]

Hozier reading list

Literary references in Hozier music

Alighieri, Dante; Inferno

The story of Francesca da Rimini as told in canto V inspired the song Francesca.

The album Unreal Unearth is arranged as a journey through nine circles of hell as they are described in the Inferno part of the Divine Comedy.

The title of the song Through Me (the flood) is a reference to the first lines of canto III.

Hozier read the translation by Robert Pinsky (https://www.rte.ie/radio/radio1/clips/22285692/) 

Beckett, Samuel; Endgame

The song Wasteland, Baby! Takes inspiration from this play. (5 september 2023) (https://www.pastemagazine.com/music/hozier/cover-story-hozier-unreal-unearth) 

O'Brien, Flann; the Third Policeman

The character of de Selby in the Third Policeman inspired the songs de Selby part 1 and 2.

Heaney, Seamus; At the Wellhead

The song To Noise Making (Sing) contains a8n audio fragment of Heaney reading this poem.

Heaney, Seamus; The Cure at Troy

The line "Or honey hope even on this side of the grave again?" In the song "To Noise Making (Sing) " is inspired by the line "History says, Don't hope / On this side of the grave."  in this poem.

Joyce, James; A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man

The line "Shaking the wings of their terrible youths" in the song Angel of Small Death & the Codeine Scene is derived from a line in this book. As mentioned in the interview with Zane Lowe for Apple Music (august 28, 2023) (https://youtu.be/y5JpgNIkOz4?si=Yg1GVewfZlHkdVm1)  

Also mentioned as general inspiration in an interview with the Daily Meal (october 28, 2014) (https://www.thedailymeal.com/irish-born-musician-hozier-slithered-here-eden-bring-us-his-gospel)

Mack, dr. Katie

Astrophysicist dr. Katie Mack is mentioned by name in the song No Plan. A quote from the song is used in her book The End of Everything (Astrophysically speaking)

Neruda, Pablo, Sonnet XVII

The songs de Selby part 1 and part 2 take some inspiration from this poem. (Mentioned when introducing the song during a concert)

Ovid, Metamorphoses

The story of Icarus is mentioned in the song Sunlight and inspired the song I, Carrion (Icarian).

The story of Orpheus and Eurydice is mentioned in the song Talk.

Plato; The Allegory of the Cave

The phrase "Adding shadows to the walls of the cave" in the song Sedated refers to this story.

Swift, Jonathan; A Modest Proposal

Inspiration for the song Eat Your Young.

Wilde, Oscar; Chanson

The line "a rope in hand for your other man to hang from a tree" in the song From Eden" is inspired by the line "And a hempen rope for your own love / To hang upon a tree." in this poem.

Yeats, W. B.; The Second Coming

The line "To Bethlehem it slouched" in the song NFWMB is almost directly copied from this poem.

Yeats, W. B.; Leda and the Swan

Inspiration for the song Swan Upon Leda

Other books recommended/mentioned by Hozier

Amis, Martin; The Zone of Interest

Recommended by Hozier in an 'Ask Me Anything' before the release of the album Wasteland, baby! on reddit in 2019

Beckett, Samuel; Not I

Hozier joked the album Unreal Unearth would contain four tracks, two of them being recordings of him reading this play with his mouth full of marshmallows.

The cover art of Unreal Unearth is said to reference this play.

Bukowski, Charles

Mentioned as a teenage favorite (https://youtu.be/e5pFwDvcIGA)

Ó Cadhain, Máirtín; Graveyard Clay (Cré Na Cille)

Mentioned as his current read in an instagram Q&A on December 1, 2021

Eliot, T. S.

https://www.thedailymeal.com/irish-born-musician-hozier-slithered-here-eden-bring-us-his-gospel 

Heaney, Marie; Over Nine Waves, a Book of Irish Legends

(Source? Mentioned on social media?)

Heaney, Seamus

https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/music/hozier-why-seamus-heaney-s-last-words-mean-so-much-to-me-1.3797926

Herbert, Frank; Dune

Mentioned as a current read/audiobook on How Long Gone podcast episode 614. March 6, 2024

Joyce, James; Ulysses

https://youtu.be/s0Ux72N4K10 

Kierkegaard, Søren; The Sickness unto Death

(Source?)

