Welcome to Day 4 of the October Open Write. If you have written with us before, welcome back. If you are joining us for the first time, you are in the kind, capable hands of today’s host, so just read the prompt below and then, when you are ready, write in the comment section below. We do ask that if you write, in the spirit of reciprocity, you respond to three or more writers. To learn more about the Open Write, click here.
National Day on Writing is October 20th. Connect with us and NCTE on Twitter, Wednesday, October 20, as we chat about writing all day. We will be posting prompts, sharing resources, and discussing all things writing! Join us using #WhyIWrite!
Denise lives in the small town of Bay City, Michigan, which is actually not on a bay. Go figure. She is winding down thirty-some-years of two-year college teaching where she poured her heart and soul into breaking down barriers in higher education for developmental writers – until legislators and administrators decided too much help isn’t a good thing and essentially ended that career. But she’s not bitter. Much. She still enjoys teaching comp and world mythology and has redirected her energies into editing NewPages.com, an online resource promoting literary magazines, small presses, indie bookstores, and creative writing programs. She uses early mornings to walk, read, write, art, and yoga and looks forward to hanging out with friends on Ethical ELA every month
Inspiration
I am shocked that I never heard of this form before last year when Ayrn Blanzy, the College Success Coach for one of my classes, led a session on American Sentences for student journal writing. I found it exhilarating, and I regularly bring this form into practice when I’m tired, fidgety, have brain fog, don’t have time, or just don’t feel like writing. It is challenging and rewarding, providing insightful, poetic perspectives and a sense of great accomplishment in a small package – and maybe the seed for longer works!
Process
American Sentences originated from Allen Ginsberg (1926-1997) who, as the story goes, liked the brevity of haiku but just wasn’t into the form for a number of reasons. His book, Cosmopolitan Greetings (1994) introduced American Sentence to readers and writers: One sentence. Seventeen syllables. That’s it. Condensed form, powerful effect. (If you Google “Allen Ginsberg American Sentence,” you’ll find lots of sites that discuss it and offer examples.)
Some writers who know haiku can try their hand at the seasonal word (kigo) and the cutting word (kireji), but you don’t hafta if you don’t wanna.
You can create American Sentences from simple observations, “found” sentences from headlines, news text, songs, movie lines, random overheard dialogue, any text – in full or try some blackout style. Up. To. You.
Just one sentence. Seventeen syllables. (Well, okay – you can make more than one sentence, but try to keep the syllable count the hard rule.)
And – because today’s form is short – you can write one and be done, or help yourself to a few more! They can be related or not. Have I mentioned it’s up to you? Okay – have fun!
Some of Ginsberg’s American Sentences
“Taxi ghosts at dusk pass Monoprix in Paris 20 years ago.”
“Put on my tie in a taxi, short of breath, rushing to meditate.”
“Four skinheads stand in the streetlight rain chatting under an umbrella.”
“Bearded robots drink from Uranium coffee cups on Saturn’s ring.”
“Crescent moon, girls chatter at twilight on the bus ride to Ankara.”
Denise’s Poem
Some of Denise’s American Sentences
Trees talk to one another, say, “Hold on tight, buddy, more wind coming.”
Towering pines bend and sway with each strong gust of wind, roots hold them firm.
Solitude is healthy even if it exists only in my mind.
Grandma’s hydrangeas’ heavy-headed bosoms undulate in the breeze.
After pooling sweat and waves of paranoia come bone-rattling chills.
Awake again at 3am, I go downstairs to make tea and write.
The garden suddenly green after months of waiting for summer.
For the cats, open windows are a portal into a whole new world.
Your Turn
Now, scroll to the comment section below to write your own poem. (This is a public space, so you may choose to use only your first name or initials depending on your privacy preferences.) Not ready? That’s okay. Read the poems already posted for more inspiration. Ponder your own throughout the day. Return later. And, if the prompt does not work for you, that is fine. All writing is welcome. Just write something. Also, please be sure to respond to at least three writers. Oh, and a note about drafting: Since we are writing in short bursts, we all understand (and even welcome) the typos and partial poems that remind us we are human and that writing is always becoming. If you’d like to invite other teachers to write with us, tell them to subscribe.
Seed pod bursts open spreading filaments on wind currents, fall planting. (A day late…but I love this new-to-me writing form! Thanks so much for sharing!) #writeout
I love the short form today! American sentences—who knew??? And I’m a fan of Ginsberg’s writing.
Midterm Musings
Democracy’s future hangs on by a thread, but let’s talk gas prices.
Dave,
This!! So much truth in your poem. Thank you for sharing today.
Ugh! This one pretty much nails it. So much distraction, but those distractions are real and hit home for so many. I just wish we could truly discern short-term and long-term, for self and for the greater good. I will be ready to look back on all of this some day and find the lesson learned.
Denise,
Thank you for today’s prompt. I have never heard of this form of poetry, so thanks for teaching me something new as well.
Knit one, purl two over and over again relaxes mind and soul.
DeAnna,
The quintessential DeAnna poem if ever I read one! Nice. I like the gentle rhythm of the line–it echoes the action.
I feel relaxed just reading this ❤️ thank you for sharing
Definitely relaxing!
Seriously, DeAnna! I also just gave an audible “Awwww…” and felt relaxed reading this! I also love the spelling of purl, which always makes me envision a purring cat curling up in a little nap circle. Very sweet.
Denise, I did not know of the American Sentence before! Thank you!
Also, on Day #4 of the Open Write, I appreciate the invitation to write just one. Mine is a reminder to myself to rein in my “enthusiasm.”
Beware: a firehose of words can douse tender flickers of learning.
Allison, I so valued my time being a fly in the wall in your class a few times. Because of your enthusiasm about sonnets (we studied the The New Colossus that day), teach that poem now too. Your excitement for this subject extends far beyond your own classroom walls.
Allison, what an excellent reminder about the power of words!
Allison, I think your imagery as a “firehose of words” creates a vivid force of enthusiasm which might be daunting to young learners. Although, enthusiasm always seems so appealing to me. I also like how you set up this advice. Love it!
