Sonnets For Sinners | Book Review and Giveaway
February 28, 2010 by admin - Jennifer
Filed under Giveaways
Author: John Wareham
Item Reviewed: Sonnets for Sinners
Item Given Away: 1 copy of Sonnets for Sinners
Start Date: February 28
End Date: March 14
Like a fiery habanera pepper, this tiny tome packs a huge wallop as Wareham introduces us to historical sinners and the stages of their desire. “Love leads the heart astray but lust enters below the belt and takes command of absolutely everything,” he writes as he examines the initial attraction phase. Dire warnings prevail as William Shakespeare cautions of the madness of lust and poet Elan Haverford weaves a web of seduction’s lies.
In the chapter “Fever” Wareham warns that, “The delirium must take its course.” And what a course it is – Chandler Haste compares the cravings of parted lovers to cocaine addiction in “White Lady.” Oscar Wilde’s own beloved Lord Alfred Douglas faces the scorn of ‘the love that dare not speak its name’ in “Shame.”
Celebrity poets enter the fray as Wareham moves on to “Endings.” Drawn from their actual words and set into sonnet, the late Princess Diana reveals the torture of being the third wheel in her own marriage in “Hearts.” John Edwards glibly dismisses his own “Secrets and Lies” and Elizabeth Edwards reveals her own ambivalence, striking at the heart in “Rings.”
Choices in “Epiphanies” come with a heavy price as Edna St. Vincent Millay observes “I only know a summer sang in me a little while, that in me sings no more.” But Oscar Wilde reminds us that life is nothing without “the red fire of passion.”
It is only the greatest passions that are worth such a price. “If tortured to reveal a vital secret, no captive terrorist could withstand the level of pain that sinning lovers routinely inflict upon each other,” Wareham reminds us. SONNETS FOR SINNERS reveals them all.
John Wareham is a leadership psychologist, lecturer, writer, and poet whose work transcends genre. His latest work, Sonnets for Sinners, Everything One Needs to Know About Illicit Love, uses poems by classic and modern poets, to illustrate the perils of love-triangles. His prior work, a novel, The President’s Therapist, as only fiction can, examines the troubled psyche of the 43rd United States President, George W. Bush. Earlier works include Secrets of a Corporate Headhunter, a popular business bestseller, The Anatomy of a Great Executive, a 13-language reference classic, How to Break Out of Prison, a life-changer, and Chancey On Top, a critically acclaimed novel that explores themes of leadership, love, and enlightenment.
My Thoughts
Poetry to me, has always been beautiful. I strive to read more and as I have gotten older I understand the passages more clearly than when I was in school. With Sonnets for Sinners you will find some great poems from classic and modern poets, ones that show you the pitfalls of loving more than one. I love that the author, John Wareham, has added a page of commentary for each sonnet to show the poem’s structure, the poet’s mindset, and the stage reached in the heart’s journey of illicit love, a great feature to really help decipher the meaning. I enjoyed reading through Sonnets for Sinners and recommend it to everyone.
I have also been given the opportunity to give away one copy of Sonnets for Sinners to one Dirty Shirt reader. Please see rules below to enter today.
Giveaway
- MAIN RULE – Tell me in comments what your favorite poem is, or, if you don’t have one tell me what your favorite book is. (remember if this rule is not followed then no others will count)
- 1 Extra Entry – Subscribe to my RSS feed or by email (or let me know if you already are) in a separate comment.
- 1 Extra Entry – Follow me on Twitter (button in subscribe section on the right sidebar) and let me know your Twitter name in a separate comment.
- 1 Extra Entry – Tweet this giveaway. Copy and paste – @Jentifa is giving away Sonnets for Sinners poetry book! Check it out here http://bit.ly/d0POdu. Then come back and leave the direct link to your tweet (go to your twitter account, click on the words when your tweet was sent (ie. 5 seconds ago) and copy and paste that link in comments.
- NEW – 1 Extra Entry – Friend me on Google Friend Connect on sidebar and leave a separate comment that you did.
- 2 Extra Entries – Write a post on your blog linking to my blog.
This giveaway will run through midnight on March 14, with winner being announced the morning of March 15. Winner will be chosen using Random.org from all valid entries and notified via email. Winner will have 48 hours to contact me before another winner is chosen. Giveaway is open to U.S. residents only.
My favorite poem is Ballad of Raeding Gaol by Oscar Wilde. This book looks fun!
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One Inch Tall by Shel Silverstein. Thanks for the wonderful giveaway
I am an email subscriber. Thanks for the wonderful giveaway
I don’t have a favorite poem. My favorite book is In the Shadow of Man by Jane Goodall.
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My favorite poem is “A Poison Tree” by William Blake.
I’m an email subscriber
I follow you on twitter as @THEotherCYNtwit
“The Charge of the Light Brigade”
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thanks a bunch
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thanks a bunch
I like Do You Fear the Wind – by Hamlin Garland
Robert Frost’s “Stopping By Woods on a Snowy Evening,” is one of my all time favorite poems…I remember it by heart from HS. Book looks good, thanks.
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My favorite poem is r-p-o-p-h-e-s-s-a-g-r by ee cummings. This book looks great!
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Twitter: parkerozgood
says:
My favorite Poem is Messy Room by Shel Silverstein. I have always been a big fan!
Whosever room this is should be ashamed!
His underwear is hanging on the lamp.
His raincoat is there in the overstuffed chair,
And the chair is becoming quite mucky and damp.
His workbook is wedged in the window,
His sweater’s been thrown on the floor.
His scarf and one ski are beneath the TV,
And his pants have been carelessly hung on the door.
His books are all jammed in the closet,
His vest has been left in the hall.
A lizard named Ed is asleep in his bed,
And his smelly old sock has been stuck to the wall.
Whosever room this is should be ashamed!
Donald or Robert or Willie or–
Huh? You say it’s mine? Oh, dear,
I knew it looked familiar!
jason(at)allworldautomotive(dot)com
Twitter: parkerozgood
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parkerozgood
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Nickolay
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One of my favorite poems is How Do I Love Thee by Elizabeth Barrett Browning
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I follow you on twitter @mannabsn
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This is a very difficult question to narrow down to just one poem that I would call my favorite as I have many, but one of my favorite that I have read many times and enjoy is “A Clear Midnight” by Walt Whitman. I love the way Whitman emerges the reader into is poetry in such a way that the reader feels like Whitman has lived their life. Thanks for the opportunity to win Sonnets For Sinners. I not only enjoy reading poetry, but I also write poetry.
My favorite poem would have to be by Robert Frost
Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening
Thanks for the chance to win.
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says:
my favorite poem is the road not taken
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