Slog - Comments on Poetry is Pretty http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/12/poetry_is_pretty Who the fuck is Nancy Pagh? And who the fuck at Poetry on Buses, 4 Culture, and King County Metro thought it would be a good idea to slap up Pagh's ode to her cat's asshole on the bus? On the way to work yesterday I read—I was forced to read—this: Asterisk little Greek star daisylike indicating omission of fur as the cat walks away * Can I get a "what the fuck?" Who wants to think about cats' assholes first thing in the morning on their way to work? What sort of a sick fuck writes poems like this?... Copyright 2008 Fri, 01 Dec 2006 11:17:54 -0800 Mon, 11 Dec 2006 16:42:41 -0800 http://www.movabletype.org/?v=3.34 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Comment by Mattymatt By curious coincidence, "pagh" is exactly the noise I made upon reading her poem.

]]> Mattymatt http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/12/poetry_is_pretty#c522436 http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/12/poetry_is_pretty#c522436 City Fri, 01 Dec 2006 11:41:00 -0800 Comment by gfish Troll.

]]> gfish http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/12/poetry_is_pretty#c522500 http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/12/poetry_is_pretty#c522500 City Fri, 01 Dec 2006 11:51:57 -0800 Comment by Mike in MO While I sympathize with your point about the poem, I think your, "no sane person" likes cats remark disappointing. I guess all my heros have some flaw or another.

]]> Mike in MO http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/12/poetry_is_pretty#c522509 http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/12/poetry_is_pretty#c522509 City Fri, 01 Dec 2006 11:53:16 -0800 Comment by flamingbanjo I'm sure once people realize their tax dollars paid for a dirty poem to be displayed on public transportation, your cause will be joined by many good upstanding Christian citizens who are fed up with these day-in/day-out assaults on decency and propriety. Maybe working together you can get the program's funding cut.

]]> flamingbanjo http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/12/poetry_is_pretty#c522515 http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/12/poetry_is_pretty#c522515 City Fri, 01 Dec 2006 11:54:09 -0800 Comment by Mike in MO sorry, that should read: I FIND your, "no sane person" likes cats remark disappointing...

]]> Mike in MO http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/12/poetry_is_pretty#c522522 http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/12/poetry_is_pretty#c522522 City Fri, 01 Dec 2006 11:54:56 -0800 Comment by Mike in MO one more thing: I do love the word "asterisk" as a euphemism for the anus. I think it should definitely catch on. I also like, "balloon knot".

**************** :)

]]> Mike in MO http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/12/poetry_is_pretty#c522545 http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/12/poetry_is_pretty#c522545 City Fri, 01 Dec 2006 11:58:26 -0800 Comment by keshmeshi Well, I think it's hilarious, and not because I'm apparently insane for liking cats.

]]> keshmeshi http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/12/poetry_is_pretty#c522546 http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/12/poetry_is_pretty#c522546 City Fri, 01 Dec 2006 11:58:29 -0800 Comment by Jenny-H I'm afraid it gets worse--a quick google search reveals her to be a lit professor at WWU (???!!!)

http://www.ac.wwu.edu/~pagh/instructor.htm

]]> Jenny-H http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/12/poetry_is_pretty#c522577 http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/12/poetry_is_pretty#c522577 City Fri, 01 Dec 2006 12:06:32 -0800 Comment by Fnarf There was a discussion of this very poem in this very context in the Slog Comments this past summer, led by someone named "Jerfu" and followed on by "TM".
http://www.thestranger.com/cgi-bin/mt-comments.cgi?entry_id=9149

]]> Fnarf http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/12/poetry_is_pretty#c522588 http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/12/poetry_is_pretty#c522588 City Fri, 01 Dec 2006 12:09:15 -0800 Comment by DOUG. able-bodied

but late 4 work

express bus

cripples

my commute

]]> DOUG. http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/12/poetry_is_pretty#c522598 http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/12/poetry_is_pretty#c522598 City Fri, 01 Dec 2006 12:10:58 -0800 Comment by Bustier I thought this whole thing had been discussed before--thanks for the reminder, Fnarf.