I think this is one many of us can agree – we’ve been there, done that, Allison! Yet, it is indeed genuine enthusiasm that drives us, so also hard to find fault there. Bal-lance. Thanks for the share today!
Denise — I really love this form and can’t wait to explore it more. This is all I had time for today.
The orange cones and corrugated roads add tempo to lonely drives.
How beautiful, Tammi. This is what I will think of now when I’m alone on the road ?
This is so great! Not a haiku, capture that haiku moment!
Tammi,
You have a much more positive attitude about road construction than I do. We have a three-year interstate project that recently commenced near us, and it means another road won’t be accessible for three years because the project is—in part—moving the road under the interstate and building a series of overpasses about a city road. It has already created quite a mess for local traffic on two interstates that converge.
“corrugated roads” is a new one for me, Tammi, and I can feel my teeth rattling as I read that line! This is indeed our “construction season,” and we are seeing a lot more of it now with shut-down catching up and Covid money still flowing. I never would have considered those cones my companions, so thanks for this attitude adjustment! My little glowing buddies!
Scorched leaves, consumed in smoke, crave the smell of petrichor; noses sniffing
I forgot to compliment this prompt and examples! Thank you, Denise, for introducing me to this. It’s perfect for a Tuesday evening!
Rachelle,
Yours is so Oregon I can’t believe it! We’ve converted you! I love it, despite the itchy eyes with our thick smoky air right now. I, too, “crave the smell of petrichor.”
Awe Rachelle,
Oregonian now for sure. This smoke is killing me, I mean breathing is optional at this point.
Thank you for sharing today.
Rachelle! I LOVE petrichor! Just the other day I found “13 Ways of Looking at Petrichor” https://abaprilpoetry.blogspot.com/2021/04/day-10-haiku.html
I count in your brief American Sentence four imagery appeals. Lovely.
Yes! I remembered this poem and think of it often, especially now right before rainy season here. You inspire me!
<3 <3 <3
I appreciate the comments about Oregon – we have smoke here, but only as people choose to burn their leaf piles (and where it’s legal). I spent a short stint in Portland, and the falls there are indeed so different than the falls here in Michigan. “the smell of petrichor” is something I likewise noticed was absent on our late fall bike rides. Now it is all damp and no dry. In the spring, I call it the “humidor” smell because it reminds me of the walk-in humidor in a cigar shop. And we do go sniffing for the familiarity, don’t we? Love how well the geography was captured here and how quickly others recognized that as well.
Thank you for the fun prompt. As my poem shows, it’s been a week. I appreciate the space and format to vent.
Just when you think everything is going just fine and dandy, it stops.
The car that’s been running fine, suddenly needs a whole new engine.
Two hundred and seventy six papers all come in on the same day.
The air quality spikes to a hundred and fifty seven, ugh, smog.
At least the skunk smell has finally left my house and the dog smells fine.
Yep, it’s been a week and I’m ready to crawl under a thick blanket.
Who said adulting is easier than “teening” is–liar, liar!
The haze inspired my poem today, but I see now that it’s only one of the factors that has negatively affected your week. Hang in there, friend!
Cara,
This does not seem like your best week. Wish there was something I could do to help. I just told students today, that even though it was nice to have someone take care of me, I don’t ever want to go back to being a child/teen.
Cara,
Your sense of detail and imagery brought me up close to
the car
the papers
the smog
the skunk
I welcome that thick blanket. You deserve it.
OMGosh, Cara! I think you win the award for “Enough Already, Life!” I couldn’t help but laugh out loud at the progression of the skunk line – from the house to the dog! Sorry for that misery, but I hope you found that blanket – or will soon!
Hi Denise,
Thank you for hosting today. I just did one for today, but the is is something I will definitely introduce to my students. I already have an idea. This one resonates with me because I need: Solitude is healthy even if it exists only in my mind.
This one makes me laugh because I have a childish mind, lol: Grandma’s hydrangeas’ heavy-headed bosoms undulate in the breeze.
Here’s mine:
Sudden downpour, hail, and strong winds are just a tease-burn ban wins again.
In Oregon we are eagerly waiting for the rain to begin. Clever exploration of the dichotomy between Fire and Water.
The rain dries up as quickly as it falls. I’ve read many reports of car and grass fires. Some are hitting close to home. Hopefully we shall have relief soon! Thank you Rachelle, I wasn’t even trying.
Jessica,
What a fun poem. At this time I would be happy for some rain, the smoke in the air is no fun.
I agree DeAnna!!! And thank you!
There are indeed so many ways to take this prompt and use it with students, Jessica. I used this for a STEM girls’ day event, having students show their understanding of some STEM concept. It is so much fun to see them tapping their fingers, trying to get the count and the words just right – great critical thinking and expression exercise. I enjoyed your sentence with its combination of geographical and seasonal markers. The building tension of the storm only to be let down by the “tease” – such a great, disarming word. Thank you!
Oh, this was fun! I think this also gives you a peek into what’s on my mind lately. This string of American Sentences are not related in any way.
American Sentences
By Mo Daley 10/18/22
A hot bubble bath can wash away so many of the day’s worries
The happy moment you finish one book and itch to start another
Does my dog live a Groundhog Day, always thinking I’ll never return?
A chickadee peered in the window today, as if looking for seeds
Can I be effective without attending curriculum meetings?
Mo, Thanks for these! If I swap out “curriculum” for “district-wide” in your last question, I find that this is a question I often ask myself. Lol. I enjoy my discipline-specific curriculum meetings: the various other “generic” PD ones less so.
Mo, I love the one about the moment in between books. You captured the euphoria well!
The curriculum meeting really speaks to me, lol! And the moment of completing a book, to move into the headspace of another literary encounter is always satisfying and wonderous!
Mo,
To answer that last question: Yes. I giggled at the dog living groundhog day. Cats certainly do!
