The Poets Don't Write Sonnets Anymore (100 pp Plume of Cockatoo Press) is a narrative collection of sonnets and narratives anthropologist Robin Ridington has written over the last five decades. The prose passages not only contextualize the poetry, but stand as essays in their own right. The overall theme of the book is anthropological and humanistic. Ridington describes his sonnets as being both field notes and very short stories. He draws upon his half-century of work with the Dane-zaa First Nations and from contemporary popular culture and global politics. He muses on literary tropes and devotes sonnets to friends, family, and his deceased dog.

Ridington believes that our species faces a crisis caused by its over-adaptation to a limited global resource base; only the wisdom and intelligence and caring of individuals can contribute to our collective responsibility for finding a solution. While most of the sonnets have a serious message, Ridington makes extensive use of irony, whimsy and word play. The book includes a "sonnet kit" from which the reader can reconstruct a muddled version of one of Ridington's sonnets. The author suggests that this work is suitable for reading in the bathroom.

Plume of Cockatoo Press - ISBN 978-0-9810666-0-8