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The Wild Sonnets

Every Sunday and Wednesday, I send my Readers' Circle new Wild Sonnets with audio readings. To join us, click the subscribe link to the right.

The Wild Sonnets:
7-Book Download
Pay What You Want!

I have been writing the Wild Sonnets since 2016 and there are now 7 books in the series – available in both paperback and download editions. If you prefer the paperbacks, you will find the links (and reviews!) below.

However, I have assembled the 7 ebooks into a complete, downloadable collection that includes EPUB and PDF formats for each of the volumes. These books look gorgeous on Kindle, Apple Books, mobile devices and desktop.

I have also set the price at Pay-What-You-Want, with a $7 starter as minimum. If you are on Substack, this is less than a single month on most writers' subscriptions, and you get the entire series immediately and for one low and easy-on-the-pocket payment. Of course, if you want to pay a little more (to support the artist and the arts), that's an option too.

But I will be grateful for your purchase either way.

My goal is to share this body of work with everyone who is interested in poetry and literature. And of you like collecting art, I would love for you to take advantage of this offer.

A Few Words On The Wild Sonnet Form
The Wild Sonnet format follows the traditional length of fourteen lines, but divides the poem into two stanzas of seven lines, each closing with a rhyming couplet. The five preceding lines are a rambling iambic, sometimes pent up in a pentameter and sometimes not.


Occasionally, there are internal rhymes to give the work an echo both to the tradition of the form and to the thoughts within poem.

Each Wild Sonnet is meant to feel something like a soliloquy – as if it were an utterance coming just after a striking thought or situation. There is a stream-of-conscious sense to the flow of each stanza, a fretwork of association that circles back upon itself. The transition from the first to second stanza is meant to be bit of a break, a moving forward from the initial idea in an unexpected direction.

The structure and sensibility of The Wild Sonnets are influenced by great poets of the past, most notably: William Shakespeare, Emily Dickinson, Dylan Thomas, e.e. cummings, Gerard Manley Hopkins and John Donne.

The Wild Sonnets:
Volume VII (601-700)

An Ambitious and Original Poetry Project
Nicholas Korn has undertaken an ambitious project in his ‘Wild Sonnets’ poem sequence. It is also a surprisingly original project, given the long history of the sonnet form.
Korn’s work is a masterclass in poetical conceits and unfurling ideas through imagery. He is highly skilled at metaphor-making, demonstrating what Aristotle once wrote of this ability in his “Poetics”—that it is the mark of genius, and the most important feature of good imaginative writing. I highly recommend the ‘Wild Sonnets’ series by one of the leading lyric poets of our time.
Andrew Benson Brown | Host of Classical Poets Live

The Wild Sonnets:
Volume VI (501-600)

Poetry That Soars
The Wild Sonnets are filled with exquisite wordplay, turns of phrase that weave, bob, lurch, sway, and surprise. The themes are rich with heart, yet universal. Need guidance from the universe? Simply thumb through the volume, pick a page, and delight at the message you will surely find therein. Volume Six has arrived. What a legacy. Well done Mr. Korn!
– Morgan G. | Trucker, Rocker & Hooligan | Kansas City, MO
Poetry That Hits Every Level
This is deeply thought-provoking poetry, and I'm continually amazed at how well-crafted it all is. He so satisfyingly connects thought and emotion in such beautiful form. "I am a pendulum without an end. On which the counting of my tears depend."
– Laura M. | Singer/Songwriter | San Antonio, TX

Paperback editions are sold exclusively from my publisher.
They do an amazing job – these books are gorgeous and their unboxing experience is exquisite.


The Wild Sonnets:
Volume V (401-500)

Everything Is Aerial, and Has Its Element of Awe
Nicholas Korn is a poet of incredible energy and verve – of process and vision. It's truly bewildering in its scope, and still growing before our eyes. But these poems are also wild with content – dailiness, observation, philosophical insights, and a stunning sense of purpose. The language is lush, and Korn's approach is reverential toward the history and elegance of the form, while also keeping its eyes and ears in/on the 21st Century.
– Matt Hart | Poet & Head of Writing Program – Art Academy of Cincinnati
Great Book, and Impressive Creative Project!
This book is part of an ongoing writing project. One of the most impressive and ambitious creative endeavors I know of. These sonnets talk about life, love, time, and everything we are. It is interesting how the author has kept and changed the sonnet form. They are wild and yet delicate, like a wildflower. Pick a book, then pick a sonnet. You will not regret it.
– Manuel Iris | Poet Laureate of Cincinnati (Emeritus)

Paperback editions are sold exclusively from my publisher.
They do an amazing job – these books are gorgeous and their unboxing experience is exquisite.


The Wild Sonnets:
Volume IV (301-400)

Substance and Form Come Together in Beauty
Nicholas Korn brings the stuff of life into a boiling pot, contemplating the very essence of humanity. He delves into the broken heart, the loss of friendship, the healing of souls, asking and answering questions that are at our core. This is his best work yet.
– Alissa S.| Poet & Attorney | Cincinnati, OH

Paperback editions are sold exclusively from my publisher.
They do an amazing job – these books are gorgeous and their unboxing experience is exquisite.


The Wild Sonnets:
Volume III (201-300)

Verbal Art At Its Finest
In these beautiful sonnets, Mr. Korn has succeeded on multiple levels simultaneously. He makes intelligent use of the English language, delving into its wide selection of word choices to create thought-provoking lines adroitly adorned with artful alliteration, that is available in the tongue especially, perhaps more than any other. There is great joy here, ready for any reader willing to reach in and indulge.
– Stefan W. | Poet | Cincinnati OH

Paperback editions are sold exclusively from my publisher.
They do an amazing job – these books are gorgeous and their unboxing experience is exquisite.


The Wild Sonnets:
Volume II (101-200)

When I published the first collection of Wild Sonnets, a fellow poet and friend congratulated me on completing 100 poems, but added how exciting it would be to reach 1,000. Starting work on this second volume was definitely a step on the next stage of that journey.
Also, it gave me the opportunity to elevate my practice. I soon began rising at 4AM to write one stanza every morning, which I do to this day. My mantra soon became: if I take care of the next poem, the next book will take care of itself. There is much wonderful work in this book, and I am always proud to share selections from it at public readings.

Paperback editions are sold exclusively from my publisher.
They do an amazing job – these books are gorgeous and their unboxing experience is exquisite.


The Wild Sonnets:
Volume I (1-100)

In 2015, a verse comedy of mine, Delirium's Daughters, ran Off-Broadway for two months in 2015. As extraordinary and exhilarating as the experience was, I realized that unless another company decided to produce the work, no one would see it. I decided then I wanted to create a body of work that people could experience anytime and anywhere. I decided to return to focusing on poetry. I had always thought of creating a unique and personal version of the classical sonnet form.
And so, the following year in 2016, the Wild Sonnet was born. And two years later, I published the first volume of Wild Sonnets. I remain very proud of the work that appears in this introductory collection.

Paperback editions are sold exclusively from my publisher.
They do an amazing job – these books are gorgeous and their unboxing experience is exquisite.