Just a quick note:
No, the bake-off was not sponsored by the AARP
Nor by the Lonely Hearts Club.
To quickly answer your question, stephenspower,I would estimate that nearly 90% of the sonnets received were about love, relationships, death, and growing old, themes often overlapping
within the same poem.
There were a few on travel, some about writing poetry. We even received a crown
, other forms, an ad for for cake, and a few rants against formal poetry in general.
It was a very interesting experience, indeed, and not an easy task. Many regular Sphereans opted not to participate (perhaps they are on vacation
). As this is the third time I've been involved in either hosting and/or judging the sonnet bake off, I knew going into it that any list Gail and I ultimately decided on would be open to criticism. That's OK
.
Coming at a moment in time when a family member is seriously ill and I am trying to be in two places at once, let me just say briefly that love, death, memories and growing old, and the soul-searching these themes engender, are the stuff of sonnets, as well as of most poetry.