I think the best prose stylists have a huge range of sentence lengths, e.g.
Charlotte Bronte.
cheers
SallyE

on 15/9/04 2:38 am, Bob Cooper at [log in to unmask] wrote:

> Hi Sally,
> You write:
> ">Hi Bob,
>> have you come across the concept of the sentence-long poem, ie a poem in
>> one
>> sentence?"
> Yeh, I sometimes find I'm writing a poem that's just one sentence - the
> Prague In Midsummer poem was one of them. That poem was an echo or response
> to the longest I've managed which is 42 lines, and longish lines at that,
> somewhere around 340  words I think. This Prague poem got less than half
> that number of words but it still has echoes - which are more than just
> using just one full stop!
> I think the longest poem I've seen in one sentence is A.R. Ammons Garbage -
> that's a whole book of a poem! But he cheats a little by using colons as the
> kind of break most people would use a full stop for.
> I've also got a piece in 4 long parts that is one sentence (using titles as
> part of the flow) but I haven't lokked at it for yeasrs now. I might dig it
> out not I've remembered it... I seem to recall thinking I didn't know how to
> end it!
> Here, though, when I was getting to the end of the piece I was remembering
> something I once read by Richard Wilbur who advised following a long
> sentence with a very short one... Then, when I looked at what I'd done, I
> added one or two more full stops earlier on.
> Bob
> 
> 
>> From: Sally Evans <[log in to unmask]>
>> Reply-To: The Pennine Poetry Works <[log in to unmask]>
>> To: [log in to unmask]
>> Subject: Re: Each Tuesday Night At Nine
>> Date: Tue, 14 Sep 2004 16:53:11 +0100
>> 
>> Hi Bob,
>> have you come across the concept of the sentence-long poem, ie a poem in
>> one
>> sentence? They can be quite long sometimes.  Well, page-long anyway. the
>> thing is if writing one of those to avoid "lists'.
>> all best
>> SallyE
>> 
>> 
>> on 14/9/04 11:39 am, Bob Cooper at [log in to unmask] wrote:
>> 
>>> This began after Arthur mentioned a TV programme (and I started
>> imagining
>>> something completely different!).
>>> I'm still playing around with how long sentences should be! Punctuation
>> can
>>> help clarity, but it can also slow things down! Anyway, this is where
>> it's
>>> got to.
>>> All comments welcome:
>>> 
>>> 
>>> Each Tuesday Night At Nine
>>> 
>>> Again I see the district where you live
>>> on the telly. It’s easily recognisable, scenic,
>>> can look romantic filmed in low light,
>>> and, if they want, it can easily be found
>>> by those who see each episode,
>>> who’ll watch repeats, buy videos of the series,
>>> and who may want to stand at the spot
>>> where the script gave them something
>>> they knew said how they’d feel being there.
>>> 
>>> But I lose the plot, see instead
>>> your hand inserting the key, and mine
>>> marked by the weight of carrier bags
>>> closing the door. Then I hear the quiet
>>> forgettable things: the low rumble of pears
>>> tipped into the bowl, the crackle of cellophane
>>> as the misshapen carton of paprika’s set down -
>>> And did we speak? I doubt it as the kettle’s filled -
>>> 
>>> then the heroine turns from a similar window,
>>> “I don’t know what’s happened,” she says
>>> tears in her eyes, “Where did we go wrong?”
>>> But now I’m just watching the screen,
>>> the close-ups, the pauses. I know how it ends.
>>> 
>>> Bob Cooper
>>> 
>>> And it's not the best of titles...
>>> (OK, OK, stop making excuses! If it's iffy you'll probably get to know!)
>>> 
>>> _________________________________________________________________
>>> Express yourself with cool new emoticons
>> http://www.msn.co.uk/specials/myemo
> 
> _________________________________________________________________
> Stay in touch with absent friends - get MSN Messenger
> http://www.msn.co.uk/messenger