Orwell, George; 1984

https://www.thedailymeal.com/irish-born-musician-hozier-slithered-here-eden-bring-us-his-gospel/

Rubin, Rick; The Creative Act

Mentioned as his current read in an interview for WNYC Radio, 17 March 2023

https://youtu.be/Cd2uxpD9Hc8?si=cJ8bKrfFeXk_WS2F 

Salinger, J. D.; Catcher in the Rye 

https://www.thedailymeal.com/irish-born-musician-hozier-slithered-here-eden-bring-us-his-gospel/

Wilde, Oscar

https://youtu.be/s0Ux72N4K10 

https://www.thedailymeal.com/irish-born-musician-hozier-slithered-here-eden-bring-us-his-gospel/

Williams, Niall; This Is Happiness

Mentioned as his current read at a fan meet & greet (Bristol, 6 August 2023)

Yeats, W. B.

https://www.thedailymeal.com/irish-born-musician-hozier-slithered-here-eden-bring-us-his-gospel/

Poetry/stories read by Hozier in livestreams/videos (and the books he read them from)

3 July 2020 Instagram live

Seamus Heaney; Postscript (the Spirit Level)

Seamus Heaney; A Kite for Michael and Christopher (Station Island)

W. B. Yeats; No Second Troy (W. B. Yeats Poems selected by Seamus Heaney)

W. B. Yeats; To a Friend Whose Work Has Come to Nothing (W. B. Yeats Poems selected by Seamus Heaney)

Ovid, Daedalus and Icarus (Metamorphoses, translated by David Raeburn, penguin classics)

Sinéad Morrissey; & Forgive Us Our Trespasses (Being Human edited by Neil Astley)

Also mentioned; Staying Alive edited by Neil Astley

Seen on the table; Fear Not by Stephen James Smith

10 July 2020 Instagram live

Seamus Heaney; HÖFN (District & Circle)

Seamus Heaney; District & Circle (District & Circle)

Stephen Dunn; Sadness

Stephen Dunn; Sweetness

Ovid; Orpheus and Eurydice (Metamorphoses, translated by David Raeburn, penguin classics)

T. S. Eliot; The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock (Collected Poems 1909-1962)

Brendan Kennelly; Begin 

17 July 2020 Instagram live

Ezra Pound; And the Days Are Not Full Enough

Wilfred Owen; Futility

James Joyce; A Flower Given to My Daughter

Pablo Neruda; Keeping Quiet

Langston Hughes; I, Too

Imtiaz Dharker; They'll Say She Must Be From Another Country

W. B. Yeats; When You Are Old

Stephen James Smith; On the Bus (Fear Not)

Seamus Heaney; Saint Kevin and the Blackbird

Seamus Heaney; Sweeney Praises the Trees (Sweeney Astray)

Maya Angelou; Touched by an Angel

Garrison Keillor; Supper

Pablo Neruda; Sonnet XCIV (If I Die) (100 Love Sonnets, translated by Stephen Tapscott)

T. S. Eliot; Ash Wednesday (Collected Poems 1909-1962)

Ovid, the Four Ages (Metamorphoses, translated by David Raeburn, penguin classics)

Also mentioned; Ireland, My Ireland by Stephen James Smith

25 July 2020 Instagram live

Anne Stevenson; The Spirit is Too Blunt an Instrument

Katie Mack; The Slow Fade to Black (the End of Everything, Astrophysically Speaking)

Pablo Neruda; Sonnet XVII (One Hundred Love Sonnets, translated by Mark Eisner)

Kahlil Gibran; On Love (the Prophet)

Sharon Olds; True Love

Rita Ann Higgins; The Did-You-Come-Yets of the Western World

7 August 2020 Instagram live

James Joyce; Araby (Dubliners)

Also mentioned A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man by James Joyce

17 march 2021 Tiktok live

Brendan Kennelly; Begin

Derek Mahon; Everything is Going to Be Alright

Sinéad Morrissey; & Forgive Us Our Trespasses

Faisal Mohyuddin; Prayer (The Displaced Children of Displaced Children)

