Poetry Journaling One Sentence At A Time
An example of a 17-syllable sentence, the kind we will write at our workshop on Saturday, June 20, at 1 p.m.
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Poetry requires time, space, and effort. And, for me (and maybe for you, too), poetry is an elusive construct. Yet I want to understand the components and the structure! As an art form, poetry positively sings for some people and sounds like white noise to others. Or, for others still, it’s something of a hit and miss in between.
I’m in the last camp but yearn to know more. Whether you are a seasoned fan (and perhaps a writer) of poetry, or someone who wants to learn more, in this post we’ll talk about an exercise designed to help—and the workshop we’re hosting to send help your way.
I recently started reading the book “Ordinary Genius: A Guide to The Poet Within” by Kim Addonizio to engage with writing poetry and opening up to reading and hearing more of it as well. One of the first exercises of the book is an invitation to write what are called American Sentences.
The idea, I learned, originated with writer Allen Ginsberg, who took the concept of the Haiku and turned it into the sentence format with a limit of 17 syllables. I tried a few and ran them by my daughter Alexandra. We discussed them and then took turns at writing more. It turns out the exercise is a remarkable writing practice, not to mention fun.
I put too much fluff in my sentences no matter what I’m writing, so right away I found I had to pay close attention to my use of words to get the biggest bang out of each. As Alex and I worked on them together and shared our sentences back and forth, we realized it was such a fun AND instructive activity that it made for a perfect workshop opportunity.
WORD NERDS WELCOME!
This workshop is for anybody who writes or wants to write more, but it will be especially fun for word nerds. Those true lovers of words take no offense by being called such—it’s a passion and a pride. If you positively reel over turning the pages of a dictionary or thesaurus to find the proper word, or if you thrill over the parts of a sentence, you are truly a word aficionado.
Alexandra is of this ilk, so she will be leading us in this workshop and will help us dive into the power of the words we select to create our 17-syllable sentences. You will creak open your personal dictionary and blow dust off the structure of your writing and feel the rush as you apply what you learn in days after.
For those like me who can still get confused about the difference between prepositions and subordinating conjunctions, this piece by Grammar Girl will give you a refresh. But don’t let remembering those parts of speech hold you back from joining us! You’ve got the makings of writing great sentences in you, and this workshop will prove it.
WORKSHOP DETAILS
This Saturday, June 20, at 1 p.m., we’ll be hosting an hour-long workshop where we’ll dive into creating 17-syllable sentences together. We encourage you to write a few before the workshop just to get your feet wet. Remember to count your syllables!
Please send us your email address and we’ll send you the Zoom link to the workshop. This is totally free and meant to help you stretch creatively in what you write (and make a few new friends in the process).
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I used her course to organize my office, and it is in pretty good shape these days. Success in one space has lead to cleaning channels to other rooms and photos as well. Check out he courses here.
Sherry and Alexandra Borzo together in Lima, Peru
Sherry is the founder of Storied Gifts a personal publishing service of family and company histories. She and her team help clients curate and craft their stories into books. When not writing or interviewing, Sherry spends loads of time with her grandchildren and lives in Des Moines, Iowa.
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The shop is a mother and daughter venture for Sherry and Alexandra Borzo of Content In Motion. They both work to help their client's stories sing. The shop is their effort to inspire a focus on healthy minds for everyone through positive thought.
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