I guess Dan missed the bus again. Har har har...

]]> Bustier http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/12/poetry_is_pretty#c522657 http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/12/poetry_is_pretty#c522657 City Fri, 01 Dec 2006 12:21:10 -0800 Comment by genevieve That is the funniest thing I've read in a long time. It's a way better poem than most of the crap you read on the buses! I don't think cats' asses are that cute, but this poem rocks. It double rocks for being on public transportation.

]]> genevieve http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/12/poetry_is_pretty#c522709 http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/12/poetry_is_pretty#c522709 City Fri, 01 Dec 2006 12:22:49 -0800 Comment by Matthew One of my least favorite things about cats is when they climb in your lap (invited or not), they immediately lift up their tails, swing their asses around and stick that "asterisk" right in your face before settling in. What's the deal with that?

Then you get the drool and the kneading with the sharp claws...gah! Who needs it?

For people who hate, or are ambivalent about, cats, that poem is truly disgusting, reminding us of all the horrible cat asses with which we have been unwillingly acquainted.

]]> Matthew http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/12/poetry_is_pretty#c522777 http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/12/poetry_is_pretty#c522777 City Fri, 01 Dec 2006 12:25:10 -0800 Comment by anonymous about moms * Dammit Savage! I was laughing at the poem, the scene, and your predicament until you mentioned... Dammit, I dont remember ever ever thinking about my mother's asshole before. Why did you do this?

]]> anonymous about moms * http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/12/poetry_is_pretty#c522840 http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/12/poetry_is_pretty#c522840 City Fri, 01 Dec 2006 12:30:13 -0800 Comment by Ivan Cockrum I find it humorously subversive that this poem appeared on a city bus. God, Dan - when did you become such a stick-in-the-mud?

And need I remind everyone of Kurt Vonnegut's depiction of an asshole from Breakfast of Champions?

]]> Ivan Cockrum http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/12/poetry_is_pretty#c522890 http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/12/poetry_is_pretty#c522890 City Fri, 01 Dec 2006 12:33:53 -0800 Comment by anonymous about moms * Argh! Furthermore, this Pagh person is really out there. I just realized what that "little Greek star" bit is all about. I not only have no memory of ever thinking about my mother's asshole, I also have never looked at a cat's butt and thought about anal sex!

P.S. I like cats very much.

]]> anonymous about moms * http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/12/poetry_is_pretty#c522913 http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/12/poetry_is_pretty#c522913 City Fri, 01 Dec 2006 12:36:23 -0800 Comment by COMTE Matthew,

I think this is pretty common in mammalian species, as an acknowledgement of status (i.e. I recognize your superiority by adopting an inferior/vulnerable physical stance).

]]> COMTE http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/12/poetry_is_pretty#c522914 http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/12/poetry_is_pretty#c522914 City Fri, 01 Dec 2006 12:39:22 -0800 Comment by D Huygens Someone call KOMO-4 TV Tips.

]]> D Huygens http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/12/poetry_is_pretty#c522918 http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/12/poetry_is_pretty#c522918 City Fri, 01 Dec 2006 12:45:25 -0800 Comment by keshmeshi Cats have anal scent glands. Thus, they get to know to each other by sniffing each other's asses. When a cat sticks its ass in your face, it's just saying hello.

]]> keshmeshi http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/12/poetry_is_pretty#c522929 http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/12/poetry_is_pretty#c522929 City Fri, 01 Dec 2006 12:59:42 -0800 Comment by Mike in MO re: keshmeshi's remark...we should all be more like kitties
************** :) hello!

]]> Mike in MO http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/12/poetry_is_pretty#c522931 http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/12/poetry_is_pretty#c522931 City Fri, 01 Dec 2006 13:03:18 -0800 Comment by Fnarf I've been known to stick my ass in people's faces from across the room, but then I had Indian buffet for lunch.

