American Sonnets for My Past and Future Assassin by Terrance Hayes

American Sonnets for My Past and Future Assassin by Terrance Hayes is a collection of 70 sonnets that all have the same title. The book was written in the first two hundred days of the Trump presidency and exist to highlight what exactly is wrong with America. Hayes writes about the issues of racism and misogyny while also using humor to satirize the people who perpetuate these problems in America. Hayes illustrates how America was never great. At the end of the book, the sonnets are listed by the first line of each poem so the reader can find the poem they are looking for. Hayes mentions famous poets and famous victims in his work both by name and allusion.