Good morning. Let’s write another poem today.
Today’s prompt is inspired in large part by my love of syntax—and, in particular, a long, well-made sentence. Today, you’ll gather your snippets from the last couple of days and shape them into a one-sentence poem. Aim to make your sentence as long as you can; you can use semicolons and colons, of course, but try to keep it grammatically correct. Part of the joy of a one-sentence poem is the sense of propulsion—how does it keep moving? where will it end?
Camille Dungy has a great short essay on the one-sentence poem, No Pause for Breath, in which she observes that
When pulled off well, the simultaneity of loose constructions and rigid attention to details that a lengthy single-sentence poem requires puts me in mind of the most stirring music: what I receive appears spontaneous and wildly free even while I understand that it seems this way only because of careful practice and intense focus on the part of the maker.
(The essay also has some great examples of one-sentence poems, including Steve Scafidi’s 8-stanza (!!!) To Whoever Set My Truck On Fire and XIII, from Adrienne Rich’s Twenty-One Love Poems, if you’re looking for inspiration.)
Poem #3: The One-Sentence Poem
Scan your writing from the last several days. You’re looking in particular for a strong opening image or perhaps a problem or conflict—something that will give your sentence an engine. The prompts since our last poem are here:
Starting with that opening, freewrite until you surprise yourself.
Two notes:
Grammatically, it might help to start with a dependent clause. Words like after, although, as, as if, because, before, even if, even though, if, in order to, since, though, unless, until, whatever, when, whenever, whether, and while indicate that the opening clause needs something to complete it and will give your reader a reason to keep going.
You could use your fact from April 11 as your title.
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