Laughed out loud at the last one! I was JUST this morning thinking if I could negotiate never having to attend another division meeting in my life…How well would that go over? I used to think an elder colleague who played Candy Crush through each meeting was rude. Now I’m thinking about starting to play. Love all of these, Mo. It’s great how quick and concise these can be for the moment of the poem, and then the kind of variety that can show up, even in just the span of a single practice. Glad you enjoyed it!
I’m getting a head start on National Day on Writing! Thanks, Denise!
#WhyIWrite
If I write about sorrow, pain, grief or loss, I pray I help someone.
My past exhausts me but it made me a stronger and wiser woman.
If I write about love, joy, peace or hope, it’s therapy for my soul.
Each day gifts me faith in tomorrow’s infinite possibilities.
© Stacey L. Joy, October 18, 2022
Stacey, I think you’ve described yourself and your writing perfectly here. I feel all of these things when I read your poetry. Well done!
Stacey your writing does help someone! It has helped and inspired ME along with countless others, I’m sure. You’re speaking for so many of us with the lines, ” my past exhausts me….” but its helps our soul to read your words and then write ourselves.
Stacey, I love the interconnectedness of these sentences and the balance that you create in the conversation between the lines. The first and third lines especially are impactful about the power of writing. Thanks for this!
Stacey,
The first sentences in each vignette aptly state what our writing gives others and us, They echo I Corinthians 13: 1-2 in my mind, and I’m thinking writing is a gesture of love.
Agree with others here, these sound like prayer. There is something very natural about the syllable count in these sentences, where it does feel as though some just flow like prayer or mantra. Others read more like stolid prose but carry just a deep of a meaning (or multiple meanings). I love seeing how you made this your own, Stacey.
To write a seventeen syllable sentence is not simple, it seems! – hahaha, that is a 17 syllable thought, as I tried to land somewhere for this invigorating prompt. This was a true and fun puzzle, Denise. Thank you for it! My sentences (actually, three questions are included) derive from some of my musings from yesterday’s prompt “I’ve been writing this since”….
Why/What/What/We/Move
Why do we humans imagine ourselves to be the center of all?
What are we missing when we grab center stage, disregarding all else?
What beings are outraged by our naivete and self-importance?
We are impertinent foolish children, believing we have control.
Move us out of the way, so that we might truly see and understand.
Maureen, I wrote some questions today, too, but mine are unrelated thoughts. I like how you wove all your thoughts together to ask such big questions.I love your last line.
Maureen, I love it! I listened to a podcast this morning and the host was talking about the need for people to be front and center. I feel like your poem should’ve been the intro or the outro to the episode!
?
Yes! I agree, Maureen. “We are impertinent foolish children, believing we have control”. It would be amazing if humans would spend more time caring for others and the world.
Bravo, Maureen. We humans have so much hubris as a species, and the questions you pose should give us pause. I love that these question set us up for both a statement of problem and a solution. We’ll done!
Yours are a good compliment to Dave’s sentence, Maureen. His seems to epitomize this very ‘me-centered’ behavior. I wonder if it has always been this way, only now more pronounced with a few billion more people on the planet and the technology to make us see ourselves as the center all day long. I hoped the pandemic might help us better understand our fragile place on this planet – with this planet – but I’m not sure that was the right wake-up call to move us out of the way. I guess we’ll see what happens next. Thoughtfully captured here. I love the questions, and honestly have never approached the sentences as questions, but it adds a unique twist.
Denise, this is a wonderful prompt. What a fantastic collection of Ginsberg sentences. Your sentence poem captures a surging storm and the frenetic mood it evokes. Love the car references as a point of tension.
Existential Threats
Taking ownership of female bodies means rights for thee, not for me.
Ongoing election BIG LIE undermines voting integrity.
Active shooter school drills instill trauma sans safety among students.
MAGA republicans destroy democracy for their fat orange clown.
Human caused climate change increases earth’s temperature, threatening all.
Arsenic leeching from the Great Salt Lake causes poisoning and panic.
—Glenda Funk
Glenda, your poem radiates power and I love how all these sentences show the sincere danger our lives and welfare face today. Your first line sets the stage for the many issues that I also feel strongly about. From the BIG LIE to Great Salt Lake, your voice resonates with the injustices and problems we must tackle or face a very grim future. Thank you for your mighty voice and words!
Your sentences are ripped from the headlines, Glenda! Seventeen syllable nuggets that are disturbing and true.
Glenda, you make grabbing these terrifying headlines and turning them into poetry seem so easy, which makes me sad. It shouldn’t be so “easy.”
Boom!!!!!
Glenda, you delivered these lines with ?!
“fat orange clown” enough said.
Glenda — These existential threats make me sad for all of us. It feels like we are at a tipping point and I worry that things will only get worse. 🙁
Distilling issues down to this single sentence form can increase the impact, as these each are so heavily weighted, Glenda. I know we say there is no black/white – no absolute in many of the concerns we fight on the political stage. Pundits try to reduce them to simple either/or situations, but, in some cases, I feel we have shoved ourselves into the proverbial corner and have truly only left ourselves with the quandary of two really bad options to choose from. Yours combined with Maureen’s make a powerful duet of our times.
Hi Denise! Thank you for today’s prompt and for allowing for so much flexibility in how we choose to go with it. Your final sentence is all love, as I often wonder what my cat thinks about while gazing out the window.
Looking forward to the end of my school day so I can write. Hopefully, staff meeting and PD won’t take 45,000 hours!
? ?
Denise, I’ve been away this month and haven’t been able to join in but todays inspiration had me considering the joy of fall in New England. It never gets old! Thank you for your prompt and the new poetry form!
Expected seasonal changes still produce awe and astonishment!
Christine, how lucky you are to be in New England at this time of year. And what a perfect poem to capture and celebrate fall there. Enjoy!
Christine,
This is true! I love the seasonal changes.
What a joy to be in New England for autumn! Lucky you.
Welcome back, Christine. Thanks for reminding us to Ay attention to seasonal changes … especially in brilliant colors we see out our windows … literally and metaphorically.
I don’t why I’m amazed by the colors each Fall or the glow in the eyes of a student who finally drops the glazed look because they “got it!” We educators expected that look, but usually in awe when it comes.
