LOUISVILLE, Ky. — When was the last time you wrote in iambic pentameter?
University of Louisville student poets did so in a recent Shakespeare-themed contest organized by the English department’s creative writing program, and their winning works will be brought to life by the Commonwealth Theatre Center during the Sonnets on a Sunday celebration Nov. 13.
The free, public event will run 2-4 p.m. at Louisville Water Tower Park, 3005 River Road, and will include light refreshments. The actors will perform the 10 contest winners’ works and several sonnets by William Shakespeare.
The rhythmic style of poetry associated with Shakespeare was the launching point for the open-submission sonnet contest. The poets were invited to review a selection of Shakespeare sonnets and write their sonnets in response to them.
The titles range from “Please, Do Not Compare Us to a Summer’s Day” to “When Time’s Unfettered Hand Descends,” and the themes range from “Patience” to “War.” The compositions from the undergraduate and graduate students include homages and parodies.
Sonnets on a Sunday is part of the Will in the Ville citywide celebration of all things Shakespeare. UofL, Louisville Free Public Library and the Frazier History Museum are the chief sponsors with more than 45 community partners helping to mark the 400th anniversary of the author’s death. The “First Folio! The Book That Gave Us Shakespeare” exhibition will be at the Frazier History Museum Nov. 10-Dec. 10.
The Folger Shakespeare Library, Cincinnati Museum Center and American Library Association have made the traveling First Folio exhibit possible through a grant. The event schedule is at www.LFPL.org/WillintheVille.
For more information, contact Andrew Rabin at 502-852-1722 or andrew.rabin@louisville.edu.
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