This poetry writing prompt submitted by Jen Karetnick:
First, write a 17-syllable American sentence, as per Allen Ginsberg’s definition. See https://www.negativecapabilitypress.org/blog/theamericansentence.
Then, write down each word of the sentence in order vertically, like an acrostic but with words instead of letters. They will become the first word in each line of a poem. You can also think of it as a reverse golden shovel.
Here are some examples:
Catherine Esposito Prescott:
American sentence: Did the big bang have intention or are we a divine accident?
American sentence acrostic: https://www.mezzocammin.com/iambic.php?vol=2021&iss=2&cat=poetry&page=prescott
Barbra Nightingale:
American sentence: The moon Is a rusty sliver in a molten sky, velvet and thick.
American sentence acrostic: https://www.swwim.org/swwimeveryday/2021/11/17/the-moon-is-a-rusty-sliver-in-a-molten-sky-velvet-and-thick
Extra credit! Add/layer another form on top of it, like a sonnet (if your American sentence is 14 words) or a golden shovel, like here:
Jen Karetnick:
American sentence: Grooving about telescopes, the amateur astronomers light up.
Golden shovel: What would you give for your kid fears?
American sentence acrostic golden shovel, after the Indigo Girls: https://sweetlit.org/jen-karetnick-volume-16/
If you write a poem from this prompt, post it as a comment underneath the prompt in the Poetry Super Highway Facebook Group.
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