4/5 & 4/6 :: two sonnets and then some.
John Keats "Bright Star" ---> here . Denis Johnson "Heat" ---> here . A movie about Keats came out recently that I did enjoy. It was titled "Bright Star" and paced oddly, slowly, but the movie felt appropriate for its subject-matter: poetry. Keats is a romantic poet from early nineteenth century England. In high school, you may have been made to read his "Ode to a Grecian Urn". This sonnet, also, is rather famous, very romantic and also precise. I like it. Denis Johnson wrote the book of short stories Jesus's Son as well as a few great novels, one which recently one the National Book Award. I have only read Jesus's Son and Already Dead , but I hear the NBA winner, Tree of Smoke , is stellar. Johnson, also, is one of those rare writers who can successfully and without any frustrating overlap write both excellent poetry and excellent fiction. "Heat" is one of my favorites. It's a "sonnet", where "Bright ...