An American sentence:
I would dissolve into night’s muted darkness – then evanesce at dawn.
What’s an ‘American Sentence’?
Allen Ginsberg, inventor of the American Sentence, felt that the haiku didnโt work as well in English. Ginsberg decided to remove the line structure of the haiku, maintaining the requirement of 17 syllables total. He felt that removing the line count freed the American Sentence up for the idiosyncrasies of English phonemes.
The requirements:
- Composed in one line;
- Syllabic, 17 syllables;
- Condensed, written with no unnecessary words or articles;
- Complete sentence or sentences;
- Includes a turn or enlightenment.
Let’s write poetry together!
When it comes to partnership, some humans can make their lives alone – it’s possible. But creatively, it’s more like painting: you can’t just use the same colours in every painting. It’s just not an option. You can’t take the same photograph every time and live with art forms with no differences.
–Ben Harper (b. 1969)
Would you like to create poetry with me and have a completed poem of yours featured here at the Skeptic’s Kaddish? I am very excited to have launched the ‘Poetry Partners’ initiative and am looking forward to meeting and creating with you… Check it out!
The Skeptic's Kaddish ๐ฎ๐ฑ 
So lovely! ๐
๐ Terveen ๐
Good you’re back from the cosmos and reappeared .. back to reading lol ๐คฃ
โค Cindy โค
๐๐
Hey David.. I’m doing a post on how to make a home and about page and want to use your visuals and refer them to some of our friends.. one of them being you. can you please send me that post and is it ok with you if I use it by copy and pasting?
lmk ๐
Cindy – I’m not sure which post exactly you mean, but all of my blogging tips are here:
Feel free to use the content in whatever way you want.
Much love,
David
Oh that’s awesome David!
Thanks so much!
I really appreciate it๐๐
if you would link back to whatever posts you use, I’d appreciate that ๐
โค
David
You mean share your link in my post right? that’s what I’m planning to do but remember it’s your tech non savvy friend.. ๐
๐
๐ค
Love this one – especially for the comments!!
๐ Muri ๐
Excellent use of a sentence. i enjoyed reading it this morning.
๐ค Molly ๐ค
Iโd like to see that. (K)
๐ Kerfe ๐
Liked the message. But I’m not convinced the “form” is essential or that it necessarily contributes to the whole. It’s your thought, your word use I find exceptional.
๐ ๐ If it were one syllable off, I might never be able to come back, Espie…
“If it were one syllable off, I might never be able to come back” 18?
๐
Clearly out of my league here. I think I’m going back to Donald Duck comics…
โค nah! you got it right away
The imagery of your sentence, David, is as American as a wrangler on the range. ๐
Evanescence reclaimed from muted dark in haiku’s westering sun.
๐ That’s so interesting, CES… I wouldn’t have thought so in particular. But I guess you can’t take America out of the American.
โค
David
I sense the American optimism, vestigially, at least, in dawn’s evanescence succeeding night’s mute darkness. But that’s me. And I’m only as American as the wretched refuse of teeming shore. : )
So long as you do not go gentle!
๐ I’d probably still come back though… eventually.
If you have the choice ๐