Yes, I agree. I love the changing seasons and am always awed by the beauty of nature.
Hahahaha! This sentence describes ME to a T! And I hope it always will! Nature – even just the simplest form (a tree, a flower, a bee) – is so amazing to me. And fall – ! My poor husband has to listen to me ooohhh and ahhhhh every time we take a walk. How many times do I stop and point out the next most beautiful leaf ever?! I’ve lost count. Thank you for capturing this sense of awe and appreciation so well. I love these sentences – don’t you?
Denise, what a fun writing activity. Thank you for your time and prompt today. Here are a few moments I’ve witnessed.
Land Mines
Displaced farmer, patiently waits, hoe in hand, to sever a mole’s head.
Heartache
My former student’s face glows on the phone screen, arrested and disgraced.
The Windbreak
Prayers whispered in an evergreen cathedral drift on an autumn breeze.
Barb,
I love Heartache. I, too, have felt that when the arrest records come up on my phone.
With the moles in my yard I connected with that farmer – sad but true!
“The Windbreak” took my breath away, Barb – “evergreen cathedral” – whoa. I also like how you titled each of yours. Something I never considered doing – but those work so well in tandem with the sentence. I am going to try that on some next time I’m writing them.
Barb,
The image of the mole getting its head chopped off is seasonally spot on! I’m sorry about the former student. Heartbreaking news. ?
I love Land Mines as I can be that displaced farmer. Thanks for all three of your poems.
Oh, that heartache sentence just hurts, hurts, hurts.
Barb, your “Windbreak” sentence is beautiful! (And your “Heartache” one is aptly named!)
Barb —
I really love this one: “Prayers whispered in an evergreen cathedral drift on an autumn breeze” — beautiful image.
Syllable counting can be fun, like a wordle puzzle. Also challenging to get some kind of meaning out of it. I went back to my notebook and found some writing from our current #WriteOut experience. Write Out is a two week event from the National Writing Project and the National Parks Service. Here’s a link: https://writeout.nwp.org/spark-your-notebook/ Lots of great prompts for getting kids to write about nature. Today we were writing about leaves.
Follow the veins of a leaf to find a map to the soul of the earth.
On a leaf, trace rivers of nourishment through valleys of fertile soul.
Lines traveling to chlorophyll, the color like a map will survive. (written by James, 2nd grade)
Sometimes when a day feels messy, take a moment to draw a flower.
Imagine, happiness sneaks in to touch your heart when you least expect it.
Margaret, Thank you for sharing these American Sentences — I especially love that you included James’ sentence. Your sentences all work so well together and you included the Kigo!
Also, thanks for reminding us about the Write Out program.
Thanks. I had to google “kigo”!
Margaret, thank you first of all for the great link. I’m anxious to check it out. I love your first and last sentence. The first for the veins leading to the earth’s soul. The last one because it is so wonderful to be unexpectedly touched by happiness. Beautiful sentences!
Oh Margaret, how I love the idea of drawing flowers when the day is messy. You’ve given me an instant smile and hope
I agree with Christine, that flower one is just so spot-on healthy daily philosophy. I’m going to stickynote that one on my desk. I can just imagine I’ll be drawing some flowers in the upcoming weeks! I also enjoy the Write Out! events, and this is a wonderful way to join forces with our STEM colleagues. Students can also show their understanding of concepts through American Sentences, having them really think about the core or essence of something they are learning. Thank you for sharing this combined experience. Lucky kids under your guidance!
These are insightful sentences, Margaret! Thank you for the #WriteOut info. I love love love “Sometimes when a day feels messy, take a moment to draw a flower.”
Margaret — Love all of these images, but this one really made me smile “Sometimes when a day feels messy, take a moment to draw a flower.”
Here’s another “Thanks for the new-to-me form!” I’m recently retired and am now working as the reading specialist for our local resource center’s after school program. I’m a “childcare worker” after a lifetime of being a “classroom teacher.” And it has been brought to my attention that I will now qualify for “Hero Pay.” Here’s my American Sentence:
Where was Hero Pay when I was an online teacher during COVID?
Online teaching was SO HARD! And online library-ing — don’t get me started!
Enjoy your new position.
Oh, Mary Lee, how your sentence has me chuckling. An absolutely perfectly delivered question.
A fair and poignant question to ask, Mary Lee. I just got done watching an interview with Jennifer Berkshire, one of the authors of A Wolf at the Schoolhouse Door: The Dismantling of Public Education and the Future of School, and she talks about how quickly teachers went from “hero” status during the shutdowns to now being (or continuing to be?) vilified and controlled by deeply funded political interest groups. I’m not sure how we ever catch a break! I guess more the question is – where is the hero pay all the time? And even – I’ll forgo the pay for general civility and respect for the work I do. See? A simple American Sentence can drum up this much conversation! Seventeen syllables! You have to love it, right?! I look forward to joining you in that retirement realm soon! : )
Mary, I’m glad you will get “Hero Pay” but yes, we all needed it during online teaching. That was rough but we did it with passion.
Mary Lee, Yep. Good question. Lol. Thanks for writing and sharing this!
Mary Lee — A great question. I am so glad we are back in person learning. On-line was a nightmare.
Overheard in the Hallways Outside the Library
“The library is a fantastic location for our lunch and learns.”
“There’s no librarian tomorrow so the library needs to close.”
“The books are calling to me; young adult, middle grade — I hear them all!”
“You want to tell me what I can read, but you know nothing about me.”
“October — falling leaves and crisp air are just perfect for spooky books.”
copyright Jennifer Kowaczek October 2022
Denise, thank you so much for this form of brevity. Today is my first introduction of the American Sentence poetry form and I really like it. Haiku is one of my “go to” forms, especially when I am short on time, but sometimes the rules of the form almost make it more difficult to write when I am tired. Writing one sentence while still following the syllable count provides just enough challenge for those “short on time” days.
Jennifer,
I love how you crafted your sentences around the theme of the library, with each having vastly different messages. I especially appreciate :
Hooray for library-themed American Sentences! What could be more American than these?!
