The bananagram, a verse form of Ulysses Poe's own invention, is a poetic elaboration upon a single word, the so-called spring word, which functions as a partial, near- or quasi anagram in that numbers of smaller words can be spelt using one or more of its letters. These single words, so-called sub-words or seed words, are then used as end rhymes in the lines of an extended poetic composition, the final word of which is the spring word.
Example:
(1) The spring word: M A C H I N E
(2) A partial list of seed words derived from the spring word:
Ham, came, am, name, Che, 'Ni,' CIA, me etc...
(3) Ideally there will be some among the seed words that rhyme
with each other. These can be paired to create rhyming couplets or in other rhyming patterns.
(4) An example of a bananagram using the seed words listed above:
Though he claimed, “I’m descended from Ham,”
as he conquered and saw and then came,
he’s descended from Eve, like I am.
Still, I fear I’ve forgotten his name.
Next, he chanted, “I’m Cuban, like Che.
And you’re right: I’m a knight who says 'Ni'.”
(I suspect the guy’s gay, or is ex-CIA
on a visit -- or is it just me…?)...
And so on for, in the case of this example's final form, a total of 60 lines.
The split bananagram is similar to the bananagram except that every other end-rhymed line uses a word derived from the poem’s spring word.
