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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 Heart Sutra in Buddhism.
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. (Listen to some audio cuts from that interview.) 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. (Listen to their discussion of the form here.) I have written one of these sentences every day since January 1, 2001. 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. Tax-deductible donations toward the maintenence of this site can be made here. Please visit our other sites:
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