All sonnets are in fact completely different and are in no way necessarily related to each other . Still taking into consideration that within the common aspects/themes that some of the sonnets have with each other . There is specific factual history and real life events/circumstances mentioned and referenced within them . This does not conclude in that these sonnets themselves are indeed real stories told by people , simply that some of the facts and/or events are in fact nonfictional . For instance , the 1992 Los Angeles riots was a community uproar and response on the handling of Rodney King 's trial , after the disturbing act of being incredibly affected by police brutality . The 1994 Northridge earthquake occurred on the early morning of January 17 , around 4:30:55 AM . The location that was affected was about 1 mile south-southwest of the Northridge area and about 20 miles west-northwest of Los Angeles . This earthquake was a strong magnitude of MW6 .7 , which is estimated to only occur around 100 times a year . It is expected to cause incredible amounts of damage surrounding populated areas . The 1915 silent epic drama The Birth of a Nation was a pro-Ku Klux Klan film , initially released as The Clansman . This film premiered as so in what was called Clune 's Auditorium , previously known as Hazard 's Pavilion prior to its demolition and destruction in 1906 . It is an extremely controversial film regarding its valiant and righteous portrayal of the KKK . White males used black face while being depicted as hostile and sexually aggressive towards specifically white women . The famous American musician Lightnin ' Hopkins,1912-1982 , is mentioned a couple of times throughout the sonnets . He was one of the greatest country blues singers of all time and , as the New York Times expresses in his obituary , " perhaps the greatest single influence on rock guitar players . " Continuing with a topic , that is quickly touched on , that being illegal immigration . Throughout 1910-1930 the number of immigrants tripled in numbers , from 200,000 to 600,000 . This number has certainly grown throughout the years . For many of these immigrants their journey into moving to The United States was more than just one trip . Keeping in mind that the distance between Mexico and California was so minimal people would attempt to go back and forth in order to obtain most if not all of their possessions . This has been a method used by immigrants for many decades . Perhaps this is what characters like '' Doris Defarnecio '' were experiencing when the disturbing death of her Papa and Mama occurred
1994 Northridge earthquake
1994 Northridge earthquake
Sonnets for an Old Century