Enjoying the back & forth on sonnets & formalism with Mike, Jonathan, Kasey, Tim, et al. Impressed with the displayed skill at ex tempore versifying. Clearly they've read & absorbed a lot of sonnets. Clever, adept, that's the word(s) for it.

I think however that the puzzle about belatedness &/or contemporary relevance of sonnets, etc. and traditional techniques in general, has not yet been "solved" (& can probably only be resolved by example, or many examples, anyway). Two side issues may need to be dealt with before addressing it:

1) the difference between versifying & poetry. One person's hack versifier may be another person's excellent poet; what are the grounds for distinguishing authentic poetry from mere versifying? Jonathan seemed to be starting to get at this question, but more could be said.

2) the prevalent mediocrity of contemporary poetry. Time after time, when someone quotes this or that poet to defend this or that traditionalist or experimental position, I have the nagging thought : "Is this the best they can do?" I mean, are we finding the best examples out there to argue this or that point? To put it another way : the polemicists for both sides of the question, of whether or not traditional forms are still viable, seem to rest their arguments on faulty evidence (basically, crappy poems).