Elusive

I keep hearing about the "ever elusive Great Americal Novel." It strikes me as tragic that anyone would even strive for that. Say what's really in your heart and we're going to change the world.

I'm going to sit here, right this moment

and write
THE Great American Novel

 

That's right, me

not you

you can write A great American novel

go ahead

but mine will trump yours

 

Yours will be joyous and free

It will have a tight story

Contain all the elements

That make people sit up

Take notice

Cry, laugh, think and feel good

It will move and inspire them

But, eventually, they will forget

who wrote it

what it was about

 

Mine?

Mine will be an epic about pain and suffering

and the tragedies of lost love

It's gonna break your freakin' heart

and you're gonna love it

love it

love me

 

It will have several generations of rich characters

all raging against the cruel, cruel world

They will be workers and aristocrats

Princes and paupers, all

Each one of them will have so many facets

and layers that they will seem real

You will know them

You already know them

You are them

 

The story will talk about American society

at once proud but horribly flawed

It will subtly hint at the problems we live with

It will make the reader look around and see

the seedy, bleeding, raw underbelly of Americana

Racism, Bigotry, Hatred, Intolerance

All pawns in the game I'm going to engineer

Religion, Politics, Economics

ingredients I'll mix together in a story that will change everything

It'll change them

It'll change you

 

That's right, me

I am going to write that novel

right now

this very minute

at this very keyboard

and it's going to make me rich

and famous

and live forever

 

<pause>

 

Son of a b***h

I think I just sprained something

Reviews

[Ken Simm.]

Hmm, why the great American novel? Why not the great Australian or Indian novel? Why not the great universal novel? I understand and empathise with what you are saying here. It just seems that the great American novel is dead with the advent of the internet and village earth.
whatever takes the place of Kerouac would have universal appeal these days

[Jason Henry]

loved the irony and sheer ridicule in this...definitely made me sit up haha!
last line tho...ehh...
the title however...what a shocker when i read the poem and re-read the title!
u have one of the most blantant and honest poems ever...

[Rambling Prose]

OMGosh! I love this epic prologue to the great American epic prologue of your great American epic novel! A fine beginning indeed! I sure wish you hadn't sprained something!

My face gave birth to a mixture of expressions: intrigued, amazed, serious, perplexed & the last line left me giggling!

Loved it! Loved it! Loved it!

[L.G. Knight]

wow..... nicely done!

~Frances~

[flaneur]

I've been a fan ever since I stumbled across your blog. I actually read this twice before the request... shame on me for delaying a review, right? As always, excellent mix of seriousness and humor. And I agree with the fact that people want stories about conflict and sacrifice. Those are the stories that we cherish and carry with us. The moments where writing transcends what is fleeting and forgettable are what make the craft a worthy pursuit.

[Your Tasty Field Adviso..]

lol, this poem is great. i love the ending. so confedent at the start and then, all the sudden, u sprang something. lol. wonderful write

[ElJays Nicholas]

Excellent! It kind of reminds me of the movie Funny Farm, where Chevy Chase's character and his wife buy a property of land way out in the middle of nowhere, so that he can set out to write the great American novel. And, the twist you have at the end, the spraining, sounds like something which would happen to him.

Your poem is funny and true. I see what you are saying under the surface, that WE are the great American novel, and we are writing one great novel together simply by living. And, adding on to the previous comment by Ken, I think you are using the American novel only as a reference point for a universal approach to what is happening in our world. I mean, humanity together. Like you say, say what's really in your heart, and you can add something extraordinary that will give us a nice ending to our story on Earth...

[Angelic Darkness]

This poem really draws you in, and then BAM! You throw a curve ball...LOL!
Good job, and loved seeing your sense of humor in this. Keep up the good
work...AD