]]> Fnarf http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/12/poetry_is_pretty#c522936 http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/12/poetry_is_pretty#c522936 City Fri, 01 Dec 2006 13:09:10 -0800 Comment by giantladysquirrels The 2002-03 stock of poems was so much better than the current crap. Here's the link:

http://transit.metrokc.gov/prog/poetry/2002/poetry02.html

I especially loved "Jonas's Car," "Human," and "to icarus."

]]> giantladysquirrels http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/12/poetry_is_pretty#c522953 http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/12/poetry_is_pretty#c522953 City Fri, 01 Dec 2006 13:34:27 -0800 Comment by katy Twinkle, Twinkle's little * ('riks)
A constellation born for licks
Oh pink and puckered winking hole
The hairless door to Kitty's Soul

Exit Only

]]> katy http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/12/poetry_is_pretty#c522954 http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/12/poetry_is_pretty#c522954 City Fri, 01 Dec 2006 13:36:05 -0800 Comment by Matthew Comte & Keshmeshi:

Thank you for the explanations, but I must say I've known plenty of lap dogs as well and I don't recall one ever shoving an asterisk in my face. But honestly, my list of issues with felines goes well beyond the cat butt thing so it's possible my memory is a bit selective.

I've always taken an ass to the face as a rather rude gesture (except in the context of consensual oral sex, of course). Funny how one species' "acknowledgement of status" is another's insult. What a crazy fuckin' world we live in!

]]> Matthew http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/12/poetry_is_pretty#c523281 http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/12/poetry_is_pretty#c523281 City Fri, 01 Dec 2006 15:27:23 -0800 Comment by abracapocus It's only fitting. Most American poetry has sucked ass for decades.

]]> abracapocus http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/12/poetry_is_pretty#c523296 http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/12/poetry_is_pretty#c523296 City Fri, 01 Dec 2006 15:35:58 -0800 Comment by Jim H Reading Dan Savage in the morning can be pretty unpleasant. I'm glad to hear what comes around goes around.

]]> Jim H http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/12/poetry_is_pretty#c523313 http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/12/poetry_is_pretty#c523313 City Fri, 01 Dec 2006 15:56:47 -0800 Comment by soultaco "I don’t like cats—no sane person does"

Mwhahahaha. I don't know if I'd go that far, but people who like cats, and don't just like all animals in general ... yeah, they're insane. Avoid the dog-hating owner of multiple cats like the plague, for instance.

]]> soultaco http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/12/poetry_is_pretty#c523317 http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/12/poetry_is_pretty#c523317 City Fri, 01 Dec 2006 16:03:09 -0800 Comment by Baxter Egad. And I thought the "observations of other metro passengers" poems were insufferable. The only thing worse than poetry in general is Poetry on Buses.

]]> Baxter http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/12/poetry_is_pretty#c523329 http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/12/poetry_is_pretty#c523329 City Fri, 01 Dec 2006 16:18:31 -0800 Comment by CrazyCatGuy I adore my cats - but I'm crazy. So what? Since when does Dan Savage pass judgement on sanity (or taste). The guys licks doorknobs, for christ's sake!

]]> CrazyCatGuy http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/12/poetry_is_pretty#c523331 http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/12/poetry_is_pretty#c523331 City Fri, 01 Dec 2006 16:19:01 -0800 Comment by hope this link works Ha ha ha, Katy, your poem made me think of this image (safe for work):

http://img61.imageshack.us/img61/7082/catbt3.jpg

]]> hope this link works http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/12/poetry_is_pretty#c523333 http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/12/poetry_is_pretty#c523333 City Fri, 01 Dec 2006 16:20:55 -0800 Comment by A in NC Hm. For every piece of art that offends you so much you want it removed, maybe you have to extend the same "removal license" to someone else who has different tastes. Sounds like a recipe for no publicly accessible art at all, once each of us has used our own "I'm offended" hook.

