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Sentence – 2005

A Journal of Prose Poetics

2005

Annual

Matt Bell

N. Santilli’s essay introducing a feature on the prose poem in Great Britain calls the form one that “appears in print but is not formally accepted by its author or its audience, both simply accepting it for what it is.” More than anything, it seems the purpose of Sentence is to correct this assumption by building a formal set of both intellectual and artistic frameworks for the consideration of this form, as well as to highlight the work already being done in the genre.

N. Santilli’s essay introducing a feature on the prose poem in Great Britain calls the form one that “appears in print but is not formally accepted by its author or its audience, both simply accepting it for what it is.” More than anything, it seems the purpose of Sentence is to correct this assumption by building a formal set of both intellectual and artistic frameworks for the consideration of this form, as well as to highlight the work already being done in the genre. Santilli’s essay is interesting not only for the regional focus he brings to British prose poetics, but also for its consideration of the form’s interesting lineage and aesthetic no matter where its authors reside. As for the poems itself, they vary wildly in form, style, language, and apparent goals. Some are so narrative as to be hard to differentiate from flash fiction (“Reappearing,” by Marjorie Manwaring) while others deny any claims to representational language at all, preferring more abstract modes of expression. Highlights include the above mentioned “Reappearing,” as well as “Scientist” by Arturo Giovannitti, and “A Traveling Monk Observes” by Charles Kesler. Containing the work of over eighty poets (the contributor’s notes are seventeen pages long), Sentence provides not only an amazing introduction to the prose poem form but also a platform from which it can be spread. This is definitely a young magazine worth keeping an eye on. [Sentence, c/o Firewheel Editions, P.O. Box 793677, Dallas, TX 75379. Single issue $10. www.firewheel-editions.org] –Matt Bell

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