Invented Poetry Forms – The American Sentence

~ Paul Szlosek

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Today’s post is on the American Sentence, a poetry form invented by the American Beat poet Allen Ginsberg in the mid-1980’s as a twist on traditional haiku. Like haiku, American Sentences consist of 17 syllables, but instead of being arranged into three lines, they are written as a single line or sentence. They also may or may not have a title.

As far as the other rules of the form, there seems to be varying opinions. Many seem to feel the poem should be just one complete grammatical sentence, while others have written them as two, three, or four or even just as series of phrases. Paul E. Nelson (the poet most associated with the American Sentence, besides Ginsberg) emphasizes the use of concrete images though ones written by others often deal with abstractions. Ginsberg, himself, stated that the poem, if possible should mention either a time or place (or both) and the use of articles such as “a” and “the” should be avoided. But even he didn’t always follow the last suggestion as seen in these four of the original American Sentences composed by Ginsberg:

Nov 1991 N.Y.

Put my tie on in a taxi, short of breath, rushing to meditate

—Allen Ginsberg

Tompkins Square Lower East Side N.Y.

Four skinheads stand in the streetlight rain chatting under an umbrella

—Allen Ginsberg

On Hearing the Muezzin Cry Allah Akbar While Visiting the Pythian Oracle at Didyma Toward the End of the Second Millennium

At sunset Apollo’s columns echo with the bawl of the One God

—Allen Ginsberg

Approaching Seoul by Bus in Heavy Rain

Get used to your body, forget you were born, suddenly you got to get out!

—Allen Ginsberg

In comparison, here are four American Sentences that I attempted:

Boulevard Diner

The ham slices squeal on the smoking grill like the ghosts of dying pigs

The Sad Truth About Aging

To grow old is to witness your world being dismantled around you

The Gambler’s Mantra

Luck is a middle finger waved in the face of probability

An Urban Stroll a Week After a Winter Storm

Propelled by my feet, chunks of frozen snow skitter down gritty sidewalks

As you can see, some of my American Sentences adhered to some of the rules stated above, while some others didn’t at all. If you decide to try your own hand at writing one (I really hope you do), please feel free to pick and choose which rules you want to follow. The only vital rule that should not be ignored is that the American Sentence be 17 syllables and written in one line.

 

Published by Paul Szlosek

Paul Szlosek was born in Southbridge, Massachusetts, but currently resides in the nearby metropolis of Worcester. He was co-founder and host of the long-running Poet’s Parlor poetry reading in Southbridge and Sturbridge, as well as a past recipient of the Jacob Knight Award for Poetry. His poems have appeared in various local publications including the Worcester Review, Worcester Magazine, Sahara, Concrete Wolf, and Diner. He’s probably best known in the Worcester poetry community for his fanatical obsession with obscure poetry forms, and has invented his own including the ziggurat, the streetbeatina, and (most recently) the hodgenelle.

38 thoughts on “Invented Poetry Forms – The American Sentence”

    1. You are very Welcome, Tanya! There seems to be so many variations on haiku, it is hard to keep track of them all, but I found this particular one a bit different, and really interesting. i hope you have fun playing with it!

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

    1. Thank you so much, Brad! I am so pleased you liked my humble attempts at the American Sentence. I wrote the last one after reading some advice on writing them by the poet Paul E, Nelson. He recommends a practice of taking a walk and bringing a notebook to write down your observations as American Sentences.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
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  10. Hi, Paul. Thanks for sharing such great and interesting post. A great take on the concept of haiku. Will bear the ‘The American Sentence ” in mind for possible ‘inventions’ of my own. Have reblogged.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
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  15. Hi Paul, I’m thinking of using this interesting poetic form as one of my Fab Feb writing prompts, with a link to this excellent website post of yours to help explain it in more detail. Is that OK?

    this was my first attempt at this interesting style: “Mid morning sunshine, pot plants outside, all wave branches beseechingly …”

    And having said that, I’d better go and water those thirsty plants!

    thanks

    Carolyn

    Fab Feb Writing Prompts – Day Twenty-two

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

      1. Many thanks to you Paul! The thirsty plants are all now waving their thanks to me, after I went outside and got the water and hose happening, to water them all. It’s a warm South Australian summers day … Beautiful blue sky, gentle breeze … Blissful!

        Like

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