Sonnets Never Sounded So Good

I happened to get a wonderful opportunity this weekend to go and see Garrison Keillor read his new poetry work in San Francisco. The book entitled 77 Love Sonnets was a wonderful set of poetry that is not to be missed. It was quite the departure from some of the normal topics seen on Public Radio's A Prarie Home Companion. He delivered many types, some lovely, some rather sexy, and others sad and poignant. All were wonderfully written and struck just that right note. Never has a sonnet sounded so good since my college days and studying Shakespeare or my attempts at getting high school students excited about iambic pentameter. All his sonnets are done in this style, most rhyming. It takes a special talent to be able to sum up such feelings and ideas in such a restrictive format. This was complimented by piano playing that was just the right touch to set off the words as they were spoken. When the piano was silent, it made certain words stand out just that much more. I highly recommend getting your hands on this book once it is released, and if possible, getting an audio version of Garrison Keillor reading them to you with the musical score. All of this was done to raise funds for the 826 Valencia Scholarship fund. It is such a wonderful foundation and center and a wonderful cause. Check out their website to see all the wonderful things we do over at 826.