AG
This is a website to present and foster a poetic form created by Allen Ginsberg and known as American Sentences. (More details are in my 2005 essay.) They are haiku-length poems that Allen suggested be limited to 17 syllables, like haiku in Japanese and like the mantra at the end of the Heart Sutra in Buddhism: Gate, gate, paragate, parasamgate, bodhi svaha.
I first became aware of the form when I read Cosmpolitan Greetings, Allen’s 1994 book. I had the honor of interviewing him for that book.
It took until 2001 before I was able to really investigate this form at the prompting of Anne Waldman and Andrew Schelling who presented that, along with some of Allen’s other poetics, at the Northwest SPokenword LAB in April of that year. (Hear Anne and Andrew talk about American Sentences and see John Olson’s comments about Paul’s sentences.)
I have written one of these sentences every day since January 1, 2001. (Sentence highlights from 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010.) I find it an amazing way to sharpen my perception and learn how to eliminate unnecessary syllables. It aids in a sort of pre-editing that supports my spontaneous writing practice.
It is my hope that others will take on this form and use it as a mode of deepening their consciousness or simply for kicks. If teaching it in a workshop, here is a handout.
Thanks for all the great information on American Sentences!
crossing waves in a seventeen-syllable boat the spray of water
Thanks for the kind words. See you around Indra’s Net.
Paul
[...] the form called the american sentence. 17 syllables, haiku-like, ginsberg-inspired. find out more here. the first line is an american sentence, based on a shooting that happened outside my workplace as [...]
Well, what you have here reads like a headline. Poetry requires a little more than a count of syllables. What was vivid about the event? That could lead to the poetry of it. Good luck and thanks for your interest in American Sentences. Paul