One Great Sentence

“An ordinary life examined closely reveals itself to be exquisite and complicated and exceptional, somehow managing to be both heroic and plain.”

By Kari Howard• One Great Sentence• February 21, 2018

Why is it great? This line is beautifully constructed, yes, but what stands out for me is the sentiment conveyed. It could be my journalism mantra. The sentence comes from Orlean’s introduction to her book, a collection of profiles whose … Read more

“Love makes your soul crawl out from its hiding place.”

By Kari Howard• One Great Sentence• February 14, 2018

Why is it so great? For Valentine’s Day, we had to go with One Great Sentence on love (even if the holiday makes you go harrumph). This one is a doozy. It’s uplifting — love makes you brave enough to … Read more

“No single gesture would do more to demonstrate continuity and stability — to show that the government of the United States would continue to function without interruption despite the assassination of the man who sat at its head — and to legitimize the transition: to prove that the transfer of power had been orderly, proper, in accordance with the Constitution; to remove, in the eyes of the world, any taint of usurpation; to dampen, so far as possible, suspicion of complicity by him in the deed; to show that the family of the man he was succeeding bore him no ill will and supported him, than the attendance at this swearing-in ceremony of the late President’s widow.”

By Roy Peter Clark• One Great Sentence• February 7, 2018

Why is it great? The great presidential biographer Robert Caro has proved countless times that he understands the power of a short sentence.  His description of the instant in Dallas that changed LBJ’s — and America’s — life forever is … Read more

“For what are we without hope in our hearts / That someday we’ll drink from God’s blessed waters / And eat the fruit from the vine / I know love and fortune will be mine / Somewhere across the border.”

By Kari Howard• One Great Sentence• January 31, 2018

Why is it so great? Springsteen’s eternal theme of the runaway American dream runs through this song and the entire album it’s on, the Nebraska-esque “The Ghost of Tom Joad.” This song could be the immigrant’s version of any song … Read more

“He longed for a past as imagined as it was real.”

By Kari Howard• One Great Sentence• January 24, 2018

Why is it great? This story was part of the late writer’s Iraq coverage that won the 2010 Pulitzer Prize in International Reporting. It captures Iraqis’ sense of loss in the war, and the loss that had seeped … Read more

‘Tis.

By Kari Howard• One Great Sentence• January 17, 2018

Why is it so great? This is not only one of the best one-word sentences in a memoir, it’s also possibly the only one-word chapter in a memoir. And the final chapter, to boot. So it also ranks up there … Read more

“There is a time to write and a time to walk and a time to reflect and a time to act and I come unwillingly to this journal today, wanting to do something less reflective and feeling that I sometimes strip myself of my most reasonable attributes, bent over this machine.”

By Julia Shipley• One Great Sentence• January 10, 2018

In August 1991, I read John Cheever’s journal excerpts published in The New Yorker. I was a 19-year-old college dropout, a waitress, and in the half hour before starting my shift, I sat outside my local library, electrified by this candid, … Read more

“For last year’s words belong to last year’s language, and next year’s words await another voice.”

By Kari Howard• One Great Sentence• January 3, 2018

This line comes from the last of Eliot’s “Four Quartets,” and it is a sometimes terrifying poem, full of fiery images like this striking one: The dove descending breaks the air With flame of incandescent terror Of which … Read more

“We were taken to the ‘Oh, My God, Corner,’ a position near the escalator. People arriving see the long line and say “Oh, my God!” and it’s an elf’s job to calm them down and explain that it will take no longer than an hour to see Santa.”

By Julia Shipley• One Great Sentence• December 20, 2017

It’s hard to cull just one sentence from Sedaris’ embedded reporting on being a helper at Santaland, a place he describes as “a real wonderland” with a path taking visitors through the “ten thousand sparkling lights, false snow, train sets, … Read more

“I prefer winter and fall, when you feel the bone structure of the landscape — the loneliness of it, the dead feeling of winter. Something waits beneath it; the whole story doesn’t show.”

By Kari Howard• One Great Sentence• December 13, 2017

Why is it great? A few weeks ago I went to an exhibit of Andrew Wyeth’s paintings in Seattle (a strange experience for someone who lives half an hour from the places he painted in Maine), and I was struck … Read more