Wonderful collection! I love “You want to tell what I can read, but you know nothing about me.” It doesn’t take long to get to know a person (child) through what they like to read.
Jennifer, wow, I love this series and connections to things heard outside the library. Your second to last one has me hurting inside. It surely speaks the truth. I’m a huge fan of libraries and young adult literature:)
I laughed out loud at these, Jennifer! It’s one of my fun-creepy things I take full poetic license to do – listen in on others’ conversations and pull out the gems. Even when I’m watching sports on tv (or rather it’s playing while I generally do something much more intellectual, like a crossword puzzle), the announcers say the darndest things that make for great quote lines. I enjoy how well each of these captures a time and place, both externally/geographically, but also internally revealing the character of the speaker. So sweet. The attitude in that one “You want to tell me…” is delightful.
Jennifer,
This is a wonderful tribute to school libraries and a reminder of what they can be.
These are great sentences. My favorite is “You want to tell me what I can read….” because I remember saying that while I had to read those classics in high school.
Jennifer–
This sentence says it all “You want to tell me what I can read, but you know nothing about me.” I am truly horrified by all the censorship that is running rampant now.
Denise, thank you for introducing me to American sentences! I’ve never heard of them and and will introduce them this year with my 5th graders.
Random American Thoughts
Rose and Jack could have definitely fit on that log and survived
You must visit Disneyland one day and find your inner child again
Crimson, gold, sapphire, peach, and blush are my daily go-to colors
Daughters, find partners and have children soon, I want grandchildren today!
Your last one made me giggle. I was a terrible disappointment to my parents — no grandkids from this womb!
I thought my daughters would never have children, but now they are in their 30’s and I have 3 and one on the way. Joy! I hope you get yours one day. They are worth the wait.
Seana, boy, could I relate to your last sentence. And why didn’t Rose and Jack try to fit on that log together? Very provocative lines!
Another imaginative example of how these sentences can be developed, Seana! They are like ‘snapshots’ of our lives, hopes, dreams, etc. I loved the sentence with all the colors – ways your fifth graders could share some of their “favorite things” but also show what the connection is to their daily lives or what it might reveal about their character. Your color choices are bold and brave! Lovely!
Hi Seana,
These are fun, random thoughts. Maybe Rose wouldn’t let Jack on the door! NCTE will certainly give many the opportunity to find their inner child. Speaking of NCTE, when you get a minute, please add your table description to the doc I emailed. those attending. Thanks!
Hi Seana,
I’m loving Rose and Jack. I can’t even fathom going to Disneyland EVER again. LOL! You’re funny!
Are you really ready for grandchildren?? I’m not. ?
Denise, thank you so much for this prompt. Thanks for the challenge!
I will come back to it again. I can see that hydrangea bush in the breeze with your amazing description: “heavy-headed bosoms.” I looked for something in the news, or a special day to write about, and, in getting the day wrong, I found tomorrow is a special day against bullying. My mind always goes back to an unpleasant memory of me, the bully.
National Unity Day–it’s a day for standing up to bullies.
What if someone would have stood up to me when I bullied Mark Bailey?
I’ve come far since sixth grade, but tomorrow’s day reminds me of hatred.
How was I so empty and hurting that I wanted to hurt instead?
To attempt to make someone else more emptied and hurting than myself?
Denise, thank you for being vulnerable and sharing this with us. And thank you for reminding all of us about Unity Day. One of my schools used to do an awareness walk every year, but it’s been quite a while — even before Covid. I’m going to make a point to remember this tomorrow.
You are so brave. Yesterday’s prompt unearthed some memories that I just couldn’t put in a public space. Thank you for reminding us that we always have a choice.
Beautiful and sad, Denise. And you are not alone. I imagine there are many among us who took opportunities to “bully” our peers – small taunts, mean gestures, ostracizing. I almost think it’s a kind of experience we have to have to know we don’t want to act that way our whole lives. Indeed, remembering that it doesn’t make us feel good now is the best reminder to not do it again. Redirecting that feeling into more positive behaviors is the best revenge on ourselves and our past “indiscretions.” I appreciate the questions, which allow you to just “observe” the behavior, not necessarily judge it or be hard on yourself for it. What a great way to simply be curious about our past and see how we can learn and move forward. To National Unity Day!
It is painful to feel you caused pain for someone else. I’m sure writing about it helps to heal you. Here’s an American Sentence for you: Look into your deepest regret and tap out forgiveness to your soul.
Denise, wow, what a powerful series. I’m sorry, I just cannot see you being the bully, but I think all children have moments of meanness that perhaps they don’t even understand why they’re doing it. Your final sentence asks an incredible question.
Denise, I totally wasn’t expected this point of view. I hear the vulnerability here. Such a bold and courageous move. I’m just glad you can reflect on past behaviors and can emphasize. I was bullied as a child, but didn’t remember until my Daddy told me a story. My daughter was bullied for awhile and it has since ceased, but I know the scars will fade slowly. Thank you for sharing.
Denise, I find the reflective nature of your sentences so powerful; it is not often we read of the reformed bully. Usually it’s the bullied. And I cannot even imagine you as a bully; truth be told, I could write similar lines dripping with regret… if young folks read your words, it might help them alter the course of their actions. Kindness and compassion grow from seeds of empathy. Well done!
I’ve read the best sentences of my generation…starving…naked.
(What? Sometimes I like to read American lit in my birthday suit.)
(And sometimes I’m a little peckish; those Beat poets make me hungry.)
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Thanks, Denise! This was a “Howl”! I can definitely see myself using this prompt in class (maybe not my examples, lol, but the prompt, for sure).
Oh, Scott. You’ve done it again. Made me laugh aloud while reading poetry.
Ba-da-BOOM! Excellent puns!!
Well, that’s an image that’s not going anywhere anytime soon! Thanks, Scott! I enjoy the humor, and can just imagine your students having some great fun with this. Humor could even be the goal – just as these could be used to memorialize, to argue, counterargue – all in the name of brevity and conciseness. Each of these is like a gift – it takes time to craft, but the outcome can be so surprising. And I’m sure Ginsberg would approve.
