Sonata Mulattica: Poems |
W. W. Norton & Company, Inc.
2009
240 pages
6.3 × 9.3 in
Hardcover ISBN: 978-0-393-07008-8
Rita Dove, Commonwealth Professor of English
University of Virginia
In a book-length lyric narrative inspired by history and imagination, a much celebrated poet re-creates the life of a nineteenth-century virtuoso violinist.
The son of a white woman and an “African Prince,” George Polgreen Bridgetower (1780–1860) travels to Vienna to meet “bad-boy” genius Ludwig van Beethoven. The great composer’s subsequent sonata is originally dedicated to the young mulatto but George, exuberant with acclaim, offends Beethoven over a woman. From this crucial encounter evolves a grandiose yet melancholy poetic tale.
Tags: George Augustus Bridgetower, George Augustus Polgreen Bridgetower, George Bridgetower, George Polgreen Bridgetower, Ludwig van Beethoven, music, Rita Dove, W. W. Norton & Company