An American sentence:
The cancer patient’s developed an allergy to blood transfusions.
What’s an ‘American Sentence’?
Allen Ginsberg, inventor of the American Sentence, felt that the haiku didn’t 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 🇮🇱 
That’s very unfortunate 😔
💚😓 Cassa 😓💚 ~ it’s truly awful
Not an uncommon occurrence!
🧡😥 Muri 😥🧡
That’s so terrible….
🤍🙏🏻 Terveen 🙏🏻🤍 ~ yes, it is.
The cruelest of ironies! ❤︎
💔🙏🏻 Nancy 🙏🏻💔 ~ yes…
Nice one.👌🏾
🤍🙏🏻 Jude 🙏🏻🤍 ~ thanks!
~David
A pleasure.
yes, so true
🖤🙏🏻 Beth 🙏🏻🖤 ~ yep.
The apostrophe?
Leukemia cannot be treated with blood transfusion.
In other forms it could be Urticaria
They’re not treating the cancer itself with blood transfusions ~ they’re treating dangerously low iron levels caused by the cancer… 😦
And so the patients have reacted negatively to the treatment?
yes, but it’s one patient, not multiple patients
the
‘s
is short for the word ‘has’
for example in this sentence:
“David’s written a lot of poems.”
Ah, thank you, I get it.
Thank you for the ‘American Sentence’ I am still learning new things after all these (many) years. Creativity is all. G:)
🙂 Graeme 🙂
If you’re looking for new forms to play with, I recommend these websites –
1) https://poetscollective.org/poetryforms/example-index/
2) http://www.shadowpoetry.com/resources/wip/types.html
Much love,
David
Thank you, David. I shall take a looksee – currently posting the life out of day 1 of NaPoWriMo G:)
Have a great evening / day / night (not necessarily in that order) G:)
You too, Graeme! Enjoy 😉