Pádraig Ó Tuama; How to Be Alone

Stephen James Smith; Dublin, You Are

Paula Meehan; Seed

Various reads

Seamus Heaney; At the Wellhead

https://youtu.be/uIBpT_rqUfA

Patrick Kavanagh; Peace

https://youtu.be/Iz1OXOFua4w

W. B. Yeats; He Wishes for the Cloths of Heaven

https://youtu.be/e5pFwDvcIGA

W. B. Yeats; A Coat

https://youtu.be/e5pFwDvcIGA

Seamus Heaney; Miracle

https://x.com/seamusheaneyest/status/1253626839316279296?s=20 

[bubblegum-blackwood]

A woman’s face with nature’s own hand painted Hast thou, the master-mistress of my passion; A woman’s gentle heart, but not acquainted With shifting change as is false women’s fashion; An eye more bright than theirs, less false in rolling, Gilding the object whereupon it gazeth; A man in hue, all hues in his controlling, Which steals men’s eyes and women’s souls amazeth. And for a woman wert thou first created, Till nature as she wrought thee fell a-doting, And by addition me of thee defeated By adding one thing to my purpose nothing. But since she pricked thee out for women's pleasure, Mine be thy love and thy love’s use their treasure.

Y’all read Sonnet 20 by William Shakespeare I think it was written about Armand

[setevulpo]

feeling very green and yellow light in this dungeon tonight

angústia, florbela espanca (translated by me)

interview with the vampire, s02e05: "don't be afraid, just start the tape"

i lock you in an american sonnet that is part prison, terrance hayes

island of the sequined love nun, christopher moore

beautiful short loser, ocean vuong

kinnporsche, s01e11

red doc>, anne carson

[rustbeltjessie]

Love is not all; it is not meat nor drink Nor slumber nor a roof against the rain, Nor yet a floating spar to men that sink And rise and sink and rise and sink again; Love can not fill the thickened lung with breath, Nor clean the blood, nor set the fractured bone; Yet many a man is making friends with death Even as I speak, for lack of love alone. It well may be that in a difficult hour, Pinned down by pain and moaning for release, Or nagged by want past resolution’s power, I might be driven to sell your love for peace, Or trade the memory of this night for food. It well may be. I do not think I would.

Edna St. Vincent Millay, Sonnet XXX from Fatal Interview

[sonnet009games]

Is THAT all of the asks you got for the interview stuff?? I was so sure there'd be a ton more. Sonnet if you don't mind can we also get our precious baby brat's responses to 23, 43, 54, 127 and 128, or any of those that you're willing to share? Thank you!

23. Do you have any bad habits? If so, what are they and how do you plan to get rid of them?

The best defense is a good offense, right? I'm trying to work on the whole "lashing out the second I feel even slightly emotionally threatened" thing.

43. Who is the most important person in your life and why?

[Answered here!]

54. Do you care what others think of you?

Yeah, of course. I wish I didn't.

127. What makes you laugh out loud, hysterically?

Sometimes the detective can catch me off guard and pull some pretty unhinged sounds out of me. Other than that... I think I once laughed at the state of my life for fifteen minutes straight, but... that was probably the chemicals.

128. What makes you cry?

Sometimes life shit gets me down. Sometimes the detective's life shit gets me down.

[bivampir]

before watching interview with the vampire i was unaware that Assad Zaman is a Shakespearean actor but. like. of course he is. look at him. he looks like he stepped out of a sonnet. like he walked out of a Caravaggio painting. man's majestic angelic and classically beautiful.

[filmfauxpas]

One Direction: This is Us—Our Unhealthy Obsession with Celebrities

Eleven years ago, One Direction was at the height of their careers. The British boy band had just wrapped their third world tour and was preparing for their fourth, with 69 shows on the agenda. Now comfortable with each other, they released their third studio album, Midnight Memories. No longer teenagers, the members of One Direction wanted to show their maturity, promising an "edgier" and "rockier" sound, according to Louis Tomlinson. They swapped out the boy-next-door sonnets for more sexually charged lyrics, replaced acoustic guitars with electric ones, and delivered more upbeat hits than their previous albums. Just three months earlier, on August 30, 2013, the film One Direction: This Is Us premiered worldwide, giving fans an inside look at their lives on tour and the effects of fame.