Scott, very humorous connection between your sentences:) Well played!
Kudos on the nod to Ginsberg!! Your sense of humor is as profound as your wordplay, Scott – never failing to delight!
St. John. Thank you for sharing!
Denise, this is a fabulous prompt! Thank you for a new form that gets the morning fog out of my brain.
What are American Sentences except that all I know is need
to write something even when my mind goes blank and my attention goes
to the cup of tea waiting until the toast is burnt and I get help
from the words I read in the morning paper, “Bombs fall on Kyiv.”
Susan, I like the way you made 17-syllable lines to that conclusion of the headline this morning. It is a good long introduction to a sad lingering story in the news. I especially like the toast burning, which shows you being distracted with writing and the news.
I love how differently others are interpreting the approach, and yours is another wonderful example, Susan. I mean, gees, we’re amazing poets here, aren’t we?! : ) I agree with Denise about the burnt toast – it adds to the tension, and also adds an odor that is fitting with the content. I also noticed the use of to/to/from – and how that creates a movement of connection. Even though thousands of miles apart, we are moved toward what we see happening around the globe. Where will that movement go next? We all can only wonder, and hope for a peaceful finality. Still waiting. Bombs dropping. Toast burning.
I’m in awe of all who write a chain of these that make sense! I’m a “one and done” girl today!
Susan, your sequence of lines has a powerful punch at the end. I can relate to the mind going blank along with my attention.Excellently delivered!
Susan, I feel the angst about a prompt, a new form, and then there’s this curious symmetry about burnt toast and bombs falling on Kyiv…and the paradox of that being a headline that helps you write. So fascinating, poetry!! So organic – that is what comes through, here.
Denise, your prompt demonstrates that simple is not easy. Making sense in seventeen syllables takes more time than one would think. But. in this group, we love challenges. And, now that folks expect my poems to rhyme, I tried that this time. 🙂 And, to keep the “rule” of one sentence per line, I had to use semicolons. Yes, I’m a rule-keeper when it’s convenient. Thanks for the opportunity to explore ideas and novel poetic form.
Sad and Glad about Storms
The thunderstorm came, roared, awakened me, rolled on, and now I’m so glad.
Without the storms and without the rain, then the rainbows, I’d be so sad.
After storms, the sun seems brighter; I survive and become a fighter.
A vessel for light, I can’t make it right, but post-storm, right seems in sight.
Anna, I love the power of the thunderstorm that you captured in that it “came, roared, awakened me, rolled on.” Sometimes I love to bask in the power of nature, and you have done that for me here.
Hi Anna, I love your theme and the fact that each sentence can stand on its own. The third sentence is the best. Yes, survive and stay fighting!
Anna, I have always loved a good thunderstorm. Thank you for your sentences today and this lovely image of the rainbow emerging through the storm clouds.
Jennifer, since publishing a picture book based on a poem here on OpenWrite about RAINBOW REMINDERS illustrated in the book with pictures and photos by Nancy White, one of our poet contributors here, I’ve seen rainbow ideas more and more. In fact, it was during sequestration that Nancy and I met on line to develop that book! The friendship that evolved is a rainbow in itself. We’ve never met in person.!
Yup, Anna. I’m perpetually jealous of your ease with rhyme and how sophisticated it always sounds, even when sometimes it leans toward the humorous. This poem is my life right now, and it feels like a gift. Who among us hasn’t been through a storm – not of our own choosing – that we struggled through, but then – ahhhh, yes – the rainbow. The clarity. Nicely captured here. I am breathing easy at the end, and the image seals the deal. Thank you!
Denise, I can’t say rhyming is easy. But now that this group seems to “expect rhyme” I try it. Having access to online rhyming dictionaries helps and the fact that English has so many synonyms reduces the time it takes to find accurate words that rhyme with the words that do come to mind and often better express the “messages” that come from the prompts our pals post here in OPEN WRITE each month.
Just…wow!
Those rhymes in your last line lit up like a rainbow.
Denise, Thank you for this prompt today, I too was not familiar with this form. I appreciate the new imagery you bring forth in your sentence about hydrangeas–I always miss those in winter. I had the privilege of joining a group from my college on a place-based trip in Northern Michigan this weekend. My words below are sparked from that experience.
Minds united centuries ago at Crooked Tree–sacred circle⦻
Greensky burials, memories fought assimilation, re-center smudge
Remember to not forget, and Miigwech, Native American sentence
Stefani, wow, I like the “remember to not forget” and this theme is echoed in Sarah’s American sentences today. And that ending…so powerful.
Ah, Stefani! What a great idea to capture “snapshots” of your travel this way. As a Michigander (originally from Traverse City), there is much here that resonates with me! Crooked Tree is an amazing place – no hyperbole! I appreciate your acknowledging sacred truths we all hold dear and the hope that respect for these lands and people and traditions will continue.
I agree with Denise H. — your sentences work like a haiku diary.
Stefani, your lines resonate the power of the past, especially “Remember to not forget”. This lesson seems to be most urgently repeated in today’s world. Fantastic sequence!
A few American sentences from class last night:
Seven future teachers eat her Cherokee Wojapi, lesson planning.
Okay, five eat as she explains the colonized midterms recipe.
These berries are not from Cherokee land & tortillas not fry bread.
And I know it’s a week past Indigenous People’ Day, but remember.
They eat, talk texts, then one remembers Erdrich’s The Sentence & declares:
We are the ones who can shape the canon, right?
Sarah,
Thank you for this, I want to be in this classroom, hearing these conversations. My favorite is the “colonized midterms recipe” and the potential of unpacking that with others.
Oh-hoo-hoo, Sarah! Another wonderfully strung-together group of American Sentences! I was just finished being impressed with Susan’s, and now this. I like the progression of this, how each start of a sentence seems to back the narrative up just a bit and then move it forward. Reminds me of the little cars you have to pull back to get them to shoot forward. What is that? Is that a for-real poetry or rhetoric thing that I just don’t know the name of? Well, it’s brilliant. And it builds to that final line, which I see as having answered itself as this group is sitting and ‘shaping the canon.’ Lovely. Lovely!
