O Holy Cow

Found poetry is based on the idea that all kinds of texts, including conversational speech, are chock full of the stuff of poetry. Interesting sound-patterns, thematic repetitions, startling imagery--these typically poetic dimensions of language are always present, only in less-concentrated forms than one finds in poetry proper. Taking a leap of faith that the theory holds water, editors Tom Peyer and Hart Seely have gone through countless hours of baseball broadcasts and emerged with a book-length collection of what they are calling the verse of Phil Rizzuto, the beloved broadcaster of the New York Yankees. Rizzuto's "poems" are hilarious and often-insightful instances of the poetry of everyday speech. A total success.