The Crown of Venom: Concrete Poetry Sonnet Collabs by Christian Bok & Gregory Betts (Canada)
New Concrete Poetry blog readers are no doubt aware I have a special interest in vispo and concrete experiments with the sonnet, which you can explore at your leisure in the blog archive.
Canadian visual poet Christian Bok recently collaborated with Gregory Betts to create an impressive new concrete poetry version of a piece from a crown of sonnets by Bok entitled, The Crown of Venom (included in his long poem Xenotext). Traditionally, a crown is a series of seven intertwined sonnets using repeated lines, rhymes, and themes.
The colorful work above - "The Crown #1" - is the piece Gregory Betts created as a response to Bok's sonnet cycle.
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"In an explanation of the collab, Christian Bok writes, 'The Crown #1' by Gregory Betts uses colors to visualize all the syllables that rhyme in the first sonnet from my series, The Crown of Venom."
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I have seen many excellent poets of different persuasions enjoy flirtations with the crown of sonnets. British poet John Donne's La Corona, written in the 17th century, is likely the first full crown written in English. La Corona is frequently cited as a model in the subgenre.
https://www.luminarium.org/sevenlit/donne/lacorona.php
In an explanation of the collab, Christian Bok writes, "The Crown #1" by Gregory Betts uses colours to visualize all the syllables that rhyme in the first sonnet from my series, The Crown of Venom."
The New Concrete Poetry blog frequently posts work by international concrete sonnet star Avelino de Araujo (Brasil) and others of note. I am very pleased to feature work by Christian Bok and Gregory Betts.
- De Villo Sloan
July 15, 2025
Elbridge, New York, USA
(De Villo Sloan is a concrete poet living in Upstate NY who frequently writes about postavant culture. He is director of the Winifred & De Villo Sloan, Jr. Charitable Fund, which awards funds to arts and education organizations.)
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