Wow, it sounds like you had an amazing class last night. The italicized reminders in the middle are a good pause.
That last sentence is a zinger. #truth
I totally agree with, Mary Lee, (and the others) here. I love that last line. So much potential and truth wrapped up in that one question/realization.
Sarah, what a glorious end to this experience. I wish I could have been there! Fantastic poetry that shouts the importance of a learning communion; connection.
Sarah, it is inspiring to gain insight into the reasons you have such success with your pre-service and early career classroom teachers. You create memorable moments that will sustain them when the going gets tough. They’ll recall how you “cared” for them as they learned the ropes and they won’t be tempted to use those ropes for harmful purposes. Keep up the good work.
Sarah, your sentences reflect realizations…what is, what is not, who’s partaking, who is not…multi-layered, multifaceted lines that shine. The last realization is so powerful.
Denise,
What a fun challenge! Counting syllables has always been my demise, but I feel like with this today, the rhythm seemed to happening pretty naturally. My husband and I are adjusting (trying to) to life as empty nesters. This is our Fall Break, so I tapped into sentences about our comings and goings.
How To Carve a Life
Parenting, filled with celebrations and disappointments, never ends.
Helicoptering is exhausting but it helps me feel purposeful.
The one living near never turns to us for advice, seldom stops by.
A thick, stubborn wall seems to exist wanting to prove independence.
Joining daughter 2 in her city, going to her places, is fun.
She carves out a life so unlike ours but one that leaves us full of pride.
Stopping to visit our college son, just to take him grocery shopping.
It’s the one thing we can provide without the convo getting too strained.
The youngest, fresh at college far away, keeps us at arm’s length most days.
His world is new, his eyes are wide, and he wants to make it on his own.
The four birds have flown the coop, leaving us to find our way without them.
People say we will love the empty nest but that hasn’t happened yet.
~Susan Ahlbrand
18 October 2022
Susan,
There is such an interesting, declarative rhythm in these American sentences today, and I am noticing how they offer sort of an accumulation of observations that feels rather heavy as the collection grows, but the closure you offer here in this final American sentence is satisfying in its truth, in its summarizing of the collected weight of experiences that sits upon this final line literally and figurative. Very moving.
Peace,
Sarah
Susan,
We learn so much about your family from this short collection of sentences/lines. I connect deeply with your line about helicoptering and feeling purpose…is there no in-between?;) Thank you for sharing today.
Wow, Susan. This is definitely a way to combine multiple American Sentences together into a larger work. It’s not something I have tried, but this makes a complete picture of the experience of the moment. It would be interesting to see how these change from one year (or semester!) to the next. Very observational in content, but clearly tied with emotion as well. BTW – that is the FIRST time I have read that kind of commentary on the role of the helicopter parent – I have only really understood these as overbearing and controlling parents. You have provided me with a completely different perspective and helped me tap much better into empathizing with that need.
Susan, the American sentences was a great vehicle for sharing life of your four grown birds. Your honesty and openness is woven throughout. Peace to you as you navigate this new chapter.
Well done! I feel like I know all four of your kids. Here’s hoping you’ll find the joy in empty nexting soon! (“nexting” is a typo, but I like it!!!)
Susan, oh, I am so moved by your poem today. I love how you share your children’s different attitudes towards their parents. I’m not crazy about the empty nest and it’s been empty for awhile. Hugs!
Susan-!! How perfectly your lines and syllables flow! I feel like I have a taste of the personalities of your four children, and I surely feel the emptiness in that last line – what a zinger!
Denise, thank you so much for introducing us to this form – definitely one that I will be using again! Your American sentences are inspiring. I appreciate your time today investing in us as writers. I’ve been thinking lately about how nice it has been not having neighbors for so long, but there are plans to bring people close. My introverted heart is broken, inspiring my American sentences today.
seek solace and silence of sanctuary before all is shattered ~
I take long last looks before change sweeps away this haven I have loved
lament the languishing privacy, pure pleasure of quiet shelter
Oh, Kim. I feel the grief beginning here in imagining what will be lost, perhaps is already lost in anticipation. So true that sometimes the knowing of change is part of the change– I wonder if it is part of the way our minds and hearts prepare. Still, this idea of building on open land makes me sad, even if there could be lovely neighbors crossing your path soon.
Peace,
Sarah
I can understand this perfectly, Kim. Such change is never easy and rarely welcomed by us introverts, to be sure. Each of these speaks to the emotional response in connection with the landscape, with nature. These connections are so vital to us as humans – and I hope, whatever happens, there is some preservation of the nature you need to feel whole. Even in my cityscape, I have a great deal of nature I can see from my portals and demand myself at least one walk a day to take in the “fractals” our brains crave. When I lived in the deep city, buildings jammed upon buildings, I remember I would just sit and look up at the sky because it was only way I could see open space. Savor your scenery.
Kim, you have captured the longing of your heart here and the sadness that that will be gone too soon. The alliteration is powerful. As Sarah mentioned, the anticipation is already breaking your heart.
Your word choice is splendid, Kim! Your lines are melodic with alliteration, assonance, and consonance.
First of all, my heart breaks with yours for your loss of “solace, silence, sanctuary.” And it breaks for the plants and animals. Your poem works like a haiku — long-lined, but haiku-ish.
Kim, solace is something I treasure. Good neighbors are wonderful, but not all neighbors are wonderful so I understand your lament today. Here’s hoping you can enjoy your sanctuary a bit longer than expected.
Kim, how lyrically you convey the coming loss with this syllabic lament …at the end of my little street there was once a wide cotton field that is now being developed for 60 or so houses. It grieves my soul. I, too, have an introverted heart that craves space. Even as I mourn the invasion here, I have to admire your magnificent use of alliteration!
