Can You Handle It?

Blog #3
The A.R. Ammons’ poem, Shit List; Or Omnium-gatherum Of Diversity Into Unity, about the different types of shit was not intended for everyone. I don’t think the words in the poem, mainly the word shit, were meant to be read by smaller people. Younger kids shouldn’t be introduced to words such as shit at a young age; therefore this poem would be inappropriate for kids in middle school and under to read. In the modern world, however, many smaller kids have been introduced to curse words at an early age. This does not make it right. In my personal opinion, I don’t agree that they should be. This poem was intended to be read by people in high school and up. I think you have to be at a certain level of maturity to read this poem.
This poem reiterates the fact that everyone and everything has bodily functions. It has to happen because it is part of the cycle of life. If we didn’t poop, we could not live. It is vital to survival. I think one would have to have this assumption in order to find this poem funny. I don’t agree that cursing is always funny, but in this context, it is. Depending on someone’s religion, it could determine whether or not he or she thinks this poem is laughable. A really religious person might not think it is very funny because of the abundance of the word “shit.” Even if a person doesn’t morally think cursing is right, it could still be funny to him or her. Also to think this poem is funny, I think one has to have a sense of humor or be easily amused. In a sense, this poem could be considered disgusting, but it is natural. I also think one has to be open-minded to different things. A normal poem wouldn’t have a subject about the bodily functions of life. If one is close-minded, then he or she probably will not find this poem laughable. People that are close-minded are not willing to branch out to different ideas. Overall, this poem is very strange, but in a peculiar way it brings humans and animals together.

Callie Holloway