Sonnets for a Missing Key

Sonnets for a Missing Key is a mesmerising feat of language that reinforces Percival Everett as one of the great wordsmiths of the century.

“Few writers pay more rapt attention to the fact that history is, fundamentally, storytelling. … A pebble in every shoe. It’s the Everett way.”
—Dwight Garner, New York Times

“Your favorite writer’s writer, Percival Everett, is now everyone’s fave thanks to American Fiction , the Oscar-nominated film adaptation of his book Erasure . His latest, a lyrical book of must-read sonnets, remixes Chopin and Tatum in startling, elegiac new shapes.”
—Ryan Coleman, Entertainment Weekly

"VERDICT For enthusiasts of Percival's writing."
—David Keymer, Library Journal

"Everett is one of the most, if not the most interesting writers working today."
— Chicago Tribune

“Wry and epigrammatic, these poems inventively challenge and expand the possibilities of form.”
— Publishers Weekly

"One of the most profoundly talented writers of all time."
— Robin Coste Lewis, winner of the National Book Award for Poetry

"Percival Everett's "Sonnets for a Missing Key" is a mesmerizing collection that transcends the boundaries of conventional poetry. Each poem is a window into Everett's intricate mind, offering glimpses of profound emotion, philosophical musings, and poignant observations."
—Jordannah Elizabeth, Amsterdam News

“Percival Everett puts cherry on top of novels with new book of sonnets.”
—Larry Wilson, Pasadena Star-News

"Percival Everett is a genre."
—Kiese Laymon, author of Long Division and MacArthur Fellowship grantee

Percival Everett is a Distinguished Professor of English at USC. His most recent novels include James (instant bestseller), Dr. No (finalist for the NBCC Award for Fiction and winner of the PEN/ Jean Stein Book Award), The Trees (finalist for the Booker Prize and the PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction), Telephone (finalist for the Pulitzer Prize), So Much Blue, Erasure, and I Am Not Sidney Poitier. His most recent poetry collections include The Book of Training by Colonel Hap Thompson (winner of the 2020 IPPY Award in Most Original Concept) and Trout’s Lie . He has received the NBCC Ivan Sandrof Life Achievement Award and The Windham Campbell Prize from Yale University. American Fiction , the feature film based on his novel Erasure , was released in 2023 and was awarded the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay. He lives in Los Angeles with his wife, the writer Danzy Senna, and their children.