This Is Us was filmed over four months, starting in January 2013 in Tokyo and finishing in London in April. During filming, the band members were between the ages of 20 and 22. While the film showcased the fun and excitement of their careers, it also gave the boys a chance to explain the hardships of their success and how it affected them. Grateful for their careers, members still expressed the challenges of adjusting to sudden global fame, like losing the ability to go out without protection and being away from their families. Whether intentional or not, the film also revealed just how overworked they were, detailing their demanding schedules filled with concerts, interviews, and recording sessions. A particularly telling moment shows a producer waking Zayn up on their tour bus to record, with a tired and young Zayn asking, "How long was I out?" to which the producer responds, "10 minutes."

While the life of any successful musician has its faults, it's important to ask: how much is too much? Watching the film again as a 23-year-old, I was struck by how young they were at the time. At 12, I thought being 22 was old, but seeing them now through a different lens was quite upsetting. Paul Higgins, One Direction’s bodyguard, described the boys situation well, stating “If you can imagine yourself being taken away at the age of 16 or 17 and then thrown into the spotlight... people are constantly around them, and to hold their form and cool, and to enjoy it and perform, it’s a big ask." Harry Styles chimed in adding, "There are definitely times where you’re not enjoying it the whole time. But then you have to step back for a second and try to weigh the pros and cons." While this reflection seems healthy, it also highlights the guilt that comes with success. It was hard watching the young men tiptoe around how they really felt, as everytime they expressed a hardship, they’d follow it up with how “lucky” they were to be in their position. However, I don’t find this lucky by any means—I find it quite the opposite. It is disheartening how a child's innocence is taken advantage of by others who see them as a dollar sign.

In light of One Direction member Liam Payne’s untimely death, fans are searching for the root cause of his addiction, which led to his passing. While no one can place the responsibility for someone’s life on external factors alone, Payne’s death prompts reflection on how unhealthy the constant public scrutiny of celebrities can be, and how fans can play a part in this toxicity as well. Starting on The X Factor, the boys were no strangers to the public eye, but they never expected to reach such stardom so quickly. Simon Cowell, a judge on the show and the band’s creator, noted how “strange” it was that people became obsessed with the five boys after just one performance. This obsession only grew, especially on social media platforms like Twitter and Tumblr, where fans dedicated entire blogs to discussing the band’s music, whereabouts, and their feelings about the members. As One Direction released songs about love and vulnerability, fans felt a personal connection to them, leading to a parasocial phenomenon among “Directioners.”

For instance, it became popular to write fanfiction about the members, creating imaginary romantic scenarios—sometimes between a fan and a band member, or even between the members themselves. While most fans acted out of love, these behaviors were harmful, often oversexualizing the young men and invading their privacy. As a result, One Direction was constantly surveilled and couldn't go out without security. Payne spoke openly about how this lack of freedom affected him, saying in an interview, “In the band… the best way to secure us, because of how big we’d got, was to lock us in our rooms. What’s in the room? A mini-bar. So at a certain point I thought, I’m just going to have a party-for-one, and that carried on for many years of my life.” He also spoke about the loneliness and lack of control he felt during and after this time, commenting, “There are times where that level of loneliness and people getting to you every day... you’re like, when will this end?”

X Factor winner Rebbeca Ferguson when asked about Payne's death said “[he] was a victim of an industry’s “exploitation and profiteering of young stars.” Claiming that it was a factor in his death. Although this narrative isn’t new—many child stars have struggled with substance abuse following early stardom—it raises an important question: how can we, as fans, make a conscious effort to respect celebrities' boundaries and view them as individuals rather than idols? Luckily, in just the last year the stigma of complying with “superfan” behavior has been challenged by artists who have spoken out against it like Chappell Roan, Tyler the Creator, Billie Eilish, and Hayley Willimas. Hopefully, as more voices join this conversation, we can see a shift toward a healthier, more respectful fan-celebrity relationships.