Rogue Shakespeare® (aka Ryan J-W Smith) is the most prolific sonneteer in world history*. This summer, he will set a new literary milestone with the release of his first 1,000 sonnets in his new book: Rogue Shakespeare’s Sonnets – Truth in Verse – Part I: The Path to Enlightenment in the Brave New World, Out Now.
We caught up with Ryan for a chat about his career and inspiration…
1. You’ve written over 3k sonnets — an extraordinary number by any standard. Do you ever have moments when you read one back and think, “I don’t even remember writing that!”?
First, thank you very much for your interview request – I really appreciate your kind interest in my poetry and my other work. And thank you for your flattering question. Yes, obviously when you’ve written as many sonnets as I have you can have moments like that! In my case especially, for a few reasons:
i) because my sonnets are my diary – so, like most people who keep a diary, I just make my entry and then pretty much forget about it and move onto the next day, rarely going back to read anything (except when publishing of course);
ii) because I can write sonnets so fast – both in terms of thinking in iambic pentameter (which is obviously very natural to me now) and in respect of how fast I can physically write (at home I usually type my sonnets straight into my laptop, and I can type at around 65 words per minute); and,
iii) because my verse flows out of me like a river! I’ve never had ‘writers block’ – quite the opposite – I always have a notebook and pen with me, and many of the sonnets I barely remember writing were the ones I wrote just before going to sleep, or in the middle of the night if I woke up for some reason. Some of those have often shocked me when I’ve eventually read them back.
2. Your sonnets cover 17 years of your life, and your time in numerous countries. If someone picked up your new book knowing nothing about you, what would you want them to learn about the person behind Rogue Shakespeare?
Actually, now my sonnets cover nearly 20 years of my life! Since I didn’t write the bulk of my sonnets for publication – purely for myself as my diary – I have no expectations for any readers. But if I did have one wish for them, then perhaps the most important thing, especially for young men and women, is for them to see that my diary in verse is simply the record of a most imperfect human trying his very hardest to improve himself by incorporating into his life the ancient virtues of the Stoics, Taoists and Buddhists, etc., such as the virtues of Courage, Humility, Compassion, Wisdom, Justice and Temperance.
Looking back on my (then 17 year long) diary in late 2024, as I started to prepare them for publication, I suddenly realised that I had done this intuitively, without even knowing it at the time – as, reflectively, each 500 or so sonnets seems to fit perfectly into a lesson on a particular classic ancient virtue. Hence the first two chapters that make up Part One of my Truth in Verse series are now titled as ‘Lesson I – Courage’ (sonnets 1-500) and ‘Lesson II – Humility’ (sonnets 501-1,000) respectively. The rest of the series, which will be released later this year and in 2027, will be divided up into ‘virtuous lessons’ in a similar way.
So, ultimately, I would love it if young (and not-so-young) men and women, eager to reject the madness of the digital slave world we find ourselves in, and keen to embrace the ancient virtues through the written word (my books are only available physically for various important reasons), might follow my path, literally, by reading my diary – sonnet by sonnet, and lesson by lesson – in the hopes that they too would start to embrace and live by the ancient virtues and moralities we have almost lost, and so desperately need to return to if our society is to have any hope of surviving and thriving once again.
3. With your show The Rogue Shakespeare Experience LIVE, you create sonnets on subjects given to you completely off the cuff. What’s the strangest, funniest or most unexpected subject you’ve ever been challenged to turn into a sonnet?
In one of the shows I did in London someone wanted me to write a sonnet about pasta. I actually declined that suggestion. As much as I like pasta, there are much more interesting subjects out there!
4. How long did writing your very first sonnet take, compared to now?
The very first sonnet in my new book, which I call ‘Sonnet Zero’, I wrote on June 7th, 2006 live in the studio on BBC Radio Leeds. As I recall I think they used to give me about 45 minutes to write my sonnets: they would give me a news story from the day before and my job was to re-write it into a Shakespearean sonnet and perform it live on air.
These were my first sonnets before I started my sonnet-diary in earnest in November, 2007. The reason I got that gig is because by then I’d already written 3 full-length plays in verse. So I’d had a little practise already. So I’d say back then it probably took me about 30 minutes per sonnet. Now it’s around 5-10 minutes: 5 for something I’d call a bit ‘slapdash’ (like in my live show) and perhaps 10 minutes for higher quality.
5. You work across poetry, theatre, film, music and podcasting — and now you’re encouraging people to put down their phones and AI and pick up a pen. Why do you think writing poetry can still be such a powerful and rewarding thing to do in 2026?
I started my diary in verse because during my early twenties I noticed that I was a nicer person when I was knee-deep in one of my artistic endeavours (writing a play in verse or composing my music, etc.) So I was looking for a daily artistic ritual that would keep me balanced – in touch with my higher, better self whilst keeping my dirty human feet firmly on the ground.
I was also reading a lot of Buddhist, Taoist and Stoic philosophy at the time (I still do). So I wanted a quick daily routine by which I could drill into myself the positive philosophies, moralities, and virtues I wanted to live by. With my diary in verse, I succeeded.
If you read the sonnets of the great sonneteers that came before me – and their love for the ‘holy sonnet’ – you’ll see I’m not alone in discovering that there is something truly magical about sonnets. My diary in verse healed me completely – I feel completely at peace with the world, despite how insane the world has become. And I am certain that it can and will do the same for anyone else with the passion and dedication to try.
Thus, through my books and shows, I feel delighted and privileged to help others to learn how to write their own magical sonnets, so they too can find and harness their inner peace and power, love, wisdom, compassion, kindness and courage.
To purchase Rogue Shakespeare’s Sonnets – Truth in Verse – Part I visit : https://duckpaddle-publishing-ltd.sumupstore.com/product/rogue-shakespeare-s-sonnets-truth-in-verse-part-i
Karen Woodham is the founder and owner of the Blazing Minds. She is also a Cinema reviewer and works with RealD 3D reviewing the latest 3D releases and IMAX, she has also had several articles published in various publications including the first edition of SFW Magazine. In 2015 she became an Award Winning Blogger and also has her website listed as one of the UK’s Top 10 Film Blogs.