diff --git a/src/sexp/CCSexp.ml b/src/sexp/CCSexp.ml
index 65f1ccd0..54345c49 100644
--- a/src/sexp/CCSexp.ml
+++ b/src/sexp/CCSexp.ml
@@ -1,4 +1,3 @@
-
 (* This file is free software, part of containers. See file "license" for more details. *)
 
 (** {1 Simple S-expression parsing/printing} *)
@@ -365,3 +364,5 @@ include (Make(struct
 (*$Q & ~count:100
     sexp_gen (fun s -> sexp_valid s ==> (to_string s |> parse_string = Result.Ok s))
 *)
+
+let atom s : t = `Atom s
diff --git a/src/sexp/CCSexp.mli b/src/sexp/CCSexp.mli
index 2a1c27a6..54467f2d 100644
--- a/src/sexp/CCSexp.mli
+++ b/src/sexp/CCSexp.mli
@@ -1,4 +1,3 @@
-
 (* This file is free software, part of containers. See file "license" for more details. *)
 
 (** {1 Handling S-expressions} *)
@@ -34,3 +33,6 @@ type t = [
 ]
 
 include S with type t := t
+
+val atom : string -> t  
+(** Build an atom directly from a string. *)