Sonnet

This poem, 'Sonnet', together with a second poem 'Italian Sonnet', form a portfolio that examines the sonnet form as a vehicle for expressing contemporary questions of existence and experience. Set against the new formalism of Australian poetry in the 1960s and 1970s (for example the work of Bruce Beaver) these works attempt to stretch the 14 line form to examine whether it is possible to adequately consider contemporary themes. There is a deliberately awkward use of line breaks in each of these works that is meant to question the confluence of form and content that traditional sonnets employ. Southerly is the oldest literary journal in Australia and one of the most prestigious. It is difficult for poets to be published in its pages.