January 13, 1997
Shelley,
The following is a poem derived from your letter in the January 10 Octopus. My technique was to select words and (with minor exceptions) punctuation, in the order they appeared, directly from your letter. My goals were:
to compose a piece of writing for the Octopus that is completely derived from the Octopus;
to discover a poem in an apparently expository piece of writing; and
to demonstrate the fun that can be had by reading and writing for a local paper as if it were literature.
If you like this piece, I would be happy to compose other things like it in the future.
Sigfried (Steve) Gold
After I co-authored Halloween
who helped to incriminate Urbana and widely-held belief:
it seems he has to build his life.
Who has been pregnant in anger
let it be to protect their own
the school teachers believe and repeat.
The father came after her.
To talk to endangered Sean the facts beliefs express negative defensive exaggerated assertions.
For those who read and wondered
did that gleeful News-Gazette
was not accused of Halloween
a block away were very tall
and under 13 fully many
did not attack and blind a night.
Convicted three from we reported,
a white was shoved and then a horse
and said were angered but had not
police them out about the boy
and believed the rest that Officer boys protect.
The Halloween “unprovoked”
aggravated battery
for which young people from Urbana
being “prejudiced”
have shed provocation.
Also “unprovoked”
a white described in detail,
heavily Looks was accused.
Because of “unprovoked” and in consideration
Sean is filled with tears Her hope her will her home.
It would seem our guidance Urbana rumors
we say Christian courts while righteous
all young men under meditation
might improve our community
in fact
tougher angels pause.
Published in The Octopus: Champaign-Urbana's Alternative Weekly, January 13, 1997.