American Sentence

sen·tence
ˈsen(t)əns/
noun
1.
a set of words that is complete in itself, typically containing a subject and predicate, conveying a statement, question, exclamation, or command, and consisting of a main clause and sometimes one or more subordinate clauses.

2.
the punishment assigned to a defendant found guilty by a court, or fixed by law for a particular offense.
“her husband is serving a three-year sentence for fraud”
synonyms:
judgment, ruling, decision, verdict, punishment More

verb
1.
declare the punishment decided for (an offender).
“ten army officers were sentenced to death”
synonyms:
pass judgment on, punish, convict; condemn, doom
“they were sentenced to death”

What is an American Sentence? Created by beat poet Allen Ginsberg, it’s a seventeen-syllable sentence.

For example, I wrote this 17-syllable sentence when I was trying to comprehend the fact that Donald Trump in the President of the United States of America :

When I think about America today – man, like I have no words.

I never imagined in my worst nightmares Donald Trump would become President of the United States. I’m amazed that a three-time-divorced-six-time-bankrupt-possible-pedophile-rapist-racist-con-man who can barely string a comprehensible sentence together is President of the United States. It’s devastating to me as a woman that half of America thinks that’s ok. Just saying his name is a trigger for me.

As time goes on with America in the time of Trump, I see that the gift of his presidency is the exposure of wrongness within our political system. Exposure needed to happen. (On both sides, too. The DNC and the electoral college both proved to be corrupt as well – it should have been Sanders – not Clinton – vs. Trump).

What does it mean to be American? I’ve wondered that my whole life. As a kid, I didn’t fit in, and realized pretty early on, I didn’t want to fit in. I wasn’t into conforming, and my interpretation of the Constitution was that it was my right not to conform.

When I was 11 years-old, the principal of my school told me I would have an easier life if I “stopped striving for excellence and just looked pretty, sat down, and stayed quiet – after all – the world caters to the lowest common denominator. It’s too bad that smart kids get left out.” His advice to me has been the advice to my generation – and it’s only gotten worse! (Look what we have ended up with)!

A Cult of Ignorance is the sentence to America for 30+ years of catering to the lowest common denominator.

American Sentence began in February, 2017, shortly after Trump took office. I intended to finish the project in 108 days and then more unthinkable things happened. Two days after I began the project, my partner had an aneurysm and needed open heart surgery. The situation was traumatic for both of us, and made worse by his mother’s open hostility toward me. I poured so much love and care into his recovery – writing and art took a back seat. Sleep took a back seat. I took a back seat.

By the fall of 2017, our relationship fell apart. Looking back, I was a walking raw nerve for over a year – completely stripped and vulnerable. The anniversary of his surgery (February 2018), I broke down crying in yoga class, and that was the beginning of healing for me.

Creative play is reentering my life! I am back to writing and painting and playing and creating workshops. I am making 17-syllable sentences again. The American Sentence Project is proving to be a small step in honoring my own humanity as I navigate my own life and the implications of so much corruption in American politics. (updated February 5th, 2019)

holly troy ~ sacred folly

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