Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Spam as Poetry

Posted by michael on from the i-heard-a-fly-buzz-as-i-died dept.

ayahner writes "My spam filter receives about 500/wk, and within those frisky messages, among the pulp and porn, comes some pretty daring poetry. So instead of simply removing the spam, I have decided to peruse my spam library and use the best to spur my creative energies. Do any /. members have their own favorites? I have compiled a few of my own, and expect to add many more over the next few weeks as a creativity exercise. All of the verses are taken from actual spam, and copied directly without modification. Some of them are nonsense. Others are real text of spam, delivering their message. When combined, they tend to form semi-articulate sentences. I see a virtual e.e. cummings here, an occasional Shakespeare there."

9 of 281 comments (clear)

  1. Comment removed by account_deleted · · Score: 5, Informative

    Comment removed based on user account deletion

  2. Outside the Inbox by 404notfound · · Score: 5, Informative

    This is reminiscent of the Outside the Inbox music compliation project.

  3. That's OK, I guess... by PCM2 · · Score: 3, Informative

    ...but let's not forget the other kind of SPAM poetry.

    --
    Breakfast served all day!
  4. Humerous NPR segment by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

    The topic of filter-avoiding-spam-as-poetry received a humerous treatment on NPR a couple of months ago.

    http://www.npr.org/features/feature.php?wfId=17612 26

  5. Re:I don't read spam by achurch · · Score: 3, Informative

    What's your excuse for having spam?

    I happen to actually have some contact with the outside world.

  6. Works better with music... by frozenray · · Score: 4, Informative

    ...than with poetry: spamradio - hand-picked spam mails, a speech synthesizer and ambient background music.

    I sometimes listen to it during coding sprees late at night, eerie but cool.

    --
    "There are already a million monkeys on a million typewriters, and Usenet is NOTHING like Shakespeare." - Blair Houghton
  7. Re:What is poetry? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative

    Kurt Cobain (of Nirvana fame) also admitted at some point he just used random sentences from various poems he wrote to make up the lyrics to some songs.

  8. Re:stolen from Satirewire's SPAM poetry contest by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

    Ah, you really have to include the link to the whole thing; its hysterical.

    It's The 23rd Spam and the link is here

  9. Re:An Ode to Spam by stienman · · Score: 2, Informative

    You need to familiarize yourself with the comic strip search feature. Don't be shy, you know you've always wanted a strip search.

    "Ode to spam"

    "Second Ode to spam"

    -Adam