Sonnet Mondal has to be the hardest-working poet of his age. The 21-year-old Bengali poet, writing almost exclusively in English, has already invented his own 21-line form of the caudate sonnet,which he calls the fusion sonnet:
A fusion sonnet is a 21-line caudate sonnet form invented by Sonnet Mondal, and introduced in his book 21 Lines Fusion Sonnets of 21st Century, published by Sparrow Publication in India in 2010. Unlike the more common 14-line format, these sonnets comprise 21 lines, with new rhyming variations. In each of these sonnets a 14-line sonnet with new variations is followed by a seven-line half sonnet…The volta or change in tone comes gradually through the ninth, tenth and eleventh… [and] twentieth [lines]… a fusion between contemporary and traditional styles, these sonnets deal more with social themes in contrast to other sonnets which are mostly written as lyric poetry.
In addition to writing poetry, Sonnet is the Managing Editor of The Enchanting Verses Literary Review, an engineering student, and is editing an upcoming anthology of sonnets. I was included in his journal previously, and to edit an upcoming anthology of poems from The Enchanting Verses, he selected none other than the brilliant Howie Good, whom I had published previously with the chapbook Love in a Time of Paranoia. An excellent interview with Howie about the book can be found here.
Howie is a tough critic, so I’m honored to have been told by him personally that I made it through his rigorous chipping-away at the poems in several volumes of The Enchanting Verses Literary Review. I’ll be appearing in an as-yet-unnamed print anthology of The Enchanting Verses Literary Review, with my poem “Behind the Glass.”
Speaking of Howie Good, I’m happy to pass on this piece of news about his upcoming chapbook from Right Hand Pointing, all of the proceeds from which benefit a cause very dear to me:
From Right Hand Pointing: A new collection of poems by Howie Good. All proceeds from the sale of this book benefit the Crisis Center. The Crisis Center is a non-profit agency in Birmingham, Alabama offering suicide prevention, services to victims of sexual assault, day treatment for the indigent mentally ill, and other services. Dreaming in Red by Howie Good.
OK, this has been a little more upbeat than usual–I guess I’m in a good mood! ‘Tis the season, so make sure you support those less fortunate–and enjoy some great poetry–by getting a copy of Howie’s book. And I’ll let you know when I hear something concrete on the Enchanting Verses anthology.