Have to say, found the poem rather clever, myself.

]]> A in NC http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/12/poetry_is_pretty#c523338 http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/12/poetry_is_pretty#c523338 City Fri, 01 Dec 2006 16:25:43 -0800 Comment by Litterbox Servant Personally, I'm not offended by the existence of cat anuses (or being reminded of the existence of same), but what comes out of them is another matter entirely.

]]> Litterbox Servant http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/12/poetry_is_pretty#c523339 http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/12/poetry_is_pretty#c523339 City Fri, 01 Dec 2006 16:28:41 -0800 Comment by Ken "one more thing: I do love the word "asterisk" as a euphemism for the anus. I think it should definitely catch on."

ummmm catch on?

anyone read Vonnegut? it's been done dude

]]> Ken http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/12/poetry_is_pretty#c523347 http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/12/poetry_is_pretty#c523347 City Fri, 01 Dec 2006 16:37:52 -0800 Comment by Wow, What's Next? What're you talking about, Savage? That poem is the cat's ass! (see how I did that? wocka wocka wocka)

The fact that it's on the fucking bus means that the idiot who is in charge of selecting those poems is either being subversive or is just dumb.

]]> Wow, What's Next? http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/12/poetry_is_pretty#c523373 http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/12/poetry_is_pretty#c523373 City Fri, 01 Dec 2006 17:06:50 -0800 Comment by Jacka since dan does not show his - the cat's will have to do

is it pink or brownie?

wonder how dan reacts when he watches, with obvious fascination, a cow take a shit

]]> Jacka http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/12/poetry_is_pretty#c523717 http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/12/poetry_is_pretty#c523717 City Fri, 01 Dec 2006 18:44:44 -0800 Comment by Jackee It's all in Mudede's new movie.

]]> Jackee http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/12/poetry_is_pretty#c523731 http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/12/poetry_is_pretty#c523731 City Fri, 01 Dec 2006 19:12:10 -0800 Comment by Sachi I loved that poem and I love cats. :-)

]]> Sachi http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/12/poetry_is_pretty#c523744 http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/12/poetry_is_pretty#c523744 City Fri, 01 Dec 2006 20:20:59 -0800 Comment by Dan Savage Hey, Jim, you don't have to read me in the AM or PM. I'm here on the blog, and in the paper. I'm easy to avoid. Don't pick up the Stranger, or go on our website. That poem on the bus? Who can avoid it?

]]> Dan Savage http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/12/poetry_is_pretty#c523794 http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/12/poetry_is_pretty#c523794 City Fri, 01 Dec 2006 21:22:56 -0800 Comment by Evan Cat ass is unavoidable. The poem merely shows us life, in all its pink, winking, shit-encrusted splendor.

I think a lot more about santorum these days than I once did. That is to say, I used to think of it not at all. I think someone brought it up and publicized it, though. You can't put that frothy genie back in the bottle.

]]> Evan http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/12/poetry_is_pretty#c524748 http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/12/poetry_is_pretty#c524748 City Sat, 02 Dec 2006 00:15:31 -0800 Comment by Jude Fawley I see dog's anuses all over the place walking around on leashes. Many breeds are apparantly designed to permanently moon the world.

]]> Jude Fawley http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/12/poetry_is_pretty#c527200 http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/12/poetry_is_pretty#c527200 City Sat, 02 Dec 2006 07:41:09 -0800 Comment by lilly Well, honestly, I must be horrendously naive. I thought the asterisk was either a furball or a pile of shed fur.

But now that I've read all these replies, it is unabashedly clear.

I totally preferred my initial naive illusion.

