Rogue Shakespeare On Writing Thousands Of Sonnets, His New Book, And The Power Of Verse

On The Table Read MAgazine, “the best arts and entertainment magazine UK“, Ryan J-W Smith—the world’s most prolific sonneteer known as Rogue Shakespeare— discusses his monumental new book, the discipline of iambic pentameter, and his unique journey across poetry, theatre, and live performance.

Rogue Shakespeare® (aka Ryan J-W Smith) – the most prolific sonneteer in world history – releases his first 1,000 sonnets this summer in his new book: Rogue Shakespeare’s Sonnets – Truth in Verse – Part I: The Path to Enlightenment in the Brave New World

Here we are chatting with Ryan.

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1. You’ve written thousands of sonnets. What keeps you creatively curious, and how has your approach to creating changed over the years?

SONNET 3465 – August 29, 2026

I have no choice, creating as I do,
This History of Servitude in Rhyme;
I used to scribe for self, now all’s for you –
The future generations, past my time.
Now I have freed my mind, I must free yours,
That you might touch the graces I have felt;
I’ve wondered over oceans, under shores,
To understand the cards that I was dealt.
And having conquered ignorance and fear,
And slipped into unconsciousness to die,
The meaning of my dedication’s clear,
But you must read my life to find my ‘why’.
Within my story you will find your own;
Each virtue you would wear, must first be sewn.

2. Your sonnets can be personal, political, spiritual and prophetic, while always working within the discipline of rhyme and iambic pentameter. How do you balance having a strong creative structure with allowing unexpected ideas and emotions to take over?

SONNET 3466 – August 29, 2026

Within the sonnet structure I exist –
My mind now dwells eternal, herein placed;
’Tis here that I am beaten, healed and kissed,
As into immortality I’m graced.
Within this state my Goddess is my Queen,
Her name is Nature, I her humble scribe.
She is man’s Love, though she is rarely seen
By earthly fools who bicker, lust and jibe.
She tells me what to write, and I obey;
She puts her heart through mine, till I give in.
Her unexpected notions oft me sway,
And force my lost divinity to win.
The prison of her verse is my delight;
I turn the lock myself, both day and night.

3. Rogue Shakespeare began as a way of turning your own life and experiences into poetry. At what point did you appreciate that this personal creative experiment had grown into something much bigger – and that the alter ego of ‘Rogue Shakespeare’ had effectively become a character in his own right?

SONNET 3467 – August 29, 2026

I’ve only just accepted what shall be;
It seems that you can recognise this too:
Rogue Shakespeare, so much bigger now than me,
Will do the things a mortal cannot do.
The future, I was shown in decades past,
But I could not believe it at the time;
Into the role of poet I was cast,
To weave the ugly truth in pretty rhyme.
Now what shall come to pass, I see so clear;
As verse returns, to claim the throne they stole.
And though I write the words, I do not steer;
A higher mind than mine is in control.
Love hid my mission from me, until now;
She kept me blind – and faithful, to my vow.

4. You’re also an award-winning verse playwright, actor and director. What does writing for the stage give you that writing a sonnet doesn’t, and how does performing your own words change your relationship with them?

SONNET 3468 – August 29, 2026

The stage allows my higher self to fly:
My Pretty, Witty Nell – a long-dead spouse;
Love Labours Won – how poet-young will try
To live for something more than health and house.
MacDeth! is social commentary rare,
Like Romeo and Juliet it Ain’t!
Through all my verse I do what artists dare:
Speak truth to power, till my angels faint.
My New World Order – way before it’s time;
For twenty years I’ve seen what you now see.
My plays and sonnets both record their crime;
The task to tell the world I give to thee.
I wrote the truth to rip apart their lie;
A poet must live by his verse, or die.

5. The Rogue Shakespeare Experience takes the creative process into a live setting, with you demonstrating how you can write a sonnet on a given subject suggested by the audience. What do you enjoy about creating poetry spontaneously in front of an audience, and does having that immediate reaction from a live audience influence your work?

SONNET 3469 – August 29, 2026

I love the interaction of my show;
The efforts of the audience delight –
Encouragement for them to have a go,
Despite the fact they rarely get it right! 
It’s fun to teach them how to write in verse;
Improving their iambic in a game. 
Unlike my other shows, I can’t rehearse,
And no two nights can ever be the same!
From this, I understand my expertise –
That what I do is far outside man’s range;
That I can scribe a sonnet with such ease,
Whilst weaving sacred truisms, is strange 
And it has changed me – doubled my resolve;
The puzzle I was given, I can solve.

6. You’ve worked across poetry, theatre, film, music and now podcasting. If you could encourage other artists to stop worrying about fitting into one particular creative box, what would you tell them about experimenting across different art forms?

SONNET 3470 – August 29, 2026

All life is all-connected, everywhere;
The Universe omnipotent, sans time:
Each part unto the other thus must care,
So all my other art forms tend my rhyme.
My music soon shall spread Rogue Shakespeare’s name;
Experience in filmmaking secures.
Be Great at Almost Everything! – my game;
Against inaction’s poison, knowledge cures.
And only now, my training in each thing
Is understood by he who mastered all.
My ‘accidental’ rise, hard work did bring;
When others left the path, I did not stall.
With faith I followed, blind, sweet destiny;
Now everything I need is all in me.

To purchase Rogue Shakespeare’s Sonnets – Truth in Verse – Part I: The Path to Enlightenment in the Brave New World, please visit Duck Paddle Publishing LTD

Amazon: https://amzn.to/4xA5HrU