Kim, I am glad I sought out your poem tonight after our Zoom meeting. But I’m realizing I may have missed (blame internet connection??) that you will be leaving your pine farm (??) “pure pleasure of quiet shelter” carries a lullaby of sound. Hugs.
Denise, I don’t think I have ever tried American Sentences before…and you are right, they are powerful. They have a unique magic, an alchemy of their own. Every one of your sentences is so crisp, so vivid – I see the images as if I am riding by on a slow train…and I love the healthy solitude of one’s own mind. That is a treasure of a line!
Without further ado… here goes:
An Observation, While Watching Oblique Light Striking Fiery Leaves
What shall I say to you, in the long afternoon of our shared autumn?
Memories of many colors scuttle across sidewalk existence.
I cannot decide which I would gather to preserve, to toss, to burn.
Trees have no compunction about shedding their fragility—should we?
Give me your hand while it is yet light, for evening comes earlier now.
Moments, in their gilded crowns, are more beautiful than ever before.
Fran,
I love the opening question. My eye was drawn to the question mark and then pulled down a few lines to find its partner. I am struck by the pronouns of “we” and “our” and this gentle invitation of a hand to shed fragility. Such a lovely invitation from autumn.
Sarah
Fran, you capture the glory of the season in your gifted Frannish style. There is so, so much to love here – I have a bag of leaves I collected recently on a camping trip at the first sign of fall. What person my age collects leaves??? The line about preserving reached out to me and made my inner child okay with collecting leaves. Those last two lines – – my heart!!! Such truth.
Oh, Fran! So many of these just make the tears well up in my eyes: the long afternoon of our shared autumn; evening comes earlier now; moments – more beautiful than ever before. So much of this speaks from an ‘experienced’ appreciation of life, and I am SO there with these! And the trees – our deep companions in life. I love how they show up more in our thoughts and words, especially at this time of year. Thank you!
A gorgeous poem! So perfect for this time of year. I like being told that the trees have no compunction about shedding their fragility because I am reminded that trees do what comes naturally and so should we.
Wow, with each sentence, I stopped to imagine the beauty! (The two places I’ve lived for the last nine years don’t have much autumn-ness, but I spent a week in Seattle recently and fell in love again with this season of beauty.) “Give me your hand” “should we” “gilded crowns” are just a few of my favorite moments in this masterpiece.
What a title! What a first line! What a glorious love poem!
Fran, I love your opening remarks, the title, and the poetry is pure gold. I adore your opening question and the four line is absolutely incredible: “Trees have no compunction about shedding their fragility—should we?” Provocative and beautiful poem!
Moments in gilded crowns are more beautiful than before – reminds me to cherish each-and-every-minute-of-every-day! The seconds are precious indeed
Fran, this is exquisitely written, the connections between life and partners and fall trees and the fragility and strength of it all! I find myself reading and rereading and rereading just to see the images and listen to the words.
Denise, thank you for a prompt I could actually accomplish this week! Anna and Carolina, I have read your previous prompts and appreciate them, but unfortunately my writing and creativity are not doing well these days. Anyway, I used them in some way, though.
Been writing this since Sunday; my mind still lingering among the prompts.
Angie, it’s as much fun to linger as to write, as you capture here! I love that time of simmering and pondering.
Angie, that slump you are feeling means one thing: get ready. The words and ideas of the writer ebb and flow like the tide. And it’s rising. Your words today prove it. Ride the wave!
Precisely, Angie! Isn’t it great how much you can accomplish in seventeen syllables? I also have had months where the prompts just had to sit and simmer while there were other pots on the stove that needed tending, so thank you for that acknowledgment. It’s good to linger, and perhaps we could all use more lingering time in our lives. : )
Angie, it’s so good to have you here today! Hooray! You should write an American sentence every day. I love that you came and the prompts helped you thinking beautiful writerly and poetic thoughts this week. Good to see you here!
Angie, I’m there with you. I feel the need to revisit prompts I was unable to complete.
I LOVE this idea. I’ve been “finding haiku” in documents for years and didn’t know there was a name for it. ha! I’ll be tinkering with this all day. Love the trees talking to each other, holding each other up. Oh, to be a tree with a buddy like that.
It’s almost hard NOT to see poetry and fun rhetoric in the words all around us, isn’t it? Even if we don’t write it down, just keeping that creative play active in our minds is healthy, and can often give us whole new perspectives on things like the news headlines. Looking forward to your sentence(s), Linda!
Denise, thank you for discovering this form and bringing it to us today. It’s the perfect length to play with and be a challenge too, on busy weekdays. Your sentences each hold a nugget of beauty while offering the reader the chance to see a larger scene.
Time
At seventeen, the world is wide open, days unfolding endlessly.
Time enough to meander, to stroll the minutes or just watch them go
But days end abruptly, like syllables in an American sent…
Oh, Jennifer, the movement in this poem is amazing! The meander, the stroll, so slow in the second, then the fast stop, breaking off of sentence. Lovely. I love when form matches with meaning so well.
Jennifer,
You brought a smile to my lips this early morning as fell off your final sentence into those ellipses.
Peace,
Sarah
Jennifer, that ending is powerful. Things change in the blink of an eye, stop on a dime, cease mid-word. Great way to show us the preciousness of savoring time. While we can.
Hahahahaha! Love the humor! I also “felt” that first line – I try to remember what it was like to not have so many obligations. Really – what did I fill my days with? You’ve perfectly captured the way “time” changes over time. Eventually, yes, it will end – for each of us, that is. A somber but healthy reminder.
Jennifer, I love the use of 17 yo, with 17 syllables, and your double meanings through this poem. Plus, ending as you did tops off the fun and meaning of your words. Thank you for sharing today.
Jennifer, what a clever take on the prompt, and such truth about aging you have shared! I could see longing for a few 17-year-old days without pain to help me do my yard work around here!
Another gem, Jennifer. The message come across clearly with an ouch and a chuckle at the same time.
Ha! Fun ending! And big truths…
I love the cleverness of your last line, but I also feel deeply the longing to be young again.
Jennifer, what a brilliant way to show that abrupt end! Fantastic!