Matthew Peeler's Blog

A.R. Ammons’ “Shit List” is what I would like to call an interesting piece of work. The word “shit” is used in just about every line and is used in more than just a casual way. Like many forms of literature, Ammons turns what could be considered a very vulgar poem into a work of art. Many may ask how this is the case? Ammons describes different kinds of shit throughout this poem but keeps it interesting for the reader. Just as the reader begins to have the thought of ‘this is just another vulgar poem not worth reading’, he throws in a very comical line that keeps the readers attention for a while longer and repeats this cycle throughout the poem. For example, “rainbow trout shit (for the nice)”. This line comes in the fourth line of the poem after the reader begins to wonder why he/she is really reading this and they laugh, at least this was my reaction It is this cycle that helps do the job that the poem intended to do, and that is entertain the reader. The question still arises however of how this is artful? Though it may not seem like it, Ammons’ poem is a work of art simply because he holds the attention of the reader throughout the poem. This takes quite a work of art to have a successful poem about shit.
Ammons uses parentheticals throughout his poem as well. These short worded “explanations” as I like to call them are also a key in making this a work of art. I mentioned the way Ammons adds a comical line in when the reading begins to become cumbersome. These parentheticals are typically involved in this comical line. Some examples of these lines include “bull shit (the classic)”, “magpie shit (total protein)”, “mockingbird shit (dive-bombed with the aim of song)”, and robin shit that oozes white down lawn chairs or down roots under roosts. This poem is a perfect example of potentially offensive language turning into something powerful. Laughter is a very powerful emotion that we all experience at some point. This poem draws out this emotion and tends to bring out the best of us. With the proper connotation, ever a poem about random shit can become a powerful piece of work that we can all enjoy.