]]> lilly http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/12/poetry_is_pretty#c533859 http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/12/poetry_is_pretty#c533859 City Sun, 03 Dec 2006 15:35:14 -0800 Comment by Tatyana, Floating Bridge Press Dear Dan and bus-poetry hecklers/lovers,
Why end the butt-load of fun ***here?***
Why not get your luffly arsies down to the Seattle Pub Library this Sunday for more bus poetry--the event is a reading of poems from the new anthology "Poetry On Wheels" (Floating Bridge Press), a collections of poems that have turned up on buses, not all of them about little Greek stars.
Dan, if the writer of "*" doesn't show, why don't you get up and read the poem to the audience? We'll make it our aim to show you that our city buses wore some really kick-ass poems over the years.

The skinny:
POETRY ON WHEELS Floating Bridge Press with support from 4Culture and Washington Center for the Book will host a reading to celebrate "Poetry on Wheels: an Anthology of King County's Poetry on Buses Program" 2pm Sunday, Dec. 10 at the Central Library, 1000 Fourth Ave., Microsoft Auditorium, Level 1.

XO*
Tatyana Mishel, Editor, Floating Bridge Press

]]> Tatyana, Floating Bridge Press http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/12/poetry_is_pretty#c534843 http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/12/poetry_is_pretty#c534843 City Sun, 03 Dec 2006 21:44:33 -0800 Comment by Tatyana, Floating Bridge Press Dear Dan and bus-poetry hecklers/lovers,
Why end the butt-load of fun ***here?***
Why not get your luffly arsies down to the Seattle Pub Library this Sunday for more bus poetry--the event is a reading of poems from the new anthology "Poetry On Wheels" (Floating Bridge Press), a collections of poems that have turned up on buses, not all of them about little Greek stars.
Dan, if the writer of "*" doesn't show, why don't you get up and read the poem to the audience? We'll make it our aim to show you that our city buses wore some really kick-ass poems over the years.

The skinny:
POETRY ON WHEELS Floating Bridge Press with support from 4Culture and Washington Center for the Book will host a reading to celebrate "Poetry on Wheels: an Anthology of King County's Poetry on Buses Program" 2pm Sunday, Dec. 10 at the Central Library, 1000 Fourth Ave., Microsoft Auditorium, Level 1.

XO*
Tatyana Mishel, Editor, Floating Bridge Press

]]> Tatyana, Floating Bridge Press http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/12/poetry_is_pretty#c534844 http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/12/poetry_is_pretty#c534844 City Sun, 03 Dec 2006 21:45:24 -0800 Comment by Porn Thanks

]]> Porn http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/12/poetry_is_pretty#c551440 http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/12/poetry_is_pretty#c551440 City Thu, 07 Dec 2006 10:40:48 -0800 Comment by Porn Thanks

]]> Porn http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/12/poetry_is_pretty#c555990 http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/12/poetry_is_pretty#c555990 City Fri, 08 Dec 2006 10:11:01 -0800 Comment by Sex Thanks

]]> Sex http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/12/poetry_is_pretty#c562895 http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/12/poetry_is_pretty#c562895 City Sat, 09 Dec 2006 22:31:22 -0800 Comment by varshko jewish gifts, hamsa, book of psalms what do you do with this. i was looking for some gifts and found those
jewwish gifts.

]]> varshko http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/12/poetry_is_pretty#c567756 http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/12/poetry_is_pretty#c567756 City Mon, 11 Dec 2006 14:11:35 -0800 Comment by George Daneri Nancy Pagh's poetry is stark and dark and sweet and fun -- luscious and honest as a chocolate bar and just as good for brain chemistry. Her newest book, NO SWEETER FAT, just won the very prestigious Autumn House Poetry Prize for 2006. Walt Whitman is a big influence on her work. The title comes from his "Song of Myself." Check it out and see for yourself why her words count, and ring sweet and clear as an alto above the chorus in one of Parry's "Songs of Farewell." She, like he, knows that "nothing is secure."

]]> George Daneri http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/12/poetry_is_pretty#c567880 http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/12/poetry_is_pretty#c567880 City Mon, 11 Dec 2006 16:42:41 -0800