Sonata Mulattica: Poems by Rita Dove (University of Virginia)
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.